Sex Education in Utah Schools By Laura Weis Rachel Norris Brandi Hatch Megan Rudd

Utah Sex Education Laws Schools are required to provide STD, HIV/AIDS and sex education Teach abstinence until marriage Not required to provide information on contraception

Utah Sex Education Laws Utah would become the first state to ban schools from teaching contraception as a way of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases

New Law HB 363 if passed Abstinence only curriculum No longer teach about contraception, per - marital sex, and homosexuality

New Law HB 363 if passed Remove the state requirement for districts to teach sex education Prevents teachers from responding to “spontaneous questions from students”

Statistics

Parent Opinions Most parents (65%) believe that sex education should encourage young people to delay sexual activity but also prepare them to use birth control and practice safe sex once they do become sexually active.

Americans Overwhelmingly Favor Broader Sexuality Education

Parent Opinions Three-quarters of parents say that sex ed classes should cover how to use condoms, and other forms of birth control They should teach about abortion and sexual orientation

Parent Opinions Sex education classes should also teach about pressures to have sex They should teach about abortion and sexual orientation The emotional consequences of having sex

Parent Opinions An overwhelming majority say that schools should teach adolescents how to get tested for HIV/AIDS and other STD’s (86%)

Parent Opinions Parents want schools to teach about how to talk to a partner about birth control and STD’s (77%)

Parent Opinions Parents also want schools to teach condom usage (71%) Where to get and how to use other birth control methods (68%)

Parent Opinions Parents see such courses and content as supplementing, not supplanting, their discussions at home

Teacher Opinions There is a large gap between what teachers think should be taught and what they teach when it comes to birth control, abortion, and sexual orientation.

Teacher Opinions More than 9 in 10 teachers believe that students should be taught about contraception One in four are instructed not to teach the subject

Teacher Opinions Teachers who teach sex ed believe that schools are not doing enough to prepare students for puberty or to deal with pressures and decisions regarding sexual activity

Teacher Opinions Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a significant proportion of health educators want additional training in the areas of pregnancy, STD, and HIV prevention

Teacher Opinions Teachers face the same stigma and fear teaching sexuality education even in liberal states Sex and sexuality is treated as a moral issue

The biggest benefit of sexual education is knowledge

Sexual education doesn't encourage teens to have sex; our culture encourages teens to have sex

References http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0363.htm "State Sex Education Laws." Teen Aid. Teen Aid Inc. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. http://www.teen-aid.org/State_Resourses/State_Sex_Education_Laws.htm Hudson, Don. "Proposed Law Would Change Utah's Health and Sex Education Classes." - ABC4.com. ABC 4, 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://www.abc4.com/content/news/links_numbers/story/sex-ed-utah-law-health-education/h8mA3qJYGkSORydIUB09rw.cspx>. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/ABC Television, Sex in the 90s: 1998 National Survey of Americans on Sex and Sexual Health, Sept. 1998. USAToday.com 填tah Law Makers Pass Abstinence-Only Sex Education Curriculum� By Douglas Stanglin 03/07/2012 Sex Education: Politicians, Parents, Teachers, and Teens� February 2001 Teaching Sexuality Education� By Anna Lekas Miller, Auguts 17, 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/08/us-sex-education-utah http://www.teen-aid.org/State_Resourses/State_Sex_Education_Laws.htm