Comprehensive sexuality education is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about medically accurate health information. The curriculum covers the emotional, physical, and social aspects of human sexuality and promotes healthy relationships.

According to The National Coalition for Sexual Health, youth are more likely to practice safe sex, delay a sexual relationship, and minimize the risk for an unplanned pregnancy after having received comprehensive sexual health education

For more information, please see The National Coalition for Sexual Health’s study on The Sexual Health of Youth in the United States

The state legislation, originally known as AB 329 and referred to as the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA), requires that students in grades seven through twelve receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school. However, there are very limited resources allocated from the state level. Some schools have teaching that is inadequate, and most schools have no sexual and reproductive health education that follows an inclusive curriculum.

For more information on CHYA, please refer to the California Department of Education’s page on Comprehensive Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Instruction

Parents: A majority of adolescents aged 15–19 (over 70 percent) engage in conversations about sex, sexual diseases, pregnancy, and birth control with their parents. While many parents offer information about contraception and other aspects of sexual health, their understanding of these subjects might be flawed or incomplete.

Health Care Providers: Leading medical bodies like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that teenagers' visits to primary care professionals include private discussions about sexuality and related matters. Despite these guidelines, only 45% of young individuals reported having one-on-one time with a doctor or health care provider during their most recent yearly visit. A significant number of health care providers omit discussions about sexual health during primary care appointments. Even when these talks do happen, they tend to be brief—research indicates that conversations with patients lasted an average of just 36 seconds. Among sexually active adolescents aged 15–19 who lacked birth control guidance from formal sources or parents, merely 7% of females and 13% of males discussed birth control with a health care provider between 2006 and 2010.

Digital Media: Digital platforms such as social networking sites, apps, and text messaging services are increasingly employed to deliver sexual health interventions to adolescents, with studies showcasing their effectiveness in enhancing knowledge and behavior related to various sexual health outcomes. However, the accuracy of sexual health information on the websites frequented by adolescents is often questionable. For instance, a recent study evaluating 177 sexual health websites revealed that 46% of those addressing contraception and 35% of those discussing abortion contained incorrect information.

For more information: Guttmacher Institute’s fact sheet on American Adolescents’ Sources of Sexual Health Information

Sex education teaches that sexuality is a normal part of being human so that children are not ashamed or embarrassed about asking trusted adults questions or seeking help when needed.

Research has shown that abstinence-only education is ineffective for promoting safe and healthy sexual lives, delaying sex, or in preventing unintended pregnancies. In fact, Abstinence-only programs have shown promote judgment, fear, guilt and shame around sex.

Strong evidence suggests that approaches to sex education that include information about both contraception and abstinence help young people to delay sex, and also to have healthy relationships and avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancies when they do become sexually active. Providing information to youth that help them identify trusted adults in their lives and support healthy decision making are all cornerstones of the education we provide.

For more information, please visit the Guttmacher Institute’s fact sheet on Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Programs.