Abstinence Education Is Undergoing a Rebranding
The National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) has renamed itself Ascend, and is rebranding abstinence-only sex education as sexual risk avoidance (SRA). Valerie Huber, the president and CEO of Ascend, says that SRA is different from comprehensive sexual education in that “We don’t distribute or demonstrate [contraceptive methods]; we educate about it. You may be told that ‘sex plus condoms equals safety,’ but it’s not true. We don’t want to over- or underestimate any of the facts.”
Arizona School District Overhauls Its Abstinence-Only Curriculum
The Tucson Unified School District in Arizona has decided to change its abstinence-based sex education curriculum after receiving feedback from students that it was not informative enough. The new program they intend to design will be more comprehensive.
Senior Sex Ed Classes in Atlanta Grow in Popularity
Thanks to recent research on sex after 60, the Atlanta Regional Commission in Georgia has upped the offerings of one-hour health classes for seniors on healthy sexuality.
Bibb County School District Adopts FLASH Curriculum
In an attempt to combat a rising teen pregnancy rate, the Bibb County school district in Georgia is adopting the Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH) curriculum. While it still highlights the effectiveness of abstinence, it also touches upon birth control, STDs, pregnancy, and other important topics.
D.C. Sex Ed Gets More Comprehensive for the Coming School Year
An updated version of the D.C. public school system’s Health Education Standards will affect future sex ed offerings. New curriculum content will be taught in health education and sex education classes or lessons starting this coming school year.
San Antonio Pro-Life Group Protests Recent Changes to Sex Ed Curricula
The North East Side Independent School District (NEISD) recently tweaked their sex ed curriculum for those in grades 6 through 8, so that lessons would include mention of proper condom use. The San Antonio Family Association (SAFA) is now holding seminars around the district in which they claim the NEISD is promoting anal and oral sex, and that the curriculum may violate child exploitation laws. The NEISD has since sent two letters to SAFA asking it to stop spreading misleading information about the program.
3D Clitoris Used in French Sex Ed Programs
Sociomedical researcher Odile Fillod has created the world’s first open-source, anatomically correct, printable 3D clitoris. It will be used for sex education in French schools, from primary to secondary level, starting in September.
