Utah Senator Introduces Bill to Strike Ban Against ‘Advocacy of Homosexuality’
We reported just last week that a bill was struck down in Salt Lake City, Utah, that would give parents the option of opting their children into a more comprehensive sex ed class. Still, Utah representatives slog on, with one senator sponsoring a bill that would strike a homosexuality provision from Utah law. This provision protects against the “advocacy of homosexuality” in classroom discussions.
Maryland Lawmakers Push for State-Wide Mandate on ‘Yes Means Yes’ Education
In Montgomery County, Maryland, two legislators are pushing a proposal that would make Maryland the second state to mandate affirmative consent education. Montgomery County’s Board of Education initially opposed a local version of the bill, but legislators remain optimistic.
New Student Organization at University of Texas Provides Sex Ed Info
At the University of Texas, motivated by the state’s lack of public sex ed, one student has formed a campus group aimed at helping students to make informed choices about their sexual health and contraception. Called UTerus—or Education and Resources for Uterine Services—the group is intended to raise awareness of common sexual health issues that students might face.
Meanwhile, Sex Ed Across Texas Remains Sparse
A recent study shows that a quarter of Texas public schools no longer teach sex ed. And another 58 percent of school districts take an abstinence-only approach. Perhaps related to this is the fact that teen birth rates in Texas are among the highest in the country. In response to these dismal statistics, a state legislator has filed a bill that would require sex education classes to include “medically accurate, age-appropriate” human sexuality education. Currently, Texas high school students are not required to take a high school health class before graduation and, in the health classes that do exist, districts must “present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior.”
Call for Compulsory Sex Ed in British Schools
The Local Government Association (LGA) in England and Wales is concerned about the lack of sex and relationships education (SRE) in British secondary schools. Because of this, the chairs of five parliamentary select committees are pushing a bill to implement compulsory sex education across all secondary schools. This bill is currently being debated in the House of Commons.
And Finally, Not to Be Outdone by Pornhub…
We reported last week that Pornhub had launched its own sex ed site. Since then, porn website xHamster has announced that it will redirect all traffic to the site from Utah to PG-13 sex education videos. This announcement is in response to the above-mentioned move by Utah state lawmakers to strike down a bill that would have allowed parents to opt in to comprehensive sex education.
