Coalition for Responsible Sex Ed is a coalition of educational, religious, health, social service and advocacy organizations, as well as concerned individuals that promotes lifelong healthy sexuality by advocating for policies on responsible sexuality education and access to confidential health care services.
Federal Update
Current Federal Legislation Includes Funding and Policy for Responsible Sex Ed
Several promising pieces of legislation are on the move in Washington. Below is a brief summary of pending bills as they make their way through the committee process. Advocates are supportive of this combination of policy initiatives supporting effective sex ed programs. Effective sex ed programs provide adolescents with the knowledge, attitude, skills and values to make responsible choices.
Legislation
*Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act Introduced
Earlier this month, Representatives Ryan and DeLauro introduced a bill to improve sexual health outcomes. The bill includes (among other things) funding for responsible sex education programs. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
To learn more, read this statement from SIECUS and visit www.nationalpartnership.org.
*Labor/HHS Appropriations Bill
Recently, the House Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee voted to shift funding away from abstinence-only sex education toward more comprehensive pregnancy prevention programs. The bill would allocate $114.5 million for a "teenage pregnancy prevention initiative" that offers "evidence-based and other approaches, such as abstinence." Read more at www.nationalpartnership.org.
*Amendment to Health Care Reform Bill
The Committee on Energy and Commerce passed a new $50 million program for the states, after voting to approve an amendment that would authorize $250 million through 2014 for "evidence-based" sex education programs for adolescents. In addition, an amendment to fund failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs failed to pass committee. Read more at www.siecus.org and www.rhrealitycheck.org.
In the News
New Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC recently released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) looking at adolescent sexual health across outcomes. While this isn’t new data, it is a new comprehensive look at the interrelationship between sexual health indicators. Many indicators that have made substantial progress over the past decade have slowed, and certain negative sexual health outcomes are increasing. We need investments in programs that focus on a more holistic approach to adolescent sexual health. To read the report, visit www.cdc.gov.