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.


State Update

Responsible Sex Ed – What Happened at the Capitol
This year the Coalition revised our legislation and introduced two bills as a means of educating legislators and gaining targeted attention to the issue. Here is a summary of this year's legislative accomplishments:

1. Sex ed, as part of a larger prevention bill (SF273), received a first ever hearing in the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee.

2. The Coalition's stand alone bill, HF906, received an informational hearing in the House Education Policy Committee.

3. Sex ed and new House author, Representative Frank Hornstein, earned a profile in Session Weekly. The profile starts on page 20: Whose Values Are They Anyway? Lawmaker Carries on Family Legacy with Sex Education Bill (PDF) by Kris Berggren.

Stay tuned for summer updates on what's happening with sex ed across the state and a look at how we'll approach sex ed in the 2010 legislative session.


Federal Update

On May 7, 2009, President Obama released his budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2010. In his budget, Obama zeroes out funding for failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and allocates over $170 million for evidence-based and promising programs.

National advocates continue to work with Congress and the President to ensure that final bill language funds evidence based sex education programs. To learn more, visit www.siecus.org. You can also view relevant text from the President's budget and the budget appendix (see pages 490-491) (PDF).

Currently in Washington, the House is in the midst of writing its spending bills. Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Education) is the spending bill that decides funding levels for, among other things, abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. This is the opportunity for Congress to act to implement the President's budget proposal to defund abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and allocate over $170 million to evidence based programs.

We need your Representatives to weigh in with Appropriations Chairman David Obey to ensure that Congress follows the President's lead and that No More Money is spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

TAKE ACTION TODAY…Click here to email your Representative.
If you haven't already done so, now is the time to tell Congress to follow President Obama's lead. Invest No More Money in failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. We need investment in Responsible Sex Ed programs. And we need it now!

The Coalition for Responsible Sex Ed is a member of the No More Money Campaign, a national campaign designed to move federal funding to evidence-based responsible sex ed programs. To learn more about the Campaign, visit www.nomoremoney.org.


In the News

Obama Proposed Budget Cuts Funds for Abstinence-Only Programs
Obama's budget, released May 7, eliminates funds for failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and provides a total of $178 million in funds for teen pregnancy prevention programs. Read more at www.usatoday.com. Additional national press coverage can be found at www.coalitionforsexed.org.

Current Legislative Session Reveals Trend toward Comprehensive Sex Education Policy Across the Nation
The 2009 legislative session to date has seen legislation regarding human sexuality education introduced in 21 states. Legislation introduced across the United States reflects the paradigm shift taking place in federal and state politics, showing increasing support for a responsible approach to sex ed. Read more at www.siecus.org.

Keep up with sex ed in the news, both in Minnesota and across the country by visiting www.coalitionforsexed.org.