Title: Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All Month: Youth Power, Information, and Rights.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of Sex Ed For All Month.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 409

 Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All 
              Month: Youth Power, Information, and Rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2019

   Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Doggett, Mr. 
 Pocan, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. 
    Speier, and Ms. Judy Chu of California) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, 
 and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All 
              Month: Youth Power, Information, and Rights.

Whereas Sex Ed For All Month is a nationwide observance that calls on people to 
        take action to invest so as to ensure all young people have access to 
        comprehensive sex education;
Whereas young people face vast systemic inequities and structural barriers to 
        ensuring their lifelong health;
Whereas racial disparities persist in young people's sexual health, highlighting 
        ongoing inequities in access to sex education as well as sexual health 
        services;
Whereas access to quality information and education about young people's sexual 
        health is a critical step toward addressing disparities;
Whereas despite historic declines, the United States has the highest rate of 
        unintended teen pregnancy among comparable countries and limited 
        resources available for young parents;
Whereas young people aged 15 through 25 contract half of the 19 million sexually 
        transmitted infections each year, despite making up only a quarter of 
        the sexually active population;
Whereas young people under the age of 25 accounted for 1 in 5 new HIV 
        infections;
Whereas three-quarters of LGBT students report harassment, 56 percent report 
        feeling unsafe, and nearly a third skipped at least one day of school in 
        the month prior to reporting due to concerns for their safety;
Whereas approximately 1 in 3 young women in the United States experiences 
        physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner;
Whereas sex education that includes information beyond abstinence has been found 
        to delay sexual intercourse, increase condom or contraceptive use, 
        reduce the number of partners among young people, and decrease physical 
        aggression with intimate partners;
Whereas young people who received sex education are 50 percent less likely to 
        experience an unintended pregnancy, 31 percent less likely to contract a 
        sexually transmitted infection, and more likely to delay sexual activity 
        and use contraception upon becoming sexually active;
Whereas comprehensive sex education provides information about the prevention of 
        unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, 
        dating violence, sexual assault, bullying, and harassment, and provides 
        resources and information on topics ranging from gender stereotyping and 
        gender roles to stigma and sociocultural influences surrounding sex and 
        sexuality;
Whereas comprehensive sex education promotes and upholds the rights of young 
        people to information in order to become sexually healthy adults and 
        have healthy relationships; and
Whereas May of each year is now recognized as Sex Ed For All Month: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of Sex Ed For All Month;
            (2) calls on all public and elected officials to advocate 
        for and invest in comprehensive sex education legislation;
            (3) encourages State and local governments, including their 
        public health agencies, education agencies, schools, and media 
        organizations to recognize and support Sex Ed For All Month;
            (4) commends the work of community and faith-based 
        organizations, State education agencies, local education 
        agencies, and health centers that are providing comprehensive 
        sex education to young people;
            (5) prioritizes sex education programs that are more 
        comprehensive in approach, that are evidence-informed, cover a 
        broad range of topics, including medically accurate and 
        complete information that is age and developmentally 
        appropriate about all the aspects of sex, sexual health, and 
        sexuality, are gender and gender identity-sensitive, promote 
        educational achievement, critical thinking, decisionmaking, 
        self-esteem, and self-efficacy, are culturally and 
        linguistically appropriate, reflecting the diverse 
        circumstances and realities of young people, and foster 
        leadership skills and community engagement;
            (6) discourages health education programs that withhold 
        health-promoting or life-saving information about sexuality-
        related topics, including HIV, are medically inaccurate, 
        promote gender or racial stereotypes, are insensitive and 
        unresponsive to the needs of sexually active young people, 
        survivors of sexual violence, youth with varying gender 
        identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations, or are 
        inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and 
        public health;
            (7) recommends implementation of comprehensive sex 
        education in schools and continued professional development for 
        educators and administrative staff that work with young people; 
        and
            (8) calls for all youth-serving professionals, educators, 
        and decisionmakers who impact the lives of youth to take action 
        to ensure access to comprehensive sex education for all young 
        people.
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