Dive Brief:
- The ongoing battle over how sex education should be taught in K-12 schools has been ramping up quickly, according to the 2025 Legislative Mid-Year Report from the nonprofit SIECUS, which tracked more than 650 state-level bills on the topic. Of those bills, nearly one-quarter sought to pare back or remove access — a 35% increase from the year before.
- In tandem with this, the federal government has threatened 46 states with an aggregate of $81 million in funding loss if they don’t remove what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services terms “gender ideology” content from sex education materials. The Trump administration has rescinded funding for research into reproductive health and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, SIECUS noted.
- The report specifically covers legislation that SIECUS said has or would: require the use of medically inaccurate videos in sex education classes, promote abstinence-only education, and censor curricula inclusive toward LGBTQIA+ students.
Dive Insight:
The field of sex education policy remains fraught, with mixed messages from state legislatures creating a confusing environment for those who have to teach the subject, said Nawal Umar, senior policy analyst at SIECUS, formerly known as the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, and co-author of the report.
SIECUS is a national, nonprofit organization focused on advancing sex education through advocacy, policy and coalition building.
While not all states mandate comprehensive, science-based sex education, many school districts opt to implement it because they see the benefits for students — and because it’s “overwhelmingly popular” with parents, said Alison Macklin, director of public affairs at SIECUS and co-author of the report, citing data from a 2023 Planned Parenthood poll.
“While we do know there’s a minority of folks who are very loud and disruptive, the majority of parents and guardians want this type of information for their students,” she said. “I would encourage principals and superintendents to get support from their PTAs [and] to become familiar with the laws and policies guiding this work.”
Teachers need clear guidance from leadership that demonstrates support, Macklin said. “Oftentimes, they’re the ones getting the praise, and also they’re the ones having to deal with, potentially, that one-off parent and they really need to know the school has their back.”
The content of sex education depends heavily on geography, with some states expanding comprehensive, skills-based programs and others limiting or changing what can be taught, said Michelle Carter, director of educational content and programs at the Society of Health and Physical Educators America, and a former health and physical education teacher.
“This creates a mixed picture,” Carter said. “Some students may receive a broad, medically appropriate education. Others have no access at all. Schools are navigating varying expectations. Some national organizations and public health organizations continue to stress the importance of comprehensive sex education for student safety and long-term outcomes.”
Opposition to such curricula often stems from misinformation, with “bad actors” misconstruing the lessons, taking them out of context and claiming they’re aimed at a different audience than they actually are, Macklin said.
“I would urge transparency from the school, which I know they do, and engagement with parents and guardians around the curriculum,” she said. “A lot of times, parents see the curriculum and say, ‘Oh, yeah, this makes a lot of sense.’”
Umar suggests that schools not already doing so hold a “community parent teach-in night” previewing what sex education lessons will be taught. This can be especially enlightening for parents who did not have comprehensive sex education themselves and hold misgivings based on misunderstandings, she said.
“This requires more effort on schools’ part,” she added, but groups like SIECUS and its partners who developed the National Sex Education Standards, which maps out what to teach and when, stand ready to help. SIECUS also offers a Community Action Toolkit.
Carter encourages educators to ground themselves in evidence-based practice and keep student well-being at the center, transparently demonstrating that lessons are “developmentally appropriate, medically accurate and aligned with learning goals, which helps to build trust.”
“Create opportunities for dialogue with families and community members so their concerns can be addressed,” she said. “People really like data, grounded in research — not just, ‘this is what I think’ — but showing them there’s an outside resource there. It’s about demystifying and communicating and inviting parents in.”
Sex education may have changed since parents were in high school, and some may misunderstand what will be taught, Carter said — adding that some may misperceive that schools are encouraging students to have sex, when in fact they’re teaching how to build healthy relationships, set boundaries and make choices that mitigate risky behaviors.
“Explain and educate parents that you’re focusing on safety, respect, practical skills and navigating relationships,” she said. “As an educator, my goal is to help your child make healthy choices when we aren’t around, as adults. They have to learn how to navigate things. It’s bringing that empathy in: We’re here to make healthy students, not harm them.”
She added that SHAPE’s Health Education in Schools 101 guide helps educators break this down.
School leaders ultimately need to recognize that opposition to comprehensive sex education “is an outlier” and that parents who complain have every right to remove their child from that lesson, Macklin said.
“It’s important for individuals not to be dissuaded,” she said. “Popular opinion and the majority of people in this country support sex education, regardless of political affiliation.”
