50 signatures reached
To: Iowa Representative Skyler Wheeler
Honest & Inclusive Sex Education
Schools across the country are failing to provide students with truly comprehensive sex education to set students up for success. A comprehensive sex education program should include information which addresses birth control methods, teen dating violence, including discussing what a healthy versus an unhealthy relationship looks like, and what constitutes as consent. Senate File 58, if enacted, would require all human growth and development classes by school boards to include education regarding teen dating violence as well as voluntary consent to engage in sexual activity.
Why is this important?
Personally, I feel strongly about the enactment of this bill. I strongly believe that schools should require preventative education on both teen dating violence as well as consent, to help lower the number of persons impacted from this issue. Everyone should be educated on what a healthy relationship is and what consent looks like.
Students in many schools are missing out on vital information regarding comprehensive sex education that each young adult should receive education on. Not educating our young persons on important topics such as different birth control options, teen dating violence, healthy versus unhealthy relationships, and what truly constitutes as consent is not giving teens and young adults the tools that they need to make smart and healthy choices not only now, but also in the future. For a long time, the idea has been that “if we don’t talk about sex, they won’t think about it and therefore won’t do it.” As many are aware this is an outdated way of thinking and simply not a true statement. We can no longer hope that leaving young people in the dark around this topic will inevitably keep them from engaging in sexual activity. We know that many young persons are now starting to engage in in sexual activity at a younger age, and without proper education around this topic we are not setting them up for success. With the government funding Sexual Risk Avoidance programs which focus on abstinence, students are missing out on so much important information to make safe and healthy decisions which will impact them well into their future. If we want to set up our students for success, we need to change the outdated polices we are currently using which control the type of sex education our schools are providing to students and provide education that is relevant for today.
Students in many schools are missing out on vital information regarding comprehensive sex education that each young adult should receive education on. Not educating our young persons on important topics such as different birth control options, teen dating violence, healthy versus unhealthy relationships, and what truly constitutes as consent is not giving teens and young adults the tools that they need to make smart and healthy choices not only now, but also in the future. For a long time, the idea has been that “if we don’t talk about sex, they won’t think about it and therefore won’t do it.” As many are aware this is an outdated way of thinking and simply not a true statement. We can no longer hope that leaving young people in the dark around this topic will inevitably keep them from engaging in sexual activity. We know that many young persons are now starting to engage in in sexual activity at a younger age, and without proper education around this topic we are not setting them up for success. With the government funding Sexual Risk Avoidance programs which focus on abstinence, students are missing out on so much important information to make safe and healthy decisions which will impact them well into their future. If we want to set up our students for success, we need to change the outdated polices we are currently using which control the type of sex education our schools are providing to students and provide education that is relevant for today.