New Washinton bill mandates sex education in public schools to be “comprehensive” and “medically accurate.”
Sex education, arguably an important part of curriculum, is regulated by state government. According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 29 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education, 20 states and Washington D.C. require providing information on contraception, 28 states focus on abstinance in sex education and only 17 states mandate that sex education curriculum be medically accurate.
Washington has been at the forefront of the battle for sex education in recent months, with Senate Bill 5395 mandating comprehensive sex education in the state. The bill has passed in both the House and the Senate, and is currently in the “governor acted,” part of the process. Unless Governor Jay Inslee vetoes the bill entirely, SB 5395 will become law.
Sex education regularly sparks controversy among community members. Initiated under the Clinton presidency, students received federally-required curriculum recommending abstinence from any sexual conduct. Students were shown photos of sexually transmitted diseases and were told the best way to prevent these diseases, along with unwanted pregnancies, was by not having sex.
According to Carol Siegel, an English and women’s studies professor, this abstinence only curriculum was, “one of the worst things to happen in American history.”
“Numerous studies have shown that not only was it not effective, it was reverse effective. Pregnancy rates in teens went way up, sexually transmitted diseases went way up,” Siegel said.
Siegal explained that abstinence sex education was deeply ingrained in racial stereotyping.
“Almost all the images of people who did the wrong thing were people of color, almost all the pictures of people who did the right thing are white people,” Siegel said, adding that many scholars of color have written about this in academic journals.
In fall 2019, Battle Ground School District voted to strip all sex education, after community members explained their concerns regarding the curriculum. The Columbian reported many parents believed comprehensive sex education, which covers topics ranging from consent, gender and sexual orientation, “promoted promiscuity among teenage students” and “an LGBTQ+ agenda.”
Siegel explained that without comprehensive sex education, students lack the resources to make informed decisions and can feel isolated because of natural sensations, such as arousal.
This SB 5395 allows parents to opt their child out of sex education classes. According to Siegal, this new curriculum is similar to sex education receieved in Scandinavian countires, like Sweden, which she has researched and believes would be beneficial for Americans to adopt.
With SB 5395, sex education will begin in elementary school, providing Kindergarteners through third-graders with, “instruction in social-emotional learning that is consistent with learning standards and benchmarks adopted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.478,” according to the bill.
SB 5395 mandates that sex education curriculum in grades four through 12 must include: “The physiological, psychological, and sociological developmental processes experienced by an individual; (ii) The development of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to communicate, respectfully and effectively, to reduce health risks, and choose healthy behaviors and relationships that are based on mutual respect and affection, and are free from violence, coercion, and intimidation; (iii) Health care and prevention resources; (iv) The development of meaningful relationships and avoidance of exploitative relationships; (v) Understanding the influences of family, peers, community, and the media throughout life on healthy sexual relationships; and (vi) Affirmative consent and recognizing and responding safely and effectively when violence, or a risk of violence, is or may be present with strategies that include bystander training,” according to the bill.
The bill also requires all information given to students to be “medically and scientifically accurate.”
“I think it’s important to tell young people that they’re going to have feelings, but they don’t have to act on them. We don’t always want to act on our feelings, but we need to be aware that they’re there, it helps us control our behavior if we know that they’re there,” Siegel said.
Seigel believes this curriculum will help inform people that homosexuality is not something someone chooses. “People are gay or lesbian because that is the way their brains and bodies work,” Seigel said.
Brittany Nugent, a junior integrated strategic communicationm major, said her sex education before college was vague. “My eyes were really opened up when I came to college, without something more in-depth, students are really left clueless and left to figure it out on their own,” Nugent said. The lack of dialogue, Nugent believes, forces students to look for alternative resources for information.
Nugent recognized that growing up, there is a degree of pressure on both men and women to become sexually active.
“I saw it from the outside, but I feel like a lot of the times, it’s just for validation or self-esteem, but I feel like as you get older, there is less of a need to seek that kind of validation,” Nugent said.
Nugent explained that sex education in schools could combat social pressures by opening conversation about these topics. She said that more extensive sex education in public school would allow students to have healthier relationships and create the opportunity to have a dialogue in relationships where both partner’s needs and concerns are being met.
Nugent explained that most people will choose to have sex at some point in their lives, but when they do, “they need to have the resources and knowledge to be safe,” Nugent said.
Brody Voge is a junior at WSU Vancouver studying strategic communications.