States vary widely on sex education, and few address issues of consent or sexual assault, according to a new policy report by the Center for American Progress think tank.
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia require schools to teach sex education, and in a review of state policies on the subject, center analysts found only 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, include instruction on healthy relationships, consent, or sexual assault. Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the nation’s capital provide detailed standards and learning progressions for different topics for different age groups.
By contrast, the report said the majority of states “provide educators with little guidance on which subjects sex education curricula should address.”
