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ERIC Number: ED584702
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 70
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York's Students
Goodman, Melissa; Miller, Johanna; Noel, Kat; Yager, Alison; Santamaria-Schwartz, Rachel; Lok, Esther
New York Civil Liberties Union
Many public school districts across New York State provide sex-ed instruction that is inaccurate, incomplete and biased. This report examines sex-ed materials used during the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 school years from across New York State. Among the New York Civil Liberties Union's (NYCLU's) key findings: (1) Lessons on reproductive anatomy and basic functions were often inaccurate and incomplete; pervasive factual limitations reflected gender stereotypes and heterocentric bias; (2) Moral overtones and shame-based messages regarding sexuality, abstinence, pregnancy and teen parenting strongly pervade instructional materials in all districts--and textbooks in wide use across New York State; (3) Many students do not learn the full range of methods for preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Too few school districts provide students with information about how to access local health resources or their right to confidential reproductive and sexual health care; (4) Most districts did not teach information about bullying (63 percent), and many did not teach about sexual harassment (42 percent), sexual assault or rape (28 percent); (5) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students are largely stigmatized or ignored entirely in health education classrooms; and (6) Persistent heterocentric bias dominates instruction about dating, relationships, marriage, sexuality, and vulnerability to sexual assault and dating violence. Among its recommendations, the NYCLU calls on the State Education Department to amend the Commissioner's Regulations on health education to require comprehensive sexuality education in the public schools--or set rigorous, binding standards for voluntary sex-education curricula--to ensure that young people have the foundation, skills and knowledge to support a healthy and productive future.
New York Civil Liberties Union. 125 Broad Street 19th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 212-607-3300; Fax: 212-607-3318; Web site: http://www.nyclu.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Authoring Institution: New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU); HIV Law Project; Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA)
Identifiers - Location: New York; New York (New York)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A