California's Report Card for Sex Ed: 'A'

California gets an 'A' in Sex Education!

The Sexuality Information Education Council of the United States (SIECUS / siecus.org) annually grades the states and gives out State Report Cards. I am happy to report that California has received an overall grade of 'A' - woo-hoo! We can always do better, but this is an occasion to celebrate our fabulous Sunshine State. Only two states rated higher than California, Oregon and Washington. Almost half of the states received a 'D' or 'F' in many categories.

Sex education in the United States is a patchwork of local and state policies that dictate what each student will learn about sexual health, if anything. We are lucky to live in California and our young people have access to quality and comprehensive knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, but it is still dependent on what zip code you live in. As many of you know, comprehensive sexual health education allows young people to make responsible and healthy decisions regarding their health - it does NOT encourage early sexual activity, in fact, it delays the onset of sexual activity by a full year.

The Sex Ed Requirement Grade is calculated based on a series of criteria that review the existing laws and statues in each respective state that require some form of school-based sex education, HIV/AIDS instruction, and/or detailed healthy relationships instruction (consent, violence prevention, communication, etc). New content criteria for 2025 included instruction on all pregnancy options, including abortion, as well as educational requirements on menstrual health, disorders, and hygiene. This with the National Sex Education Standards by state law or statue, is the current gold standard for quality sex education.

While this is great news for California - it is still important to remember that each school district can implement policies different at the local level. It is important to understand what they are teaching and support comprehensive, evidence-based, science-based sexual health education in your district.