When you think about high school, you think of a lot of things. Cramming for tests, the famously awful cafeteria food, crushes, and typically the awkward sex education lessons you were taught. Too many LGBTQ students are in sex education programs where their teachers fail to fully address their identities, norms, and experiences. This absence is most visible, and maybe most detrimental, in the realm of sex education. Sex education is one of the only trustworthy sources of knowledge about sexuality and sexual health for teenagers. Hundreds of studies have shown that well-planned and implemented sex education may help young people minimize risky behavior and improve their sexual health. According to a qualitative study conducted by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, “LGBTQ students either did not receive any sex education in school or received limited sex education that was primarily or exclusively focused on heterosexual relationships between cisgender people.” This is a major issue as America is home to over 1,994,000 youth who identify as a part of the LGBTQ community. Another influencing factor in this situation is the role religion plays in American public schools. Abstinence of sexual intercourse until marriage was originally taught from the Bible. It was said, “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her husband.” (Corinthians 7:2) This concept was perpetuated towards teens of all religious backgrounds in public schools around the nation. abstinence-only-until-marriage programs with government financing are not new. For more than a quarter-century, the federal government has poured thousands of tax dollars into such initiatives, despite an enormous amount of data indicating they are useless and that this government investment has failed to accomplish their declared aims. The federal government has continually supported abstinence-only-until-marriage programs since 1981, during the ReaganAdministration. This issue isn’t just the lack of inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community, but the excess of government funding towards ancient religious teachings forced among students of all religions and backgrounds. Through the 14th Amendment, the United States Supreme Court extended the establishment clause to the states in the twentieth century, which read that Church and State are separated by the establishment clause, yet religion is not separated from politics or public life. As you can see, the system itself raises the question of constitutionality due to the written laws of separation of church and state. Clearly, flaws are being overlooked in the American sex education system, and to combat such oppressive systems, we need to educate all students, not just the straight ones.

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Bibliography and Citations:

A History of Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs. https://siecus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/4-A-Brief-History-of-AOUM-Funding.pdf.

‘Discrimination Prevents LGBTQ People From Accessing Health Care’. Center for American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/discrimination-prevents-lgbtq-people-accessing-health-care/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2022.

Center for American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/discrimination-prevents-lgbtq-people-accessing-health-care/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2022.

‘Now More Than Ever, LGBTQIA+ Students Deserve Inclusive Sex Education – EdSurge News’. EdSurge, 23 Sept. 2021, https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-09-23-now-more-than-ever-lgbtqia-students-deserve-inclusive-sex-education.