Sexual Education in Schools

Intro
Ask classmates to raise their hand if they ever had some form of a sexual education course in
high school*
*big time to give eye contact*

I. South Carolina is one of the few states that have a sexual education law in public schools.
A. Talk about my experience
II. For a long time, I believed everyone in the U.S. underwent the same course I did. And
from the looks of some of your hands being down, I was wrong.
A. Talk about the conversation with my friend
III. Sexual education is an important topic that adolescents should acknowledge and
understand.
A. Requiring sexual education will prepare young adults and provide them with
knowledge about their bodies that they have a right to learn about.
(For these reasons, I would like to further explain why sex education should be required in all
public and private schools throughout the nation.)
*long pause here*
Body
I. First, requiring sexual education in all schools lessens the chances of certain dangers like
sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and misinformation about the
meaning of consent.
A. Talk about prevention of STDs
1. According to the CDC’s “Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance”
published in 2021, syphilis has gone up 74% since 2015 and congenital
syphilis has gone up a massive 279% since 2015.
2. According to the CDC’s other article “HIV and STD Prevention At
Glance” published in 2020, “By the time young people graduate from high
school, 38% have had sex. Forty-six percent of sexually active students
did not use a condom the last time they had sex.”
3. the CDC also states that it is important that schools use the time that
students are in school to shape their behaviors and ideas, including
“helping young people take responsibility for their health and adopt
health-enhancing attitudes and behaviors.”
B. Talk about unwanted pregnancy
1. According to the nursing department and the University of Southern
California in the article “America’s Sex Education: How We Are Failing
Our Students” written in 2021, “Even though the United States falls
 behind other industrialized nations in preventing teen births, its teen
pregnancy rates hit an all-time low in 2016, a decade-long trend that has
been attributed by many studies to increased education about
contraception in public schools.”
2. According to Planned Parenthood’s article “Reducing Teen Pregnancy”
written in 2014, “teen mothers are less likely to graduate high school”.
C. Talk about consent
1. According to my audience analysis survey “Sexual Education In Schools”,
37.5% of the class was never taught about consent in a learning institute.
*remember to use hand gestures and point to the presentation when talking about statistics*
(As stated above, sexual education can help youths understand certain dangers. However, these
topics need to be informed by professionals.)
* take long pause and breathe*
II. Second, having trained professionals teach young adults sexual education lessens the
chances of misinformation being spread.
A. 24 states
B. make parents uncomfortable
C. Whether that be because the parents are also uneducated in sex education, or they
do not know how to present the topics in a way their children can learn and retain
the information, most can agree that being taught by professionals is a better
option for everyone involved.
1. According to my audience analysis survey, 81.3% of the class also agrees
with this
D. Professionals could clear things up
1. According to the Education Team of Planned Parenthood, a nationwide
survey from Planned Parenthood states that “while 42 percent of parents
say they’ve talked to their teens “many times” about how to say no to sex,
only 27 percent of teens agree. In fact, 34 percent of teens say they’ve
“never” or “only once” talked with their mom or dad about how to delay
sex.
2. Moreover, only a small percentage of teens said they plan to discuss these
and other sexuality-related topics with their parents in the future. This
resistance is likely a result of teens’ discomfort discussing these topics”
(To get the most out of a sexual education course, all topics should be covered.)
III. In other words, sexual education should be comprehensive.
A. According to Natalie Blanton of the Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) article
“Why Sex Education In The United States Needs An Update And How To Do It”
published in 2019, “There are three main sex education curricula employed in the
United States: Abstinence-Only, Abstinence-Plus, and Comprehensive curricula.”
 1. Define
B. Blanton also states that comprehensive sex education “discusses abstinence as the
most effective way for teens to avoid unintended pregnancies and sexually
transmitted diseases and infections, but also equips students to make their own
decisions from an informed perspective. Without invoking shame, the
Comprehensive curriculum covers a wide variety of shame-free topics such as
human development, relationships, interpersonal skills, sexual expression, sexual
health, and the ways society and culture influence understandings of sexuality.”
C. It has also been shown that abstinence-only programs are not effective in reducing
sexual activity and STDs.
1. Blanton explains that “Research sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services found that abstinence-only curricula did not
result in positive outcomes for the sexual health of U.S. adolescents. Since
1996, over $1 billion in state and federal funding has been allocated for
abstinence-only education, despite evidence showing this approach is
ineffective.”
D. Comprehensive sex education is the best way to cover all topics to help teens be
prepared.
E. 8 states w/ Comprehensive
(With all of that being said, what should be done to help keep the process of requiring sex
education in all public and private high schools moving?)
IV. Contacting state lawmakers, signing petitions, getting involved in the community, and
joining organizations or non-profits to help fund sex education in schools are all amazing
ways to help and get involved.
A. Seth Rose
B. How to contact private schools
C. Organizations
1. Aiken Youth Empowerment
D. Sign Petitions
1. Healthy Teen Network (which advocates for every young person to have
the right to make their decisions about their own bodies and relationships)
out of 180 orgs -> Sex Education For All Month Call to Action -> shared
with federal, state, and local legislators to demand funding and legislation
to ensure every student receives quality sex education.
E. Orgs can help fund
1. Sex Ed for Social change -> SIECUS.org
(All of the information above helps provide a good foundation to find a solution and help
mandate sexual education in all schools.)
*eye contact!!!*
 Conclusion
I. STDs, unwanted pregnancies, violent relationships
II. Trained professionals
III. Comprehensive sex ed
A. Sexual orientations, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds
B. Link back to intro
C. Teens are entitled to learn about their own bodies