New York To Require Sex Ed In Schools
LatestStarting this year, students in New York City will receive state-mandated sex education. That’s a change from previous years, when kids had to learn about HIV but not necessarily sex per se.
According to the Times, schools will now have to teach one semester of sex ed in sixth or seventh grade, and another in ninth or tenth grade. This is a change from previous requirements, instituted in 1987, that schools provide HIV education only. Schools were required to offer five classes per year on the topic, starting in kindergarten, which resulted in some oddities — young children received lessons on not touching wounds, while older ones learned about HIV prevention without discussing birth control. Now, kids and teens will learn about how to use a condom, as well as some ways to say no to unwanted sexual contact.