MAP Bill Tracker
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Support Comprehensive Sexual
Health Education
Summary,
Status, Action You Can Take
and Read More
Updated:
September 19, 2006
Summary: Few issues have as much consensus support as providing comprehensive sexual health education for Minnesota’s teens. Both state and national surveys consistently show that 70 to 75 percent of respondents want comprehensive sexual health education for teens. What people want also happens to be what works. Study-after-study shows that if you want to help teens delay the initiation of sexual activity or use protection if they become sexually active, the best way to do that is to help them make responsible decisions by delivering facts and respect. A one-size-fits-all, abstinence-until-marriage approach does not work. No credible research has shown this approach to work. In 2003, a five-year evaluation of ENABL, a State-funded abstinence-only initiative in Minnesota showed that the program failed in getting participants to delay sexual activity and the evaluators recommended a comprehensive sexual health education approach.
Minnesotans speak with the voice of consensus in support of working to reduce teen pregnancies, reduce abortions, reduce STD and HIV infections, and promote healthy decisions about sexuality – for life. They want teens to get sexual health education that talks about values, relationships, personal responsibility, sexual health, abstinence, AND what we know about reducing risk for unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV. They want their kids to have the facts – all of the facts. And, young people want the facts – the real facts. They want preciously-limited public money spent on what works. What they do not want is to have the health and well-being of their kids traded off for politics driven by a small but vocal, socially-conservative minority that puts ideology over facts, good science, and good public health.
Status: Comprehensive sexual health education is shaping up to be a big issue in St. Paul. MAP has introduced The Comprehensive Sex Education and Family Life Act (H2443/S2546) along with the Sexual Health Education for Life - MN coalition. The bill is authored in by Re. Neva Walker (DFL- Minneapolis) and Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and has tri-partisan support. This bill replaces the state's existing K-12 HIV/STD curriculum requirement with standards for comprehensive sexuality education that addresses sexual health by teaching about abstinence, values and relationships, and use of protection and contraception to avoid unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The new standards would only apply to grades seventh through twelfth. School districts could offer age-appropriate sexuality education in lower grades at their own option. The bill also re-establishes regional training sites to help school districts implement comprehensive sexuality curriculum and services. Funding for the regional training sites was eliminated as part of the state's budget cuts in 2003.
Comprehensive sexual health education is also part of another bill moving through the legislative process. Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville) and Rep. Katie Sieben (DFL-newport) have introduced the Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Prevention Act (SF1665/HF2731) which contains comprehensive sex ed provisions. Also in play are bills from the 2003 session, including HF580 (Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton) which mandates abstinence-only until marriage, along with marriage education. It was passed out of the House Education Policy Committee and re-refered to Education Finance. Expect it to get new life in the 2004 session.
The Senate Health and Family Security Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Marty/Sieben bill on Tuesday, March 9. On that same day, the Senate Education Committee will be holding a hearing on the Pappas/Walker bill. While it's expected these bills will move through the Senate process, getting them heard by House committees and voted on in the House will be a tricker matter. Manageable, but it will take some legislative "finess."
Update: March 11, 2004 Comprehensive Sex Ed received a boost this week as two bills addressing the need to provide complete information to young people moved forward in the Minnesota Senate. The Comprehensive Family Life and Sex Education bill (SF2443) authored by Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and supported by MAP and the Sexuality Education for Life - MN coalition was passed out of the Education Policy committee. The committee heard testimony about the effectiveness of comprehensive sex ed in prevention HIV and other STD's as well as unintended pregnancy. The bill is on its way to the Finance Committee. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed Sen. John Marty's (DFL-Roseville) Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Prevention bill (SF1665). This comprehensive approach ensures that young people receive comprehensive sex ed and puts back in place the HIV Regional Training Sites that were eliminated in last year's no-new-taxes budget.
Also, Rep. Sondra Erickson's bill (HF580) that requires school districts to offer an abstinence-only until marriage option will be heard in the House Education Policy Committee on March 11. This bill was passed out of this committee last year and put on the general register, where it remained when the 2003 session ended. All bills that remain on the general register need to go back to committee and be re-referred to the General Register to stay alive in the current session. Although the hearing is procedural, legislators supporting sexual health education will raise questions as to the financial wisdom of requiring schools to implement costly curriculum, especially in light of the recent report on ENABL showing that such curricula are ineffective.
Update: March 12, 2004 HF580 requiring an abstinence-only
until marriage curriculum option passed the House Education committee
and was referred to the House floor. Rep. Lyndon Carlson (DFL-Robbinsdale),
Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul) and Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis)
unsuccessfully attempted to refer the bill to the Education Finance committee
to further look at the fiscal impact on school districts.
Update: April 5, 2004
The Senate E-12 Education Committee voted to include the Comprehensive
Family Life and Sexuality Education in the Senate omnibus bill expected
to come before the whole Senate later this week. We expect an amendment
on the Senate floor to add some sort of abstinence-until-marriage provision.
Update: May 10, 2004 The Comprehensive Family Life and Sexuality Education bill has been included in the omnibus Senate Education policy bill. Identical language is not in the House bill. Call conferees today to tell them to support clear standards for what works in promoting responsible choices among young people.
Members of the conference committee for the omnibus health and humans serivces conference committee were:
House Members
Sen. Steve Kelley http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/sendis44.htm
Sen. Rod Skoe http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/sendis02.htm
Sen. David Tomassoni http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/sendis05.htm
Sen. Sharon Marko http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/sendis57.htm
Sen. Tom Neuville http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/sendis25.htm
Senate Members
Rep. Alice Seagren http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=41B
Rep. Barb Sykora http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=33B
Rep. Jeff Johnson http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=43A
Rep. Karen Klinzing http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=56B
Rep. Bud Nornes http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=10A
Action
You Can Take:
1. Contact your legislators.
Send an email or make a phone call to your State Senator and State Representative
to let them know you want to have comprehensive sexual health education
available in all Minnesota schools. Ask them to support the Family Life
and Sexuality Education Act being proposed by Sex Ed for Life - MN.
2. Write a letter. Sure, you see the letters to the editor all the time in the big dailies, but when have you read something about comprehensive sex education in your neighborhood paper. Send them your letter to the editor today. It's certain to be published!
3. Keep informed. Check the current issue of the MAP Advocate to find out what's happening. Also, this issues has been in the news a lot, so visit News and Views. Read MAP Facts for basic facts and talking points.
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MAP Advocate
MAP Action Agenda
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HF
580 - Authors, Status and Bill Text
SF
1665 - Authors, Status and Bill Text
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Friday, March 30, 2007
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