A committee of the Pennsylvania House last week approved a bill that seeks to mandate uniform comprehensive sexual-education programs throughout Pennsylvania’s public schools.
The Education Committee approved the Healthy Youth Act, sponsored by Rep. Chelsa Wagner (D-22nd Dist.), in a 14-11 vote April 28.
Currently, Pennsylvania law does not require public schools to teach sexual education, except for basic information about HIV transmission. Many districts have developed their own sex-ed curricula, although they vary throughout the state.
Wagner’s bill would require districts to provide information that is both medically accurate and age-appropriate on such topics as the benefits of abstinence, the impact alcohol and drug use can have on decision-making, contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy risks and social factors like peer pressure.
“Teens are becoming sexually active at younger and younger ages, and whether you agree with this bill or not, that’s just the reality,” Wagner said. “And frequently, teens are getting information from other students, from friends, from TV, and very often they’re getting inaccurate information. Public schools are the places that should be teaching this, but the students just aren’t getting the information, so it’s our responsibility to make sure that they do. They need to be able to make informed decisions about their own bodies and their own health.”
The bill would prohibit districts from teaching abstinence-only sex- ed, but also allows for parents who are opposed to comprehensive sex-ed to opt out of the program.
Wagner noted the bill would still require schools to emphasize that abstinence is the only way to prevent the transmission of STDs and pregnancy, but said a more-comprehensive approach would be more effective.
“It arms students with information on contraceptives as approved by the FDA if they’re going to engage in sexual activity,” she said. “It has to be age-appropriate, so hypothetically a sixth-grade class might be learning about abstinence and understanding and respecting their own bodies, while it would be a little different for older students. It’s very fair, and it’s nothing outlandish or salacious.”
That’s just how opponents have tried to characterize the bill, however, Wagner said, noting that some have asserted it promotes a “homosexual agenda.”
The only reference to LGBT issues in the bill comes in the form of a nondiscrimination clause that materials used in sex-ed instruction cannot “promote bias” against students on a number of factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The districts would be selecting curriculum that does acknowledge that they have diverse student populations, including students who are members of the GLBT community,” Wagner said.
Maggie Groff, vice president for external affairs at Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania — a strong proponent of Wagner’s bill — noted that while she did not know an exact number of districts that offer a nondiscrimination disclaimer in their sex-ed programs, she believed such a stipulation is rare.
“We know that anecdotally, this is not the standard,” Groff said.
She added that Wagner’s bill would provide structure to what she said is the current “patchwork” of sex-ed programs throughout the state.
Wagner said she’s hopeful the full House will vote on the bill before the state legislature breaks for the summer.
“I’ve worked very hard on both sides of the aisle to make this a bill that addresses the very serious concerns that we’re dealing with but that is also sensitive to the needs of the very, very different communities throughout the commonwealth,” she said. “Right now we’re working with our leadership to try to get a vote on this soon.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].