PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH NEED TRUTH!
Recently two pieces of legislation, the Healthy Youth Act and the Notice Home Act, were introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representives. These two important pieces of legislation would make it mandatory for public schools throughout the state to offer age-appropriate, medically accurate comprehensive sexuality education and let parents and guardians know if their children were not receiving the information necessary to make responsible decisions. These bills are incredibly important to keeping youth in PA safe and healthy! To learn more about the legislation, head to the Planned Parenthood PA Advocates website, the Pennsylvanians for Responsible Sexual Education website, or write a letter to your representative in support of these bills!
Did you know...
- 83% of Pennsylvania voters SUPPORT teaching comprehensive sex education in public schools over an abstinence-only-until-marriage curriculum.
- In FY 2007, $6,723,057 was distributed toward abstinence-only programs within PA – programs that fail to provide PA teens with crucial, accurate health information.
- Currently, no standards exist for comprehensive sex education in PA public schools.
- Study after study shows that teens who receive sex education which includes information about contraception are more likely to delay sexual activity and use contraceptives when they do initiate sex than students receiving abstinence-only messages.
- No abstinence-only program has been shown to help teens delay the initiation of sexual activity, or to protect themselves when they do initiate sex.
- In 2005, there were 19,062 teen pregnancies reported in PA.
Help us with our efforts to expand sexuality education in PA!
Do you have children who attend/attended public school in PA? Do you know what sexuality education curriculum they are/were taught, if any?
Most parents WANT comprehensive sexuality education to be taught in our schools, in fact, many parents think students are receiving sex education, including information about contraception, when in fact an “Abstinence-only” curriculum is being taught. But even if curricula is posted, it is not always easy to tell what is actually being taught in the classroom.
If you have information about what is being taught in your school district, or even easier, just how you or your children felt about the what they learned (or didn’t), please contact Public Affairs at 215-957-7981 or email us!
You can also fill out our Sexuality Education Survey for Students!
This is a brand new project co-sponsored by the Planned Parenthood Education and Public Affairs departments. We are surveying school administrators, counselors and teachers to get a clear picture of the sexuality education curriculum in Bucks County schools and advocating for comprehensive sexuality education for all youth. If you interested in filling out a Sexuality Education Survey as a school administrator, teacher or counselor, please contact us at 215-957-7981 or email us with your request.
It is completely anonymous and will help us find out what's being taught. 
We need volunteers who can call local schools with a phone survey. Planned Parenthood will be holding a training for interested volunteers. Please sign up today for this important program. Please email us or call 215-957-7981 for more information.
