Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All Month: Equity and Access for All.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 375 Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All Month: Equity and Access for All. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 7, 2021 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. CARSON, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. POCAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. JONES, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. ADAMS, and Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All Month: Equity and Access for All. Whereas Sex Ed For All Month is a nationwide observance that calls on people to take action to invest so as to en- sure all young people have access to inclusive and honest sex education; Whereas young people face vast systemic inequities and structural barriers to ensuring their lifelong health; VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR375.IH HR375 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 375 IH Whereas racial disparities persist in young people’s sexual health, highlighting ongoing social inequities in access to sex education as well as sexual health services; Whereas access to quality information and education about young people’s sexual health is a critical step toward ad- dressing disparities caused by structural barriers; Whereas despite historic declines, the United States has the highest rate of unintended teen pregnancy among com- parable countries and limited resources available for young parents; Whereas young people aged 15 through 25 contract half of the 19 million sexually transmitted infections each year, despite making up only a quarter of the sexually active population; Whereas young people under the age of 25 accounted for 1 in 5 new HIV transmissions; Whereas three-quarters of LGBT students report harass- ment, 56 percent report feeling unsafe, and nearly a third skipped at least one day of school in the month prior to reporting due to concerns for their safety; Whereas approximately 1 in 3 young women in the United States experiences physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner; Whereas sex education that includes information beyond ab- stinence has been found to delay sexual intercourse, in- crease condom or contraceptive use, reduce the number of partners among young people, and decrease physical aggression with intimate partners; Whereas young people who received sex education are 50 per- cent less likely to experience an unintended pregnancy, 31 percent less likely to contract a sexually transmitted VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR375.IH HR375 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 375 IH infection, and more likely to delay sexual activity and use contraception upon becoming sexually active; Whereas sex education provides information about the pre- vention, treatment, and care of pregnancy, sexually trans- mitted infections, and interpersonal violence; the impor- tance of consent as a basis for healthy relationships and for autonomy in health care; sexual orientation, gender roles, and gender discrimination; and the historical and current conditions in which education and health sys- tems, policies, programs, services, and practices have uniquely adversely impacted Black, indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other people of color; Whereas sex education promotes gender equity, and is inclu- sive of young people with varying gender identities, gen- der expressions, and sexual orientations; safe and healthy relationships; and racial equity ensuring responsiveness to the needs of young people who are Black, indigenous, and other people of color; Whereas sex education promotes and upholds the rights of young people to information that empowers them to make decisions about their bodies, health, sexuality, families, and communities in all areas of life; and Whereas May of each year is now recognized as Sex Ed For All Month: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of Sex Ed For 2 All Month; 3 (2) calls on all public and elected officials to ad- 4 vocate for and invest in sex education legislation; 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR375.IH HR375 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 375 IH (3) encourages State and local governments, in- 1 cluding their public health agencies, education agen- 2 cies, schools, and media organizations to recognize 3 and support Sex Ed For All Month; 4 (4) commends the work of community and 5 faith-based organizations, State education agencies, 6 local education agencies, and health centers that are 7 providing sex education to young people; 8 (5) prioritizes sex education programs that are 9 evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope, confiden- 10 tial, equitable, accessible, medically accurate and 11 complete, age and developmentally appropriate, cul- 12 turally responsive, trauma-informed, and resilience- 13 oriented; 14 (6) discourages health education programs that 15 withhold health-promoting or life-saving information 16 about sexuality-related topics, including HIV; are 17 medically inaccurate or incomplete; promote gender 18 or racial stereotypes or are unresponsive to gender 19 or racial inequities; fail to address the needs of sexu- 20 ally active young people, pregnant or parenting 21 young people, survivors of interpersonal violence, or 22 youth of all physical, developmental, or mental abili- 23 ties; fail to be inclusive of individuals with varying 24 gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual ori- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR375.IH HR375 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 375 IH entations; or are inconsistent with the ethical im- 1 peratives of medicine and public health; 2 (7) recommends implementation of sex edu- 3 cation in schools and continued professional develop- 4 ment for educators and administrative staff that 5 work with young people; and 6 (8) calls for all youth-serving professionals, edu- 7 cators, and decisionmakers who impact the lives of 8 youth to take action to ensure access to inclusive 9 and honest sex education for all young people. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:08 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR375.IH HR375 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS