How Texas Quashed Sex-Ed Lessons On Consent
Newsy
A Newsy investigation reveals a push by organized groups to stop schools from teaching what advocates say is critical to preventing sexual assault.
Millions of students returning to public schools across Texas are encountering fallout from a battle over the state's first major update to sex education and health standards in more than two decades.
A Newsy investigation reveals how an advocacy group helped convince the Texas State Board of Education to strike lessons about consent from the state's planned health education standards for the 2022-2023 school year. The board's decision went against the advice of medical experts and organizations promoting teen sexual health, which say comprehensive sex education helps reduce rape and unwanted pregnancies.
"It's not an open communication — to talk about sex," says 17-year-old Kennia Gonzales, a senior at Brownsville Early College High School in Texas. Gonzales says her high school does not teach any form of sex education beyond abstinence. "Teachers aren't supposed to talk about it with students," she says.
