Abstinence Only Education and Sex Education in the U.S.

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in April 2012 that teen birth rates in the U.S. hit a new low in 2010 and revealed which states had the highest and lowest rates, it prompted a question: Were these outcomes affected by individual states requirements for sex education (sex ed) and/or abstinence-only education? That was soon answered by the Guttmacher Institutes State Policies in Brief paper on Sex and HIV Education in May 2012. The institute has kept the numbers constantly updated since as the trend of lowered teen birth rates has continued to drop nationwide. Required Sex and/or HIV Education Sex ed is mandated in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Of that total, the following 22 states and the District of Columbia mandate both sex ed and HIV education: CaliforniaDelawareGeorgiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMaineMarylandMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew JerseyNew MexicoNorth CarolinaOhioOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaTennesseeUtahVermontWest Virginia Two states mandate sex ed only: MississippiNorth Dakota HIV education is mandated in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Of that total, 12 mandate only HIV education: AlabamaConnecticutIllinoisIndianaMichiganMissouriNew HampshireNew YorkOklahomaPennsylvaniaWashingtonWisconsin Must Include Contraception When sex ed is taught, some states have specific content requirements. In addition to the District of Columbia, 18 states require that information on contraception be provided when sex education is taught: AlabamaCaliforniaColoradoDelawareHawaiiIllinoisMaineMarylandNew JerseyNew MexicoNorth CarolinaOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest Virginia One state allows local schools to include contraception with the permission of the State Department of Education: Mississippi Must Include Abstinence When sex ed is taught, 37 states require that information on abstinence is provided. Of those, 26 states require that abstinence be stressed: AlabamaArizonaArkansasDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKentuckyLouisianaMaineMichiganMississippiMissouriNew JerseyNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasUtahWashingtonWisconsin These 11 states require only that abstinence is covered during sex education: CaliforniaColoradoHawaiiMarylandMinnesotaMontanaNew MexicoNorth DakotaVermontVirginiaWest Virginia No Mandate There are nine states with no sex education or HIV education mandate: ArizonaArkansasColoradoFloridaIdahoLouisianaMassachusettsTexasVirginia Five of the states listed above also rank among the top 12 states with the highest teenage birth rates, and four rank in the top 6 (ranking indicated in parentheses): Mississippi (1)Arkansas (3)Texas (4)Louisiana (6)Arizona (12) An earlier report issued by the Guttmacher Institute in September 2006 compiled teen pregnancy statistics state by state. Among the top 10 states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy among females age 15-19, five are states without mandated sex education or HIV education (ranking indicated in parentheses): Arizona (2)Mississippi (3)Texas (5)Florida (6)Arkansas (10) That same report ranked the top 10 states with the highest rates of live births among teenage girls age 15-19. Again, five are states that do not require sex ed to be taught in schools. If and when it is taught, these states do not require information on contraception be provided, but they do require that abstinence be stressed (ranking indicated in parentheses): Mississippi (1)Texas (2)Arizona (3)Arkansas (4)Louisiana (7) Only one state that does not mandate sex education or HIV education appears in the listing of states with the lowest teenage birth rates: Massachusetts ranked at number 2. Sources Guttmacher Institute, State Policies in Brief: Sex and HIV Education. Office of Adolescent Health, Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing