A dozen state or county agencies have parted ways with tens of thousands of dollars in federal grants meant to help monitor teenagers’ sexual behaviors and try to lower rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The withdrawals reflect a shift in many states that is further complicating and polarizing sex education in K-12 schools as some Republican-led legislatures more strictly regulate when and what students learn about their bodies. The new laws are part of a broad push to fortify “parents’ rights” and strike LGBTQ+ content from the classroom, core themes that have flooded the campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.

Experts are concerned students won’t reliably learn about adolescence, safe sexual activity or relationship violence, topics they say are especially important since sexually transmitted diseases rose after the pandemic and access to abortion is increasingly restricted.

  • RaincoatsGeorge
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    29
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Right wing extremists are targeting science and education because it’s such an easy play. If you’re pro sex Ed then you’re an lgbt groomer. That simple.

    They don’t care that appropriate sex education reduces stds, unwanted pregnancies, and those dreaded abortions they say no one should get unless it’s them who needs one.

    We need to push back. Hard. Stop giving the microphone to extremists. Call these hypocritical traitors out and then force them back into the cockroach holes they crawled out of. If you want to go raise your kids to be dumb as shit thats your business, but stop trying to dictate the education of other people’s kids.

    • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 year ago

      The thing is, allowing people to give shit education to their kids shouldn’t even be allowed, because that removes the autonomy of the child itself.

      Removing sex ed is basically saying that people shouldn’t be allowed to know information about their own bodies and minds which is absurd when you think about it. But I guess that’s the state of politics now. I just feel bad for the kids.