Why is required to teach THIS but not consent???
Hi! I'm 19 and have a baby. Idk if its obvious or not, but sex education was basically skipped over for me, so, I was curious at to what Texas school DO teach sex education.
Here's what I learned so far (the ones marked with a "*" are the concerning ones):
-If a school chooses to teach sex education, the curriculum must emphasize abstinence
-Health education is an optional elective course in high school, as a part of health education, they must adhere to the standards within the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Health Education. This requires some instruction in anatomy, contraception, and STI prevention while emphasizing abstinence, otherwise known as a “abstinence-plus” curriculum
*********-If a school chooses to teach sex education and uses a curriculum developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), it must state that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle to the general public and that it is a criminal offense under the Texas Penal Code. This is regardless of the fact that the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision in Lawrence v. Texas that declared state laws criminalizing homosexual behavior to be unconstitutional in 2003.
*********-Curriculum is not required to include instruction on consent
-Parents or guardians are required to provide their written consent prior to their children receiving sex education. This is referred to as an “opt-in” policy
********-Texas has no regulation regarding medically accurate sex education instruction