Teach sex education based on medically accurate information, not personal values | Opinion

Jessie Balmert’s recent article about school curriculum that shames non-two-parent households is a perfect example of what happens when states with regressive viewpoints and a lack of scientific study on relationship and sexual health education are left to self-define what youth should be learning ("Ohio teaches that children born to unmarried parents are worse off. 2 districts push back," Jan. 1).Unfortunately, Ohio continues to be the only state without health education standards. We know from research that a lack of high-quality and medically accurate information in school health curriculum can create adverse outcomes when it comes to a student’s relationship and sexual health. In my work as senior director of education at Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, we are constantly seeing blatant examples of politicians leading with personal values instead of information that is backed by research and guidance provided by experts in their respective fields.

When schools and parents speak up and push back against these baseless sexual health education requirements that may bring harm to the mental and psychological wellbeing of their students, there is space to provide high-quality, medically accurate information; and all youth deserve access to it. We are thankful to the educators, parents and guardians and students who are working to advocate for a better approach in Ohio and are working alongside you to empower Ohio youth with the information, skills and confidence needed to make safe and empowered decisions.

Is having a kid outside of marriage bad? Ohio teaches that children born to unmarried parents are worse off. 2 districts push back.

I implore you − whether you are a parent or a trusted adult − take a closer look at what youth are being taught in school about sexual health and even simply anatomy. The first step is to call and ask. Call the school district and ask who the administrator is who oversees their sexual health education curriculum. Ask to be connected with that person. Ask the administrator if the district teaches their own district sex education or if it is outsourced to an outside organization. If it is an outside organization, ask what organization teaches the material and developed the curriculum. If it's not outsourced, ask who wrote the curriculum. They should be able to provide you with that information. If not, that is a red flag.

Because Ohio is a "home rule" state, each district can decide what they teach if they meet the requirements laid out in the Ohio Revised Code. Those "requirements" do little to cover the wealth of relationship and sexual health topics a young person will encounter in their lives; and at their worst: further stigmatize based on their own personal beliefs − much like what we saw take place in Washington Local School District.

One example of this is Ohio’s continued mandate that schools teach abstinence-only education despite countless studies showing the ineffective nature. In fact, most medical organizations including The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and The American Public Health Association state that abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula are ineffective and harmful.

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Many topics are missing from the current relationship and sexual health education requirements in Ohio including reproductive and sexual anatomy, protection methods and pregnancy and birth.But it doesn’t have to be that way. Some Southwest Ohio schools and a number of local partners and public service providers like local libraries work with us to provide relationship and sexual health education to youth in the area. Utilizing a curriculum developed by Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio’s education team, our trained and competent educators deliver classes on a variety of topics including anatomy, reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections and more. The curriculum utilizes "Get Real" as a foundation and adds content/materials/discussions to bring it into alignment with the National Sex Education Standards. Because Ohio does not have any health education standards, ours and many educators across the country in similar situations refer to the National Sex Education Standards for guidance on developmentally congruent education. Schools and community organizations can pick and choose what topics we teach.

The bottom line is, get tuned in. It is undeniable that the state of Ohio does not do enough to educate youth on sexual health, and in fact, without educational standards, can inflict more harm than good. Students in the state of Ohio deserve more, and they need your support. We are thankful for stories like these that shed light on the issue of relationship and sexual health education.

Sarah Dahlston lives in Clifton and is senior director of education at Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio schools leave contraception, birth out of sex ed. Teach facts