Pass NY State Senate Bill S2584A to Require Comprehensive Sex Education in Our Schools
Please read this petition, sign it, and share it with others ASAP.
We only have until June 10! (You don’t have to have children in school to sign or support!)
Here is more info, courtesy of Annemarie Garcia:
| Hi All, I’m reaching out to ask for some support. A group of us here in Pelham are gathering signatures for a petition asking NYS to approve legislation that would require the health/sex ed curriculm to be updated for schools. Right now the curriculum taught to our students is extremely outdated! Currently, our schools still divide “girls” and “boys” into separate rooms to learn only about their own body parts. What we have learned in the past several years, from our own Pelham data, is that this approach is not consistent with our population. We have had an approximate 500% increase in kids identifying as non-binary in the last two years alone, and these kids are experiencing a much higher incidence of being bullied, depression, anxiety, drug/alcohol abuse, and self harm. And practices that perpetuate a binary approach are much to blame. ALL of our kids deserve an accurate, medically sound, and inclusive approach to sex Ed to create a community where we can ALL thrive and succeed. I also think it’s important that all kids learn about all body parts, regardless of their identity. Likely, at some point, many of them will encounter the body parts of another person:)! New York does not currently require sex education to be taught in schools beyond certain requirements related to HIV/AIDS. There are requirements under the state education department about seemingly everything under the sun, but not about teaching kids about basic anatomy, body image, inappropriate contact, healthy relationships, consent, violence prevention and how all of the above plays out in a media-driven context. What our kids do receive, when they receive it, is often inadequate, biased, and lacks any inclusion of LGBTQIA+ communities. Luckily, there is a bill on the floor of the State Senate waiting to be taken up. Senate Bill S2584A requires schools to implement an inclusive, medically-appropriate, age-appropriate sexuality education program for K-12 students. Not as luckily: we only have until June 10th to get it passed in time for next year. Please take a minute to sign our petition to bring this vote to the top of the floor calendar this week. And share it with five people you know, anywhere in New York State. https://www.change.org/PassNYSenateBillS2584A Thank you! |
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