COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION - WHY IT MATTERSAND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE - September 2022

Oct 15, 2026

Comprehensive Sex Education presents an argument for comprehensive, inclusive, age-appropriate curricula that support students’ responsible, informed decision-making across grade levels. It defines core terms and abbreviations used in sex education, including CSE, SBSE, gender identity concepts, intersectionality, and related terminology. The document outlines goals for educators and addresses policy debates, including differing state requirements affecting what content schools may teach. It also highlights the need for educator self-care amid backlash.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

About the Centers

Goals

Key Terms & Abbreviations

Key Terms & Abbreviations (cont.)

Policies about School-Based Sex Education

COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION: WHY IT MATTERSAND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Created by: Sin R. Guanci & Mollie V. Blackburn Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center September 2022 About the Centers The Region III Equity Assistance Center is a project of the Great Lakes Equity Center, an educational research and service center located in Indiana University’s School of Education at IUPUI. The Midwest & Plains Equity Assistance Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act to provide equityfocused technical assistance to states, districts, and public schools focused on systemic improvements to ensure educational access, participation and positive outcomes for students who have been historically marginalized based on race, sex, national origin, or religion, at the request of public schools, districts, state departments of education, and other responsible governmental agencies. Goals 􀂟 To explain the need for comprehensive and inclusive curricula for educating students across grade levels about sex education. 􀂟 To consider what this kind of curricula can and should look like for engaging students across grade levels. 􀂟 To aid educators in navigating backlash from educational stakeholders concerned about the content of school-based sex education. 􀂟 To guide Sexual Health Educators to prioritize their own self-care as they engage in this important and challenging work. “Comprehensive Sex Education curriculum is borne out of the idea that equipping students with knowledge will help them make responsible, well-informed choices.” Copyright © 2022 by Great Lakes Equity Center -1- Key Terms & Abbreviations AO/AOUM – Abstinence-Only or Abstinence Only Until Marriage, these are programs/curricula that teach that the only acceptable context for sex is within the context of heterosexual marriage and that people should abstain from all sexual behavior until after they are married. BIPOC – Stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Cisgender– An adjective used to describe a person whose sex assigned at birth matches their gender identity. CSE – Comprehensive Sex/Sexuality Education, programs/curricula that promote knowledge and skills about human development, relationships, abstinence, disease prevention, and contraception, using age-appropriate and medically accurate information. Deadname – The name that a transgender person was given at birth that they no longer use. Gender Binary – A way of understanding gender that is socially constructed and includes only two options for gender – man/boy or woman/girl – without considering the spectrum of gender identities and expressions that exist among all people. Gender Expression – The way people express their gender identity; this includes clothing, outward appearance, voice, mannerisms, etc. Gender Identity – How a person identifies based on their own internal sense of their own gender. Intersectionality – Coined first by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) to describe the compounded discrimination faced by Black women, it is the idea that multiple marginalized identities-including but not limited to gender, sexuality, race, class, religion-intersect to make people who they are and can lead to greater degrees of oppression Non-binary – A person whose gender identity is not strictly either man/boy or woman/girl, their gender identity or expression may not match their sex assigned at birth or conform to prevailing cultural and social expectations about what is appropriate for their gender. [Watermark image description: Books, apple and sign with phrase "Let's talk sex" on grey table near chalkboard.] Copyright © 2022 by Great Lakes Equity Center -2- Key Terms & Abbreviations (cont.) SBSE – School-Based Sex/Sexuality Education; programs/curricula that arepresented in a school setting as part of the school’s course of study. Sex Assigned at Birth – The sex that a person is labeled as when they are born, t

FAQs

What is Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) intended to accomplish?

CSE aims to equip students with knowledge and skills to support responsible, well-informed choices. It uses age-appropriate, medically accurate information across grade levels.

What does SBSE mean, and how is it framed in schools?

SBSE stands for School-Based Sex/Sexuality Education. It refers to programs presented within a school setting as part of the school’s course of study.

Why do state policies on school-based sex education differ?

The document explains that sex education has been heavily debated since the early twentieth century, including disagreements over who teaches it, whether it belongs in public schools, and what it should contain. These debates have led to discrepancies in state policy requirements.

Oct 15, 2026

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