The teaching of sex education in the public-school system is a controversial topic. As a result, state statutes regulating sex education, as well as methodologies used in sex education curricula, vary widely. Topics covered by the law include general health education, sexually transmitted diseases (“STDs”), HIV/AIDS, contraception, abortion, and human sexuality. During the Trump Administration, there were changes to the federal funding available for abstinence-only programs, including cuts to funding for organizations taking part in President Obama’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. The Trump Administration and former officials at the Department of Health and Human Services emphasized the need to embed “sexual delay” in sex education, as seen in a report released during the summer of 2018.

Part II of this Article surveys different state sex education laws, describes the recent challenges and proposed changes to state statutes, and breaks down the distribution of federal funding for both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education programs. Part III discusses the judicial history of the challenges to sex education statutes. It examines differences between challenges to statutes that require sex education and challenges to statutes that limit topics that may be covered in a sex education curriculum. Part IV of this Article highlights political developments during the 2016 election cycle and research findings regarding the effectiveness of various sex education programs, concluding with a discussion of the Trump Administration’s early treatment of the issue and proposed Republican policy shifts.

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