119-hres445

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 445 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 445

 Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All 
 Month: Equity and Access for All.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 23, 2025

 Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Clarke of New 
 York, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Simon, 
and Ms. Tokuda) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
 to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Supporting the goals and ideals of the month of May as Sex Ed For All 
 Month: Equity and Access for All.

Whereas Sex Ed For All Month is a nationwide observance that calls on people to 
 take action to invest so as to ensure all young people have access to 
 inclusive and honest sex education;
Whereas young people face vast systemic inequities and structural barriers to 
 ensuring their lifelong health;
Whereas racial disparities persist in young people's sexual health, highlighting 
 ongoing social inequities in access to sex education as well as sexual 
 health services;
Whereas access to quality information and education about young people's sexual 
 health is a critical step toward addressing disparities caused by 
 structural barriers;
Whereas, despite historic declines, the United States has the highest rate of 
 unintended teen pregnancy among comparable countries and limited 
 resources available for young parents;
Whereas young people aged 15 through 25 contract half of the 20 million sexually 
 transmitted infections each year, despite making up only a quarter of 
 the sexually active population;
Whereas young people under the age of 25 accounted for 1 in 5 new HIV 
 transmissions;
Whereas three-quarters of LGBT students report harassment, 68 percent report 
 feeling unsafe, and 32 percent skipped at least 1 day of school in the 
 month prior to reporting due to concerns for their safety;
Whereas 41 percent of women, 26 percent of men, and 54 percent of transgender 
 and nonconforming individuals have experienced sexual, physical, or 
 emotional abuse from a dating partner in their lifetime;
Whereas sex education that includes information beyond abstinence has been found 
 to delay sexual intercourse, increase condom or contraceptive use, 
 reduce the number of partners among young people, and decrease physical 
 aggression with intimate partners;
Whereas young people who received sex education are 50 percent less likely to 
 experience an unintended pregnancy, 31 percent less likely to contract a 
 sexually transmitted infection, and more likely to delay sexual activity 
 and use contraception upon becoming sexually active;
Whereas sex education provides information about the prevention, treatment, and 
 care of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and interpersonal 
 violence; the importance of consent as a basis for healthy relationships 
 and for autonomy in health care; sexual orientation, gender roles, and 
 gender discrimination; and the historical and current conditions in 
 which education and health systems, policies, programs, services, and 
 practices have uniquely adversely impacted Black, indigenous, Latino, 
 Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and other 
 people of color, and ensure programs are designed with tenants of 
 culturally competent and inclusive care;
Whereas sex education promotes gender equity, and is inclusive of young people 
 with varying gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual 
 orientations; safe and healthy relationships; and racial equity ensuring 
 responsiveness to the needs of young people who are Black, indigenous, 
 and other people of color;
Whereas sex education promotes and upholds the rights of young people to 
 information that empowers them to make decisions about their bodies, 
 health, sexuality, families, and communities in all areas of life; and
Whereas May of each year is now recognized as Sex Ed For All Month: Now, 
 therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) supports the goals and ideals of Sex Ed For All Month;

    (2) calls on all public and elected officials to advocate 
 for and invest in sex education legislation;

    (3) encourages State and local governments, including their 
 public health agencies, educational agencies, schools, and 
 media organizations to recognize and support Sex Ed For All 
 Month;

    (4) commends the work of community and faith-based 
 organizations, State educational agencies, local educational 
 agencies, and health centers that are providing sex education 
 to young people;

    (5) should prioritize sex education programs that are 
 evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope, confidential, 
 equitable, accessible, medically accurate and complete, age and 
 developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, trauma-
 informed, and resilience-oriented;

    (6) discourages health education programs that withhold 
 health-promoting or life-saving information about sexuality-
 related topics, including HIV; are medically inaccurate or 
 incomplete; promote gender or racial stereotypes or are 
 unresponsive to gender or racial inequities; fail to address 
 the needs of sexually active young people, pregnant, parenting, 
 or co-parenting young people, survivors of interpersonal 
 violence, or youth of all physical, developmental, or mental 
 abilities; fail to be inclusive of individuals with varying 
 gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations; 
 or are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine 
 and public health;

    (7) recommends implementation of sex education in schools 
 and continued professional development for educators and 
 administrative staff that work with young people; and

    (8) calls for all youth-serving professionals, educators, 
 and decision makers who impact the lives of youth to take 
 action to ensure access to inclusive and honest sex education 
 for all young people.
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