The New York Civil Liberties Union recently released a report detailing what it describes as failures in sex education from school districts across the state.
Aliyah Ansari is a senior education strategist for the NYCLU.
“Nore than a third of districts [surveyed] use, like, outdated or misleading materials,” she said. “Some sent us materials from the 1990s or the early 2000s.”
Researchers requested teaching materials from 50 rural, urban and suburban school districts across the state. Curricula were graded on how well they explained things like consent, LGBTQ.+ identities and sexual health.
Almost half of the schools received an F.
“When you’re teaching this, you end up teaching, you know, students about, you know, safety, but also like how to respect our differences and understand these different identities,” said Ansari. “And when you teach that, then you allow and create a safer school climate.”
One of the most prominent issues the study found was an overemphasis on abstinence.
“We did see a lot of stigmatizing and shame-based messaging around abstinence, and it wasn’t comprehensive of all of the student experiences in the classroom,” Quinn Martha, another NYCLU education strategist, said.
But some schools are pushing back on the study.
In a statement to Spectrum News, Nicholas Silvaroli, the superintendent for the Buffalo area Pioneer Central School District, said, “I strongly disagree with the characterization of our health education program as ‘abstinence-only’, as that description is factually incorrect. The concerns outlined do not accurately reflect the comprehensive health instruction provided to our students. Our curriculum is designed to be age-appropriate, aligned with New York State learning standards, and focused on providing students with accurate information that supports healthy decision-making. While abstinence is discussed as one method of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, it is not the sole topic addressed within our health program.”
“Additionally, I am not aware of the methodology the NYCLU used to collect information about our district, nor am I aware of any recent outreach to the district regarding the content or implementation of our health curriculum,” Silvaroli said. “As a result, I cannot speak to the accuracy of the information on which these conclusions were based.”
Pioneer Central School District scored an F grade in the study.
Olean City School District also received a failing grade. A representative for the district responded, saying, “The materials referenced … date back several years and do not reflect the district’s current curriculum taught in Olean schools. Since that time, the district has updated its health and sex education curriculum to align with current New York State learning standards and guidance.”
Olean City School District could not explain why it did not provide the current materials as legally required by the Freedom of Information Law request submitted by the NYCLU.
The NYCLU was informed of Olean’s response by Spectrum News 1. Kaye Dyja, senior communications strategist, said, “We rely on districts to submit the curriculum that is being used in classrooms, and FOIL requires agencies to provide records that are responsive, accurate, and up to date. If a district submitted outdated materials, that would be a serious transparency concern. We can’t verify claims about outdated submissions without documentation, but we do take those concerns seriously. Furthermore, we did reach out to Olean in January to let them know about our concerns regarding the sex ed documents but received no response. If they have in fact improved their materials, we would be thrilled to hear it and would love to see their updated curricula.”
Moving forward, the education strategists Ansari and Martha hope that the study will spur lawmakers into action.
“New York state does not have any like statewide comprehensive sexuality education standards,” said Ansari. “And so without the standards, schools could do pretty much whatever they want and call it sex education.”
The NYCLU is pushing for the Healthy and Safe Students Act to pass through the state legislature. It would mandate comprehensive sex education throughout New York.
“The hope is definitely to inspire readers to connect at a local level and to really understand what is being taught at the district level,” Martha said. “And it’s also for our lawmakers and our New York state leaders to listen to the students.”