A Closer Look at Florida
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
(SIECUS) and the Healthy Teens Campaign of Florida have released a
report on the state of sexual health and education in Florida. Read the
full report to learn more about youth health statistics and the effect
of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs across Florida.
Learn the facts: Florida has the 3rd
highest rate in the nation of new AIDS diagnoses and the 5th highest
rate of new HIV infections. Our teens need comprehensive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate factual
information about HIV/AIDS.
Teens are heading in the wrong direction. New Report: Just as Likely to Have Sex, But Less Likely to Use Contraception
Than They Were A Few Years Ago.
Than They Were A Few Years Ago.
Teen Talk is a new website dedicated to providing teens with answers to difficult questions — and providing tips and guidance for parents and caregivers.
Healthy Teens Campaign
The Healthy Teens Campaign is a broad-based coalition made up of education, public health, and faith-based organizations that seek to improve the health and safety of Florida teens through comprehensive sex education. The Healthy Teens Campaign supports The Healthy Teens Act, which will require that Florida public schools receiving state funding provide comprehensive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate factual information when teaching about sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, family planning, or pregnancy.
Why The Healthy Teens Campaign?
Florida currently has no statewide standards for teaching sex education. A recent University of Florida study identified the following inadequacies in sex education in Florida:
- Sex education is rarely afforded an effective amount of time.
- It occurs too late in students’ academic careers (usually in 9th or 10th grade).
- There is little uniformity or standards (in terms of training or quality assurance).
- Sex education is not accessible to all students (especially Latinos).
- It fails to adequately address students’ needs.