For Immediate Release
May 23rd, 2023
Contact: Michelle Slaybaugh
mslaybaugh@siecus.org

Sex Ed for All Month Re-introduces REAHYA
The House and Senate unite in advocating for greater equity and access to sex education nationwide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, May 22nd, 2023, Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Alma Adams (NC-12) alongside Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act or REAHYA (HR 3583 and S 1697).

Building upon its 2021 introduction, REAHYA has been reintroduced in 2023 during Sex Ed for All Month, and aims to provide America’s youth with equitable, age-appropriate, and gender-affirming sex education. This vital bill seeks to put an end to the federal government’s investments in harmful Title V abstinence-only programs, redirecting funds towards programs that research has demonstrated over and over again, support the sexual health and agency of young people. REAHYA would increase access to sex education and sexual health services, by funding initiatives in public education, colleges, and organizations, with an emphasis on providing education to some of America’s most marginalized young people.

In addition to the reintroduction of REAHYA, Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) with the support of Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Alma Adams (D-NC), introduced House Resolution H.Res.432 designating May as Sex Ed for All Month. This resolution seeks to create awareness and drive attention to the need to ensure young people have access to medically accurate, age-appropriate, and inclusive sex education free from shame and stigma so that  America’s young people are able to develop healthy attitudes toward sex, reproductive health, and access their fundamental human rights. In the current political climate, it is more important than ever to highlight the need for Sex Ed for All.

“Sexual and reproductive health is an issue of social justice, and the May as Sex Ed for All Month Resolution puts us on a path to a future in which young people have the resources and care they need to make healthy decisions for themselves while we decrease the rate of sexually transmitted infections,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

“SIECUS, alongside our congressional champions and community partners, call on public officials at all levels to support legislation to implement and prioritize age-appropriate, accurate, equitable, culturally response and trauma-informed sex ed curriculums in schools while discouraging shameful, non-inclusive and inaccurate programs that suppress and withhold information about sexual topics,” said Christine Soyong Harley, president, and CEO of SIECUS.

The redesignation of May as Sex Ed for All Month and the reintroduction of REAHYA underline how sex education, beyond abstinence, delays sexual activity, increases contraceptive use, and reduces intimate partner violence.

Sex education has been proven to positively impact young people’s lives, yet still too many young people don’t have access to sex education, or are receiving programs that enforce a prescribed morality. SIECUS is committed to changing this narrative and will continue to celebrate and advocate for the rights of young people nationwide.

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SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change has served as a leading national voice for sex education since 1964, asserting that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. Through advocacy, policy and coalition building, SIECUS advances sex education as a vehicle for social change—where all people receive sex education, are affirmed in their identities, and have power to make decisions about their own health, pleasure, and wholeness.

The House and Senate unite in advocating for greater equity and access to sex education nationwide.