Maryland’s Sex Education Snapshot
Advocates have worked diligently over the past six years to further advance sex education in Maryland. Current efforts include House Bill 194 which aims to add age-appropriate education on sexting to sex education curriculum.
Previous efforts to advance sex education include the passage of House Bill 72 in 2016. Known as “Erin’s Law,” Maryland schools are now required to provide age-appropriate instruction on sexual abuse and assault prevention. In 2018, Delegate Ariana Kelly championed House Bill 251, with the support of her teenage daughter, after repeatedly introducing the bill beginning in 2016. The successful bill requires sex education curriculum to include instruction on the meaning of consent and respect for personal boundaries. In 2019, 25 state delegates and 13 state senators wrote a letter to the Superintendent of Maryland Schools to emphasize the importance of including curriculum that highlights the history of LGBTQ and disability rights movements. In response, the Maryland Department of Education indicated that they have begun the process of implementing such curriculum. While this advancement does not directly impact sex education in Maryland, it demonstrates an important step toward recognizing the value of inclusive curriculum.
While legislators have successfully passed legislation to advance sex education and other policies promoting relevant issues, further efforts are underway to undermine access to reproductive health services for minors. Senate Bill 891, introduced in the 2022 legislative session, aims to require parental notification for health care providers to provide abortion care to a minor. While parents and guardians play an important role in the decision making process of young people, imposing such requirements may result in some young people choosing not to seek access necessary abortion care.
Given these recent advancements, Maryland students benefit from schools that are required to teach sex education using the Comprehensive Health Education Framework. The Maryland Framework includes instruction on sexual orientation, gender identity, and cultural responsiveness to meet the needs of young people of color. Unfortunately, local control over curriculum and limited enforcement still present unique challenges that have resulted in a glaring disparity regarding the quality of sex education that students receive. Such discretion allows for the implementation of policies and curriculum that stigmatize marginalized youth, such as students of color and LGBTQ youth, and presents further challenges in ensuring that low income districts have access to the resources needed to implement comprehensive sex education.
Right now, advocates can take action to ensure young people in their community have access to quality sex education. After contacting their local school board, advocates can determine if curriculum is required to be comprehensive or identify what topics are missing from instruction, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, contraceptive options, or healthy relationships. They can then vocalize the important need for advancing sex education requirements in their community. Further, advocates can contact their representatives to discuss the critical need for advancing such requirements statewide. Advocates are encouraged to take action on pending legislation that seeks to advance or restrict the principles of comprehensive sex education. For a current overview of pending legislation, see table below. Additionally, reach out to EducateUS to get connected to local advocacy groups. Advocates are encouraged to use the SIECUS Community Action Toolkit to guide local efforts to advance sex education.
State Sex Education Policies and Requirements at a Glance
- Maryland schools are required to teach sex education.
- Curriculum is not required to be comprehensive. However, the health education program is required to be comprehensive.
- Curriculum must advocate abstinence as the best method for preventing unintended pregnancy and STIs.
- Curriculum must include inclusive instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Curriculum must include instruction on consent.
- Schools must provide parents or guardians the opportunity to view all instructional materials prior to their use and parents or guardians may remove their children from any or all “Family Life and Human Sexuality” classes. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.
- Instruction on contraception and condoms must be medically accurate.
State House Highlights
This section highlights sex education bills that were introduced during the 2021 state legislative session as well as bills that have been introduced thus far in 2022. These proposed bills provide a brief overview of both recent and current legislative action taken to advance or restrict sex education. For a more comprehensive look at relevant legislation concerning sex education and related topics such as reproductive health care, LGBTQ rights, racial equity and justice, parental rights, bullying and harassment, mental health, assault and violence prevention, and HIV/STIs as it impacts youth, continue reading on to the “State Legislative Activity” section of Maryland’s profile.
2022 Legislative Session
Senate Bill 852 (failed): Requiring each county board of education to create a health educator position to oversee the implementation of age-appropriate health education instruction and to gather detailed data regarding the operation and effectiveness of health education instruction in public schools in the county
House Bill 194 (failed): Requires family life and human sexuality curriculum to include age-appropriate instruction on sexting in schools
More on sex ed in Maryland…
State Law
Maryland Code of Public General Laws §7–401 requires instruction in health education and the joint development of standards and guidelines for school health programs by the Departments of Education and Health and Mental Hygiene. The Administrative Regulation fulfilling this requirement, Md. Code Regs. 13A.04.18.01, mandates that each local school board work with its county health department to establish a broad school health education program, including “Family Life and Human Sexuality” and “Disease Prevention and Control” instruction, both of which encompass sex education topics, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) education. The goals are to enable students to “demonstrate the ability to use human development knowledge, social skills, and health enhancing strategies to promote positive relationships and healthy growth and development throughout the life cycle;” and to “demonstrate the ability to apply prevention and treatment knowledge, skills, and strategies to reduce susceptibility and manage disease.”
The family life and human sexuality component of Maryland’s health education instruction is required to “begin in or prior to the fifth grade,” and “as shortly in advance of puberty as is practical.” Determination of which grade is left to each local school board.
In 2018, Maryland enacted Education Code § 7-445, requiring county boards of education to provide instruction on the meaning of consent, including respecting personal boundaries, in sex education classes.
Schools must provide parents or guardians the opportunity to view all instructional materials prior to their use and parents or guardians may remove their children from any or all “Family Life and Human Sexuality” classes. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.
State Standards
Curriculum development is guided by Maryland’s health education standards, which are based on the National Health Education Standards. Family life and human sexuality are included in grades K-12. Sexual orientation, gender identity, contraception, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections are all topics of instruction within this recommended framework.
State Legislative Activity
State legislative activity related to sex education does not take place in isolation from the broader embroiled political and policy climate. Attacks on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, attempts to restrict or prohibit instruction on “divisive concepts” such as Critical Race Theory, and efforts to limit access to abortion care and other reproductive health care services prevent students from receiving comprehensive sex education and accessing sexual and reproductive health care services. Below are highlights of current legislative activity related to these topics. Maryland’s 2022 session convened on January 12, 2022.
Youth Sexual Health Data
Young people are more than their health behaviors and outcomes. While data can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the sex education and sexual health care needs of young people, it is important to be mindful that these behaviors and outcomes are impacted by systemic inequities present in our society that affect an individual’s sexual health and well-being. To learn more about Maryland’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results, click here.
Maryland School Health Profiles Data
In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the School Health Profiles, which measure school health policies and practices and highlight which health topics were taught in schools across the country. Since the data were collected from self-administered questionnaires completed by schools’ principals and lead health education teachers, the CDC notes that one limitation of the School Health Profiles is bias toward the reporting of more positive policies and practices. In the School Health Profiles, the CDC identifies 20 sexual health education topics as critical for ensuring a young person’s sexual health. Below are key instruction highlights for secondary schools in Maryland as reported for the 2017-2018 school year.
Reported teaching all 20 critical sexual health education topics
- 30.4% of Maryland secondary schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 48.1% of Maryland secondary schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching about the benefits of being sexually abstinent
- 93.4% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 97.9% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy
- 90.6% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 95.1% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships
- 92.8% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 96% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health
- 81.5% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 94.1% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching how to correctly use a condom
- 41.8% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to correctly use a condom in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 71.8% of Maryland secondary schools taught students how to correctly use a condom in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching about methods of contraception other than condoms
- 79.4% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 96% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching about sexual orientation
- 52.2% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about sexual orientation in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 69.2% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about sexual orientation in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported teaching about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression
- 53% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
- 67.2% of Maryland secondary schools taught students about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
Reported providing curricula or supplementary materials relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth
- 21.6% of Maryland secondary schools provided students with curricula or supplementary materials that included HIV, STD, or pregnancy prevention information relevant to LGBTQ youth.
(Visit the CDC’s School Health Profiles report for additional information on school health policies and practices.)
***The quality of sex education taught often reflects funding available for sex education programs. To learn more about federal funding streams, click here.