State Profiles

New York’s Sex Education Snapshot

The State of Sex Education

Advocates in New York have worked to introduce new legislation that advances sex education in the state during the 2021-2022 legislative session. In 2022, Assembly Bill 9873 was introduced by Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell and seeks to require medically accurate instruction on HIV and AIDS in elementary and secondary schools. A series of sex education related bills were introduced in 2021, including Assembly Bill 6412, and Senate Bill 2584, and Assembly Bill 6616. Assembly Bill 6412, introduced by Assembly member Karen McMahon, aims to mandate consent education. Senate Bill 2584, introduced by Samra G. Brouk, would require comprehensive sex ed instruction for students in K-12, model curricula that meets national sexuality education standards. A companion bill (Assembly Bill 6616) was introduced in the Assembly by Assembly member Catherine Nolan. In 2022, New York Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell introduced Assembly Bill 8819 that would require social services districts to distribute educational materials related to sexual health for individuals enrolled in Medicaid. Legislation like this is essential to ensuring bodily autonomy for young people, encouraging them to make informed decisions that make sense in the context of their lives.

These recent sex education bills are part of a larger push by New York to advance sex education. Previous years have included unsuccessful attempts at mandating comprehensive sex education. In 2019, Senate Bill 4844, sponsored by Senator Jen Metzger and Senator Velmanette Montgomery, and Assembly Bill 6512, sponsored by Assembly Member Catherine Nolan and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, were introduced but failed to win passage. 

Advocates in New York have been working to advance legislation through increased community engagement. The Sex Ed Now NY Coalition hosted a virtual lobby day in 2021. This event aimed to garner support around Senate Bill 2584 and Assembly Bill 6616, legislation working towards mandating comprehensive sex education.

Statewide, New York schools are only required to provide HIV/AIDS instruction. As a result, school districts are left to decide what type of additional sex education–if any at all–they provide to youth, with curriculum varying by school district. New York City (NYC) schools, however, are required to teach sex education since 2011 in the comprehensive health education course. It is required to be medically accurate, age appropriate, and skills based, but only taught for one semester. Therefore, additional requirements are needed to ensure youth receive sex education instruction throughout their K-12 education. 

In 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio approved measures to establish the Sexual Health Education Task Force to review the sexual health curricula recommended by the New York Department of Education and oversee its implementation. In 2018, the Task Force recommended that the New York City Department of Education prioritize a culture of sexual wellness and inclusivity in all NYC schools, implement additional professional development opportunities for health education instructors, improve the content, substance, and methods of sexual health education, and strengthen accountability and reporting of sexual health education implementation. Beyond NYC, advocates report that Buffalo Public Schools, Rochester City Schools, one suburban school district, and a minimum of 65 additional schools have policies that require comprehensive sex education. A  2012 report conducted by the New York Civil Liberties Union revealed that inaccurate, incomplete, and stigmatizing curricula continue to be widely utilized across school districts. Organizations such as the Student Support Services Center work to improve access to sex education and have supported 68 school districts in improving their sex education requirements. Additionally, the New York State Department of Health’s (NYSDOH) AIDS Institute recently released information on their #SexualHealth campaign in support of advancing comprehensive sex education. 

Advocates have identified several factors needed to successfully advance sex education statewide. This includes the passage of progressive sex education legislation, increased community support for advanced sex education, stronger sex education coalitions, increased public knowledge of comprehensive sex education, and an increased ability to dispel common myths and concerns associated with advanced 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 what topics are missing from instruction, such as instruction on consent, sexual orientation and gender identity, and contraceptives. They can then vocalize the important need for advancing sex education requirements in their community. 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. Further, advocates can contact their representatives to discuss the critical need for advancing comprehensive sex education requirements to ensure they are aligned with the National Sexuality Education Standards. 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

• New York schools are not required to teach sex education. However, HIV/AIDS instruction is required.
  • Curriculum is not required to be comprehensive.
  • Curriculum must stress abstinence.
• Curriculum is not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, New York’s Guidance Document for Achieving the New York State Standards in Health Education includes instruction on sexual orientation and limited instruction on gender identity.
• Curriculum is not required to include instruction on consent.
• Parents or guardians may exempt their children from HIV/AIDS instruction as long as the school is given “assurance that the pupil will receive such instruction at home.” This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.
• New York statute has no regulation regarding medically accurate sex education instruction.

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 New York’s profile.

2022 Legislative Session

Assembly Bill 9837 (pending): Aims to require medically accurate instruction on HIV and AIDS in elementary and secondary schools.

Assembly Bill 8819 (pending): Aims to require social services districts to distribute educational materials related to sexual health for individuals enrolled in Medicaid.

2021 Legislative Session 

Assembly Bill 1209 (pending): Aims to establish a school-based teen dating violence prevention program, requiring instruction on healthy relationships and teen dating violence awareness and prevention. An identical, companion bill was introduced in the New York Senate

Assembly Bill 7161 (pending): Aims to require comprehensive sex education be taught in grades one through twelve.

Assembly Bill 3715 (pending): Aims to require health education to include instruction on breast cancer, including age and developmentally appropriate instruction on performing self-examinations. An identical, companion bill was introduced in the New York Senate.

Assembly Bill 6412 (pending): Aims to require the commissioner to create and establish a comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual consent education curriculum to be taught in schools currently teaching sex education to students in grades 6-12.

Assembly Bill 6616 (pending): Aims to require each public and charter school to provide comprehensive sex education in grades K-12.

Senate Bill 2584 (pending): Aims to require schools to provide comprehensive sex education in grades K-12.

More on sex ed in New York…

State Law

In New York, Regulations of the Commissioner of Education (§ 135.3) dictate that health education is required for all students in grades K–12. This instruction must provide information about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV/AIDS instruction must be taught by teachers who have been given appropriate training and materials by the board of education or trustees.

All HIV/AIDS education must “provide accurate information to pupils concerning the nature of the disease, methods of transmission, and methods of prevention.” This instruction must be age-appropriate and consistent with community values and “shall stress abstinence as the most appropriate and effective premarital protection against AIDS.” Each local school board must establish an advisory council to make recommendations on HIV/AIDS instruction. Local boards of education may provide for the distribution of condoms in schools. They must ensure that all students who have access to condoms have taken part in an HIV/AIDS education program.

Parents may exempt their children from HIV/AIDS classes as long as the school is given “assurance that the pupil will receive such instruction at home.” This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.

State Standards

New York state does not require or suggest a specific curriculum, but it does provide a curriculum framework, the Learning Standards for Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences at Three Levels. The framework does not specifically mention sex education, though certain topics within sex education are included, such as “understanding of the changes that accompany puberty.” New York state also provides A Guidance Document for Achieving the New York State Standards in Health Education, which is intended only as a guide for developing health curricula. Topic areas mentioned include sexual risk, family life, and sexual health, as well as the prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and pregnancy.

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. New York’s 2022 session convened on January 5, 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 New York’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results, click here.

New York 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 New York as reported for the 2017–2018 school year.

Reported teaching all 20 critical sexual health education topics

• 31.1% of New York secondary schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 73.4% of New York 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

• 89.9% of New York secondary schools taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 100.0% of New York 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

• 78.7% of New York 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.
• 100.0% of New York 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

• 84.0% of New York 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.
• 98.0% of New York 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

• 77.4% of New York 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.
• 97.3% of New York 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

• 37.7% of New York secondary schools taught students how to correctly use a condom in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 89.0% of New York 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

• 52.3% of New York secondary schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 96.6% of New York 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

• 64.6% of New York secondary schools taught students about sexual orientation in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 90.1% of New York 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

• 65.3% of New York secondary schools taught students about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
• 87.9% of New York 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

• 76.3% of New York 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.