Delaware State of Sex Ed
Current Requirement: Delaware schools must teach sex education as part of the Comprehensive Health Education Program required in grades K-12, and students must receive 0.5 credits of comprehensive health education to graduate.
- Delaware statute states that curriculum must be comprehensive. However, the state’s standards do not meet the National Sexuality Education Standards.
- Delaware has no standard regarding medically accurate sex education instruction. However, consent curriculum must be evidence-informed.
- Curriculum must stress abstinence, and instruction on contraception is not required.
- Curriculum must include instruction on consent.
- Curriculum is not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Delaware statute has no standard regarding the ability of parents and guardians to enroll or remove their children from sex education instruction.
Recent Legislation Shaping the State Landscape
In 2026, lawmakers failed to pass Senate Concurrent Resolution 156, which would have required the Delaware Department of Education to form a working group to develop recommendations to revise health education standards. However, advocates and lawmakers were successful in passing House Bill 223 (2026), which, once signed by the governor, will require the Department of Health and Social Services, in conjunction with the Department of Education, to make informational materials concerning menstrual disorders available upon request to school districts for purposes of educating students about menstrual disorders and their symptoms. While this does not require instruction on menstrual disorders, it ensures students have access to accurate, up-to-date information.
Advocates in Action
Advocates can take action to ensure young people in their community are receiving quality sex education by contacting their local board of education to ensure K-12 sex education is happening. At the state level, advocates can continue to push lawmakers and the Department of Education to develop an expert and community-centered working group for any upcoming revision of Delaware’s comprehensive health education program.
Advocates can also contact state legislators to support a statewide comprehensive sex education mandate and use the Community Action Toolkit to strengthen local organizing efforts. For additional guidance, advocates can contact the SIECUS Policy team by emailing [email protected] or join the Sexuality Education Policy Action Council (SEPAC) using our interest form.
More on Sex Ed in Delaware…
State Law: A Closer Look
Delaware Administrative Code title 14, § 851 requires sex education as part of K-12 health education. Each school district must coordinate this education, and a District Consolidated Application Planning Committee must oversee it. The committee must consist of teachers, parents, school nurses, community leaders, law enforcement, and other community members “with expertise in the areas of health; family life; and safe and drug-free schools and communities.” Sex education must include an HIV prevention program “that stresses the benefits of abstinence from high-risk behaviors.” Additionally, students in grades 7 through 12 must receive “evidence-based, if available, or evidence-informed, age- and developmentally-appropriate instruction on the meaning of Consent and respecting others’ personal boundaries.”
Delaware administrative code also sets a minimum number of hours for “comprehensive health education and family life education.” For students in grades K-4, the minimum is set at 30 hours per grade, 10 of which must be dedicated to drug and alcohol education. In grades five and six, the minimum is set at 35 hours per grade, 15 of which must be dedicated to drug and alcohol education. In grades seven and eight, the minimum is set at 60 hours per grade, 15 of which must be dedicated to drug and alcohol education. To graduate high school, students must receive 0.5 credits of comprehensive health education. Delaware statute does not require parental permission for students to participate in sexuality or HIV education.
Following the passage of Senate Bill 205 (2022), Delaware Code § 4142 was amended to mandate that by the 2022-2023 school year, all public and charter schools maintaining any combination of grades 4-12 shall provide free feminine hygiene products in a minimum of ½ of bathrooms, including those designated nongender conforming, used by students who can have a menstrual cycle.
State Standards
Sex education courses must also follow the Delaware Health Education Standards and include instruction on decision-making skills and the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors.
Youth Sexual Health Data
The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) tracks six categories of health risk behaviors, including sexual health behaviors. In 2023, Delaware participated only in high school YRBS data collection, not middle school. To learn more about Delaware’s 2023 YRBS results, click here. The CDC’s School Health Profiles identify 22 sexual health education topics as critical for ensuring a young person’s sexual health. To view Delaware’s results from the 2024 School Health Profiles Survey, visit CDC’s School Health Profiles Explorer tool. Visit the CDC’s School Health Profiles 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.