Kansas State of Sex Ed
Human sexuality is required to be taught as a part of physical education which includes health and hygiene instruction, as outlined by Kansas Statutes. Health education standards exist but are non-assessed and thus not required to be followed by Kansas schools. Kansas schools may decide the extent to which they teach on human sexuality and what content is taught. Kansas schools also must show the anti-abortion propaganda film, “Baby Olivia,” which spreads misinformation about fetal development as a part of family life education.
Current Requirements
- Kansas schools must instruct on human sexuality as a part of required health and hygiene instruction under physical education.
- Health education standards exist but are non-assessed meaning schools are not required to follow them.
- Curriculum is not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Curriculum must include a “presentation of a high-quality, computer-generated animation or high definition ultrasound of at least three minutes in duration that shows the development of the brain, heart and other vital organs in early human fetal development”, also known as a “Baby Olivia” law.
- Curriculum is not required to include instruction on consent.
- Kansas has no standard regarding the ability of parents and guardians to remove their children from sex education instruction, leaving it up to school districts to decide whether or not to hold opt-in or opt-out policies.
- Kansas has no regulation regarding medically accurate sex education instruction.
RECENT LEGISLATION SHAPING THE STATE LANDSCAPE
Advocates have not faced many challenges to existing sex education policy in Kansas until this year. In April, Kansas passed House Bill 2382 which requires the inclusion of a high definition fetal development video, generally supplemented by LiveAction’s “Meet Baby Olivia” video, and instruction in human sexuality classrooms. This law, under the guise of human growth and development instruction, will ensure Kansas classrooms receive anti-abortion misinformation and perpetuate abortion stigma.
The Kansas legislature continues to be the battleground for “parental rights” fights and hostility towards the transgender community. “Parental rights” legislation unnecessarily emphasizes parental oversight in the education system and often fearmongers about the vital and important information provided under sex education and similar instruction on topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Not only do these bills create administrative burden upon already overburdened public schools; but they are also a strategy of discrimination targeting LGBTQIA+ students. Since 2022, SIECUS has tracked 7 unsuccessful attempts at bringing forth “parental rights legislation in Kansas. While these attacks failed, unfortunately three anti-transgender youth bills have been enacted into law in the state: House Bill 2238 (transgender athlete ban), House Bill 2138 (bathroom/facilities ban), and Senate Bill 63 (medical care for minors ban). The fight for comprehensive sex education is intersected with the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and public education must be representative of and meet the needs of all students, including transgender and non-binary youth.
While schools in Kansas are required to teach physical education that encompasses “human sexuality”, local school boards may establish any additional requirements for sex education curriculum. Local control over sex education presents 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 LGBTQIA+ youth, and presents further challenges in ensuring that low income districts have access to the resources needed to implement sex education.
Right now, advocates can take action to ensure young people in their community have access to quality sex education. Advocates can contact their local school board to determine what topics are missing from sex education instruction, such as instruction on consent, sexual orientation and gender identity, and contraceptives. They can then vocalize the important need for advancing instruction requirements in their community. Advocates are encouraged to take action on pending legislation that seeks to advance or restrict the principles of sex education. Kansas’s 2025-2026 legislative session convenes January 13th, 2025 and adjourns May 5th, 2026.
Further, advocates can contact their representatives to discuss the critical need for a statewide comprehensive sex education mandate, the repeal of their “Baby Olivia” law, and for Kansas Health Education Standards to be improved and assessed. Advocates can push for topics like contraception, consent, healthy relationships, STI prevention, to be required as a part of human sexuality instruction. Advocates are encouraged to use the SIECUS Community Action Toolkit to guide local efforts to advance sex education. For more information on getting involved in local and state advocacy for sex education, reach out to our State Policy Action Manager, Miranda Estes (mestes@siecus.org)
More on sex ed in Kansas…
State Law: A Closer Look
The Kansas Administrative Regulations (§ 91-31-32) require that elementary and secondary students be taught “physical education, which shall include instruction in health and human sexuality.” Kansas does not require schools to follow a specific curriculum. Kansas does not require parental permission for students to participate in health and human sexuality instruction and leaves it up to local school districts to determine if they wish to offer an opt-in versus opt-out policy.
State Standards
The Kansas Model Curricular Standards for Health Education outlines basic competency requirements for public schools. The standards establish the Family Life, Relationships and Human Sexuality content standards for kindergarten through grade 12. Students in grades 9-12, must be able to evaluate:
- Adapting to changes associated with puberty
- Adapting to change within the family
- Changing responsibilities from adolescence to adulthood
- Responsible behaviors within relationships (communication, abstinence, etc.)
- Potential outcomes of sexual activity (STIs, pregnancy, etc.)
- Impact of media and technology on sexual behaviors
- Laws associated with sexual behaviors (consent, harassment, assault, rape, human trafficking, etc.)
- Differences between individual, family, culture, community, and global values
However, Kansas Standards for Health Education are non-assessed meaning they are not taken into consideration for accreditation. Therefore, schools can choose what kind of content and curriculum is being taught on human sexuality.
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. In recent years, there has been an increase in legislative attacks on the implementation of CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) which tracks six categories of health risk behaviors including sexual health behaviors. To learn more about Kansas’s 2021 YRBS results, click here. In 2023, Kansas’s high school YRBS data was not weighted to be representative of all students and did not participate in the middle school YRBS data collection.
Kansas School Health Profiles Data
In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the 2022 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 22 sexual health education topics as critical for ensuring a young person’s sexual health. To view Kansas’s results from the 2022 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.