Boston University’s School of Public Health has released the results of a research paper that paints a grim, frankly pathetic picture of the state of sex education in American schools today.
The study says that a huge chunk of U.S. sex ed is medically questionable at best. Only 19 states actually require that what kids learn in sex ed be medically accurate. Only 37 percent of states require that kids learn facts related to sex in sex ed classes.
The rest is the rhythm method and prayers, I guess.
In total, 42 states mandate some form of sex education in public schools. But what’s taught depends less on science and more on local politics, outdated moral panics, and the undying lingering remnants of purity culture.
Absurd, outdated, and dangerous abstinence-only instruction is still the law of the land in 34 states, despite being thoroughly debunked. Even worse, some states still promote anti-LBGTQ messaging, including two that directly link same-sex relationships to AIDS.
Those states were Oklahoma and Texas.
New Study Confirms What We All Knew: America’s Sex Ed Sucks
Right now, as you read this, in the year 2025, the website for Oklahoma’s State Department of Health states that “AIDS prevention education shall specifically teach students” that homosexuality is “primarily responsible” for exposure to AIDS. It sounds like it was written in 1985 and has never been updated.
The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health and detailed on Boston University’s website, examined sex education laws across all 50 states. D.C. Researchers found that state mandates vary significantly.
The Northeast leads the pack with 100 percent of states requiring some sex ed, followed by the South at 88 percent. The Midwest is at 83 percent, while the West is lagging behind with 62 percent.
But again, requiring sex ed doesn’t mean it’s good or even remotely accurate. Some states are doing the bare minimum to meet state requirements, while others are using it as an opportunity to inject a little propaganda and misinformation into the heads of impressionable teens.
Adding to the mess, 34 states allow parents to opt their kids out of sex ed entirely. In five, you have to actively opt in, meaning not receiving sexual education at all is the default. This is definitely leading kids to find out about sex from who the hell knows where, maybe TikTok, maybe porn sites that they can access with VPNs, or worse, from their dumbass friends.
What kids learn about sex in school depends on where they live, what lawmakers believe, and whether or not their parents check a box. Many people make this a political issue, just one piece of a larger cultural war.
It is in any of that. It’s an issue of public health, personal safety, and personal agency.
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