Tell Alabama Representatives: Say No to SB 209

The Alabama Senate has passed SB209 & now the bill heads to the House of Representatives.

Make no mistake, "Sexual Risk Avoidance" (SRA) education is a modern rebrand of Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) programming that has failed our children, our communities, and our public health time and time again. (https://siecus.org/new-name-same-shame-sra-is-abstinence-only/)

From the Journal of Adolescent Health: "The weight of scientific evidence finds that AOUM programs are not effective in delaying initiation of sexual intercourse or changing other sexual risk behaviors. AOUM programs, as defined by U.S. federal funding requirements, inherently withhold information about human sexuality and may provide medically inaccurate and stigmatizing information. Thus, AOUM programs threaten fundamental human rights to health, information, and life. Young people need access to accurate and comprehensive sexual health information to protect their health and lives." (https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(17)30260-4/fulltext)


Furthermore, this model legislation has been pushed in states across the nation by https://weascend.org/ (formerly the National Abstinence Education Association) - the organization that sells the very SRA curriculums and certifications that this legislation would force local school districts to purchase. The more likely impact is school districts choosing not to deliver any sex education at all, leaving our children ill-equipped to face the challenges of adulthood - particularly those children in school districts already struggling with funding shortfalls.

SB 209 is bad public policy rooted in fear-mongering, sensationalism, and consolidating control in Montgomery. We JUST updated our Sex Ed law in Alabama in 2021 to require that curriculums be medically accurate and age appropriate, but we left the discretion to local school districts and families and parents - exactly where it belongs.