Provide Resources
In order to make resources easily accessible to students, providing resources is an alternative option for sexual education. This is a loose solution, as it gives the students the freedom to seek out information concerning their sexual health. The resources would consist of a document that links a plethora of information that would be:
Scientifically accurate
From trusted sources (CDC, National Institutes of Health)
Unbiased (not religiously affiliated)
This would not place extra responsibility on individual districts and schools, as they would simply need to make the information available and allow their students to make the decisions; children would be able to view content that is relevant to their situation. This is easy to achieve: all it would require of a district would be to designate a section of their website or send out an email.
Supporters of this solution would-be parents who are uncomfortable with their children being exposed to certain material and lawmakers who see sex education as a personal matter. It would also be favored by less wealthy school districts that would not need additional funding to spend time on sexual health in class/during school hours.
Although this solution would be easy to implement, it would not put a stop to selective ignorance, or people choosing to ignore a given topic. Allowing sex education to be “optional” underscores its importance, and does not ensure that teenagers will be making proactive and safe sexual decisions; it will leave room for misinformation to spread. Additionally, students who hold outdated or inaccurate knowledge will be done a disservice, as no one is helping them learn and grow.
