Sexual health should be a priority for everyone in the world. However, in the United States, it is not viewed as such. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “sexual health is fundamental to the overall health and well-being of individuals, couples and families, and to the social and economic development of communities and countries.” Additionally, sexual health affirms one’s identities (such as sexuality, gender, gender identity, and more) and is free of harm. To ensure the best sexual health possible, people need to have access to sexual health education, safe-sex practices (such as contraceptives and testing), and resources available in their community (such as a reproductive health clinic). When these concepts and necessities are not honored or guaranteed, consequences such as unintended pregnancy, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can occur. This is why sexual health is crucial to one’s overall health and well-being. The intent of this capstone project is to illuminate and attempt to offer new scholarship concerning the state of sexual health education in Missouri’s secondary schools. When sexual health education is not taught comprehensively and inclusively (and it is not in Missouri, as only 26.1% of high schools taught all 20 of the CDC’s critical sexual health education topics), it serves no one. In this project, I will conduct a community health assessment, have an in-depth policy discussion, and at the end, produce an educational session based on the CDC’s 20 critical sexual health education topics.

Lydia would like to thank her mentor, Dr. Katie Stamatakis, for guiding her through the entirety of this project and for helping her keep her ideas within the bounds of the project.