Dear Future President,

I was taught about the birds and bees. I feel that has made me prepared. My teacher did a good job trying to get us ready considering he is a history teacher. However, students across the country do not get the same sex ed, and this is a problem. I think you, as the president, should push to have schools teach more about Sexual Education on a federal level because sexual activity is becoming more common among younger people and when teenagers don’t get a good understanding of sex Ed they are more likely to get an STD (sexually transmitted disease) or become pregnant.

Sexual activity is becoming more common among younger teens: according to http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/index.htm U.S. high school students surveyed in 2015 41% ever had sexual intercourse. 30% had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months, and, of these 43% did not use a condom the last time they had sex. 14% did not use any method to prevent pregnancy. 21% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before their last sexual intercourse. Only 10% of sexually experienced students have ever been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).*

When teenagers don’t get a good understanding of sex Ed they are more likely to get an STD. (sexually transmitted disease). Young people (aged 13-24) accounted for an estimated 22% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2014. Among young people (aged 13-24) diagnosed with HIV in 2014, 80% were gay and bisexual males. Half of the nearly 20 million new STDs reported each year were among young people, between the ages of 15 to 24. Nearly 250,000 babies were born to teen girls aged 15–19 years in 2014.

Without a good sex ed class teenagers are more likely to get pregnant. In 2014 Nearly 250,000 babies were born to teen girls aged 15–19 years.

Make federal laws about health education like train teachers and make programs to help teens learn.

That brings me to think that there should also be a requirement for teachers to know about the subject before they can teach it. There are teachers who get the subject and have no idea how to explain it to students.

 I encourage you to consider the facts I have presented in this letter when making the decision on funding sex ed

Thanks for considering my opinion

Theresa W

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/index.htm