Washington’s New Sex Education Law
Senate Bill 5395 went into effect December 3, 2020 requiring all schools in the State of Washington to provide comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE) to all students by the 2022/23 school year. As this school year has started or is getting ready to start across the state, Planned Parenthood of Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky has created a fact sheet for what parents, educators, and community members need to know about Washington’s new CSHE law. Click here to view the full revised code Washington State Legislature RCW 28A.300.475.
What is the legislation?
- SB 5395 will:
- Require all public schools in Washington to offer sex education that is comprehensive and medically accurate
- Require that any school’s selected curriculum be inclusive of the needs of students of all protected class statuses
- Require components on affirmative consent and healthy relationships as part of the comprehensive sex education curriculum
- Require school districts to report on the sex education they are providing so that our state can continue to improve the quality of programming in the future
Shouldn’t curriculum be tailored to each community?
Under SB 5395, school districts have the flexibility and freedom to adjust their instruction based on what they know about their students and what parents and community members tell them. School districts still have a wide array of curricula and titles to choose from. They can choose from OSPI’s list, choose something that was not included on the list, or design a curriculum of their own. School districts can select certain lessons and not others, modify language in lessons, and mix and match with selections from multiple different programs.
What has already been the law?
- The right of parents to review the curriculum their school selects and opt their children out of any portion of the instruction.
- The requirement that schools must notify parents when a curriculum will be taught with at least one month’s notice and make all materials available.
- The requirement that local school districts must work with the community to determine the best curriculum for their needs, with the flexibility to determine what will best meet the needs of their students and families.
What does the new law require for kindergarten through grade 3?
- It appears the term “sex education” is being widely misunderstood and misconstrued when it comes to lower grade levels. Under SB 5395, schools are only required to provide instruction in social-emotional learning for grades K-3. There is no sexual content or sexuality content required for K-3 under SB 5395.
- According to OSPI, “Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is broadly understood as a process through which individuals build awareness and skills in managing emotions, setting goals, establishing relationships, and making responsible decisions that support success in school and in life. When we think of educating the whole child, their social and emotional development must be considered as a part of overall instruction.”
What does age appropriate mean?
- What is taught grade by grade is already in the state’s learning standards and the new bill doesn’t impact that.
- Washington has 8 required health education standards for skill-based learning. The standards provide grade level outcomes which serve as examples. Not all sexual health outcomes are required to be taught; rather, they serve as guidance to show what a good program could look like. Schools can opt to adopt the guidance fully if they want, or not. For example, schools can choose to wait until 4th grade to teach something that is listed in the standards for 2nd grade.
- “Age appropriate” is not just a matter of opinion; it is documented grade by grade in our state’s K-12 Health & Physical Education Standards: Sexual Health starts on page 28: https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/healthfitness/standards/hpe-standards.pdf
What is the curriculum?
- There is no “One Size Fits All” approach when it comes to the curriculum that works best for each community in our state, which is why the legislation does not mandate the use of any single specific curriculum.
- Washington’s guidelines for sex education have been in place for over 15 years and are used to inform the state’s development of the list of reviewed, recommended curricula. The new law only expands instruction by requiring the inclusion of youth of all protected class statuses (e.g. LGBTQ, disability), by requiring instruction to span all grades, and by requiring instruction on consent and healthy relationships.
- It is very important for school boards to make sure that they enact policies and select curricula that reflect the will of the public- and according to multiple public opinion studies, the will of the public is that every student be offered access to honest, accurate, and inclusive sex education.
- OSPI is required to continue to regularly review curricula and add to the list of options. Their focus is to find a wide array of products that would fit for different communities.
I’ve seen odd examples being shared on social media. What’s that about?
- There’s an outrage machine that continues to misrepresent the new comprehensive sex education law to further politicize the issue.
- False graphics and doctored images have been placed in circulation by opponents intent on shocking families into opposing sex education. This includes content intended for older youth that is intentionally conflated with materials meant for young children.
- For example, there are frequent references to a book titled “It’s Perfectly Normal” purported as a required “textbook” for children as young as 4; this book is actually intended for age 10 and up and is not a required portion of any curriculum.
What are some examples of the State Standards?
- Kindergarten: Focus on “Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings” and “identify safe and unwanted touch” and “recognize characteristics of a friend.”
- First Grade: “Describe how living things grow and mature.”
- Second Grade: “Understand living things can reproduce.”
- Third Grade: “Identify trusted adults to communicate with about relationships.”
- Fourth Grade: “Understand physical, social, and emotional changes occur during puberty.”
- Fifth Grade: “Manage physical, social, and emotional changes that occur during puberty” and “demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication skills” and “apply decision-making skills to make a health-enhancing choice” and “identify trusted adults to ask questions about gender identity and sexual orientation.”
Will my school district be changing its curriculum?
- Starting in 2007, Washington’s Healthy Youth Act required that if schools opted to provide sexual health education, the curriculum they selected must be “medically and scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation” and include information about abstinence as well as other methods of avoiding unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. SB 5395 builds upon the Healthy Youth Act by requiring all public schools to participate and offer sex education in grades K-12.
- By OSPI’s estimate, 60% of Washington schools already offer sex education. If your school district was already providing sex education in compliance with the Healthy Youth Act, not much is likely to change. The most likely changes that could occur include adding grade bands, adding instruction on informed consent, and ensuring that instruction is inclusive of the needs of students of all protected class statuses.