Sexuality Education for Life - Minnesota Coalition

March 2007 E-Newsletter

Sexuality Education for Life - Minnesota is a coalition of educational, religious, health, social service and advocacy organizations, as well as concerned individuals that promotes lifelong healthy sexuality by advocating for policies on comprehensive sexuality education and access to confidential health care services.

2007 Legislative Update

Minnesota Update – Bill Heard in Committees

This session, HF 615 and SF 588 have received hearings in both the House and Senate Education Policy Committees. Passing both committees, the bills have been referred on to their respective finance committees where the financial aspect of the bill will be evaluated. Financial support for re-instating the Regional K-12 Training Sites, as well as money for school district grants to support innovation and teacher training are included in the bill. For more information on what’s happening at the Capitol, contact Lorie Alveshere, MOAPPP Policy Coordinator at lorie@moappp.org or Amy Brugh, MN AIDS Project Public Policy Director at amy.brugh@mnaidsproject.org.  .

National Update – The REAL Act

This Thursday, March 22, 2007, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) will introduce the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act.

The REAL Act would provide a dedicated federal funding stream for comprehensive sexuality education. No such funding stream currently exists. This year, however, the federal government will spend $176 million on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, despite the fact there remains not a single, sound, peer-reviewed study showing that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs work to help young people make good decisions in the long term.

What can you do to support Comprehensive Sexuality Education?

§         Register for Youth Lobby Day! Bring Youth to the Capitol!

§         Talk to your legislators! If they have signed on as an author, thank them with a call or e-mail. Bill authors can be found at HF 615 and SF 588. If they haven’t, urge them to support HF 615/SF 588. You can find your legislator at districtfinder.com.

§         E-mail your US Senators and Representative! Tell them to stand for a REAL approach to reducing unintended pregnancies and the transmission of STIs/HIV by becoming an original cosponsor of the REAL Act. Take Action at http://capwiz.com/siecus/home/.

§         Stay Tuned! Watch for action alerts and issue updates on HF 615 and SF 588. Sign up for MyBill, a free service that allows you to track bills as they progress through the legislature.

Upcoming 2007 SEFL Events – RSVP Today!

SEFL Youth Lobby Day at the Capitol

March 28, 2007

1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

State Capitol Room 318

Youth and their parents will learn about the legislative process and issues surrounding comprehensive sexuality education and minors' consent. Please join us for this opportunity to learn about SEFL issues, hear from advocates and legislators, and if schedules permit, to meet with the legislators from your district. Register for this free event by Friday March 23^rd. To register please see the registration form (PDF). For more information contact Laura at MOAPPP at publicpolicyintern@moappp.org.   

In the News

Wisconsin Governor Rejects Federal Abstinence Education Funds

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has directed the state Department of Health and Family Services to notify federal officials that Wisconsin is refusing $600,000 in Title V federal abstinence education funds for fiscal year 2007.  To receive Title V funds, states must adhere to requirements, including barring teachers from discussing contraception and requiring them to say that sex within marriage is "the expected standard of sexual activity." Programs accepting the funds under the new guidelines would not be able to offer complete information about sexually transmitted infections or contraception.  http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=43365

Resources

Guttmacher Institute Report: Facts on Sex Education in the United States

Released by the Guttmacher Institute in December of 2006, this fact sheet highlights sex education from the perspective of both adolescents and teachers.

Center for Adolescent Health and the Law Policy Compendium: Confidential Health Services for Adolescents

This second edition of the Policy Compendium represents a collaborative effort between the Center for Adolescent Health and the Law, the American Medical Association (AMA), and members of the AMA National Coalition on Adolescent Health and the AMA Educational Forum on Adolescent Health.

A Tool to Assess the Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs

Healthy Teen Network and ETR Associates have released this tool, designed for adolescent reproductive health practitioners and program administrators to use in assessing, selecting, improving, and/or designing a sex or STD/HIV education program. The tool is based on the 2006 report, Sex and HIV Education Programs for Youth: Their Impact and Important Characteristics.

Presentation Tools from the Guttmacher Institute

Parental Involvement in Teens’ Contraceptive Use in the United States

This presentation tool from the Guttmacher Institute brings together the latest information about parental involvement in teens’ contraceptive use in the United States. It includes information about sexual activity and contraceptive use among American youth, public policy relating to teens’ access to confidential contraceptive services, what teens would do if they were required to involve their parents, teens’ assessment of their connectedness to and communication with their parents, and what family planning clinics are doing to promote parental involvement.

Also from the Guttmacher Institute, Sex Education: Needs, Programs and Policies brings together the latest research and analysis on sex education in the United States and its effectiveness in preventing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among teenagers. 

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Sexuality Education for Life-Minnesota is a coalition of educational, religious, health, social service and advocacy organizations, as well as concerned individuals that promotes lifelong healthy sexuality by advocating for policies on comprehensive sexuality education and access to confidential health care services. Sexuality Education for Life-Minnesota is coordinated by Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting and Minnesota AIDS Project.

The SEFL Coalition is supported by the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation.

For more information on the SEFL Coalition, go to Sex Ed for Life. Please forward this information on to others interested in supporting the health of Minnesota youth and encourage them to sign up at Sex Ed for Life.

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, e-mail Lorie Alveshere, subject line: unsubscribe Sex Ed for Life.