- North Dakota state law mandates the teaching of sexuality education, though it is not required to be comprehensive.
- All sex ed curricula must be abstinence-based and must stress the health benefits of remaining abstinent until marriage.
- Sex ed curricula are not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, though the North Dakota Health Education Content Standards include discussion of sexual orientation in their definition of sexuality.
- Sex ed curricula are not required to include instruction on consent.
- HB 1522 was passed in 2023. It prohibits a board or teacher in a public or private school district from establishing a place, facility, school program, or accommodation catering to a student’s perceived or expressed gender, including a preferred gender pronoun, if the perceived or expressed gender is inconsistent with the student’s sex. The only accommodation that can be provided is use of a unisex restroom, and this can only be provided if the board, school, or teacher obtains written consent from the student’s parent or legal guardian.
- HB 1362 was passed in 2023. It establishes parental rights to conceive, raise, manage, train, educate, and reasonably discipline their child, and declares that the right of a fit, competent parent to raise their child without undue government interference is a fundamental liberty.
- HB 1205 was passed in 2023. It prohibits public libraries from having sexually explicit materials.
Some Sex Ed Advocates Within the State
For more detailed information on how various districts in the state have been implementing these standards — and for recent legislation — you can read SIECUS’s North Dakota profile.