Guerrilla Sex Ed

For those seeking out better sex ed...

Georgia

  • Schools in Georgia are required by Georgia Code Annotated §§ 20-2-143 to teach sex ed, though it is not required to be comprehensive or medically accurate.
  • Guidelines created by the state board of education require instruction that emphasizes abstinence until marriage.
  • Sex ed curricula are not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Sex ed curricula are not required to include instruction on consent. However age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education is required in kindergarten through grade nine.
  • Senate Bill 226 was enacted in 2021. It requires school districts to adopt a policy for the removal of books with “harmful materials” on request of parents.
  • House Bill 1084 prohibits instruction on divisive concepts.
  • Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2-.12 states that sex ed should address peer pressure and promote “high self-esteem, local community values, and abstinence from sexual activity as an effective method of prevention of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and AIDS.”
  • Beginning in grade 8, the health education standards require discussion on abstinence as the most effective way to prevent STDs.
  • Sexual violence prevention instruction is included in the standards for grades 9–12.
  • Local school boards are largely responsible for deciding specific subjects this education must cover, age-appropriate messages, and the grade level in which topics are introduced.
  • Parents or guardians may remove their children from all or part of sex ed by sending written notice to the school. This is referred to as an opt-out policy.
  • The Georgia Performance Standards for Health Education, for grades K–12, are used by schools to create lesson plans that “enable their students to become healthy and capable of academic success.”

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 Georgia profile.