Sex Education: Memo In The United States - Coursework Example

Sex Education: Memo In The United StatesMEMOToday, the United States remains the leading industrial economy in the world with the highest teen birth rates. In estimation, out of every four girls, one is likely to become pregnant by the time they attain 20 years of age. Additionally, about 47 percent of all high school students report to have had sex. As these statistics indicate, our younger population continues to expose itself to the sex-related issues such as acquiring STIs, HIV/AIDS, dropping out of school due to early pregnancies, and living in poverty.

The need to come up with countermeasures therefore suffices; and sex education is the best way to do this.Sex education should be taught to students from as early as in elementary school as opposed to the existing sex education policies where most schools introduce it at high school level. Of the 50 states in the US, only 38 have sex education laws, meaning the remaining 12 decide on whether to teach or not to teach sex education in schools. Additionally, the concept that some states allow parents to decide whether their children should or should not study sex education should be ruled out.

Concisely, sex education should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum. As statistics have it, the US is the leading industrial economy with the highest teen birth rates. 9.8 million new cases of STI infections in teenagers are reported annually. Further shocking revelations in 2011 showed that 24 percent of the new HIV infections were the younger generation within the 13 to 24 years margin (NCSL, 2015). The proposed sex education policy will affect three parties; schools, parents, and students from elementary school and above.

If implemented, all the schools in the United States will be required to incorporate sex education into their curriculum. It should not be optional. The parents will no longer have the capacity to decide whether their children should or should not study sex education. Finally, all students from the elementary school level and above will have to study sex education as part of their curriculum. Present stakeholder analyses indicate that teachers have the highest knowledge of sex matters are willing to teach it to children.

Children are next in terms of sex knowledge and also proposing the inclusion of sex education in their curricula. The parents indicate the lowest knowledge and acceptance that sex education should be mandatory in schools (refer to appendix 1).According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (2015), teenage pregnancies cost the United States about 9.4 billion USD annually. Additionally, 6.5 billion USD is spent on treating STIs in teenagers (excluding HIV/AIDS management).

In 2010, it was estimated that to fund abstinence-only campaigns in the whole of the US, 250 million USD would be required annually for five years (Stanger-Hall & Stanger, 2011). In short, this policy would cost an estimated 1.25 billion USD as compared to the collective 15.9 billion USD used in delivering teenage mothers and treating STIs. Once rolled out, the mandatory sex education will ensure that children from elementary school are introduced to sexual issues before they get exposed to it beyond school.

The concept is that this policy will ensure that they know what sex is, what is risky, and what is unacceptable, and the precautions they should take regarding sexual issues. In this way, their innocence will not work against them as they blindly engage in sex. This will not only reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and STI infections but also save the United States billions in taxpayers’ money.ReferencesNational Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL. (2015, Feb. 13). “State Policies on Sex Education in Schools.” Ncsl.org.

Retrieved on 31 March, 2015 from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspxStanger-Hall, K, & Hall, D. (2011, Oct. 14). “Abstinence-only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.” PLOS Journal 6 (10).The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2015). “Counting it Up: Total Costs to Taxpayers.” The National Campaign. Retrieved on 31 March, 2015 from https://thenationalcampaign.org/resource/counting-it-total-costs-taxpayers APPENDIXAppendix 1: Teachers, Students and Parents’ acceptance of mandatory sex education in schoolsAppendix 2: Costs of teen births in 2010 in the U.S.