Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/669580
Teaching the concept is required by law for high schools as of Jan. 1, and it has filtered down to the middle school level, too. Male and female students sit together in groups and practice saying no — or yes — to understand the difference. ey take the role-playing seriously, telling each other "I'm not ready, I'm afraid of getting pregnant" or "Yes, I love you, I am ready." " I 'm n o t t e l l i n g y o u t o h av e s e x ," says Garcia . " You are not ready emo- t i o n a l ly o r f i n a n c i a l ly u n t i l y o u a re m u c h o l d e r. B u t i t 's i m p o r t a n t t o think ab out th e se thin gs b efore y ou are pre ssured to en ga ge in a ctiv ity." Y E S M E A N S Y E S Until 2016 the mantra in sex education was "No means no." But that changed in January to "Yes means yes" when teaching "affirmative consent" became mandatory (SB 695). It is one of several changes this year in sex education, following a Supe- rior Court judge's ruling in May 2015 upholding a ban on abstinence-only sex education in California's public schools. Gov. Jerry Brown also signed a bill (AB 329) that makes sex edu- cation mandatory in grades 7-12 in California. (Parents can exempt students from sex education and affirmative consent lessons.) Topics include sexual harass- m e n t , r e l a t i o n s h i p a b u s e , intimate partner violence, and sex trafficking. "Sex trafficking is a big prob- lem in our port city," says Garcia. "Students get lured into 'Romeo romances' when someone tar- gets lonely students, provides them with attention, buys them expensive gifts, gathers informa- tion on the family, and eventually blackmails them to turn tricks or else a family member may get hurt. ey will ask the young lady to go back to her school and recruit others. Students need to be informed of the dangers so they won't be lured into it." Classes must include medically accu- rate teaching about human development a n d s e xu a l i ty i n c l u d i n g p re g n a n c y, contraception, sexual orientation, and sexually transmitted disease. Sex ed has become more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and qu e stionin g stu d ent s . S ch o o l s mu st address topics in ways that are accurate, unbiased and affirming of LGBTQ+ stu- dents and families. Garcia is pleased with the changes, Rancho Cotate High School educator Reuben Steinglass uses skits so students can practice their communication skills. The Laws California Healthy Youth Act (AB 329): Spon- sored by Assembly Member Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) in 2015. Combines and mandates HIV prevention and sexual health education for stu- dents in grades 7-12 (the first time sex education is mandatory in middle school). The lack of a man- date for comprehensive sex education resulted in uneven instruction in public schools throughout California, notes the ACLU. The law also requires that curriculum "affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations." Before this law, says the ACLU, districts were "picking and choosing" what they wanted to teach, and LGBTQ+ students oen were made to feel invisi- ble or stigmatized in health class. Affirmative Consent (SB 695): Sponsored by Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) in 2015. The first law of its kind in the nation, requiring high schools to teach affirmative consent (meaning "affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement" to engage in sexual activity) in schools that require a health class for graduation. It is known as the "Yes means yes" law. American Academy of Pediatrics v. Clovis Unified School District: In a historic May 2015 decision, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that health classes focusing exclusively on telling students to remain abstinent until marriage fall short of the state's comprehensive sex ed requirements and violate a 2003 state law ban- ning abstinence-only sex education. The ruling created a legal precedent that California students have a right to sex education that is complete, medically accurate, and free of bias. 39 April 2016