On April 26, the Chicago Board of Education unanimously passed the Family Life and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education policy submitted by Chicago Public School (CPS) administrators, according to a press release from the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH). The policy requires schools to teach comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education programs.
Students in the sixth grade and higher take a sex education course next year that covers birth control. The courses will include, among other things, instruction on how to prevent pregnancy through abstinence and contraception, as well as consequences of premarital sex and pregnancy.
‘Age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education gives young people the information, skills and encouragement to be responsible,’ Jobi Petersen, executive director of ICAH, said in the statement. ‘We are thrilled that CPS took this important step to help students prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.’
A CPS task force worked with youth leaders from around the city who were affiliated with ICAH to shape the policy, which also requires teachers responsible for teaching family life and comprehensive sexual health education to participate in the training already provided by CPS.