Sign the REAL Act Petition

Do you support comprehensive sex education??

The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act would provide federal money to support comprehensive sex education in schools. This education would include science-based, medically accurate, and age appropriate public health information about abstinence and contraception.

For the past 10 years, there has been NO federal funding for comprehensive sex education in schools. In fact, our government has spent over $1.1 billion dollars on abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education programs since 1996. Such programs refuse to teach young people life-saving information about contraception and STD/HIV prevention, among others.

ACT NOW!! Sign Planned Parenthood of Delaware's petition urging Senators Biden and Carper to co-sponsor the REAL Act and support federally-funded comprehensive sex education programs in schools and communities!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Co-Sponsor the REAL Act for comprehensive sex education

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

We, the undersigned, support medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education in public schools and communities as a proven means to reduce the risk of unplanned teen pregnancy, STI, and HIV/AIDS. For this reason, we urge Senators Biden and Carper to co-sponsor the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, S. 368, which would create a grant program for comprehensive sexuality education that matches federal spending on abstinence-only programs.

Signed by:

Campaign Launched:
June 01, 2006

Background Information

The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act

The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act, formerly the Family Life Education Act, would provide federal money to support responsible sex education in schools and communities. This education would include science-based, medically accurate, and age-appropriate public health information about both abstinence and contraception. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the REAL Act in Congress (H.R. 2553 and S. 368) .

What’s the current situation with sex education?

No federal funding currenly exists for comprehensive sex education in schools. However, from 1996 through federal fiscal year 2005, Congress comitted over $1.1 billion dollars (through both federal and state matching funds) to abstinence-only until marriage programs; meanwhile zero dollars when to comprehensive sex education.

In order to receive federal abstinence-only monies, sexual education programs are prohibited from discussing the health benefits of contraceptives and condoms. Moreover, research shows that programs teaching abstinence plus contraception are far more effective than abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in reducing teen pregnancy and STD transmission. What’s more, public opinion polls show that 90% of Americans support teaching comprehensive sex education in middle and high schools, and 7 out of 10 Americans believed that government funding should go to more comprehensive programming.

What would the REAL Act do?

The REAL Act would allocate $206 million a year over five years to allow states to implement comprehensive approaches to sex education in public schools and community settings—approaches that include information about abstinence and contraception and condoms, from perspectives of both values and public health. Such programs would offer age-appropriate information, encourage family envolvement, and also teach about reproductive anatomy, STD/HIV prevention, and decision making, relationship, and negotiation skills.

For more information, go to Advocates for Youth REAL Campaign website or to the REAL Act to view the bill.