Greetings,

Last evening, the Assembly voted in session to pass the Healthy Youth Act!  Unfortunately, your Representative voted against this important bill. 

The Healthy Youth Act requires schools that choose to teach sex education do so in a responsible, comprehensive manner that includes information about abstinence and birth control to prevent teen pregnancies and STDs.

However, opponents went on the attack to hurt the bill’s credibility by saying that it would take away parental rights and local control by mandating sex ed for every school district. 

On the contrary, under the Healthy Youth Act, parents’ involvement in school human growth and development curriculum is enhanced, permitting parents to: review the curricula and any course at any time, remove their child from sex ed classrooms for any reason and requires school boards to notify parents if sex ed is not taught.

The Healthy Youth Act also preserves local control at the school board level, as school boards would select curricula that satisfy the principles outlined in the bill.  School boards also retain the ability to choose not to teach human growth and development.

Please take a moment to contact your Representative and express your disappointment for their negative vote on the Healthy Youth Act.

Subject: Wisconsin Youth Deserve Better

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As you know, STI and the number of unintended pregnancies are on the rise here in Wisconsin. Twenty percent of new HIV infections in the state are diagnosed in young people ages 15-24. These outcomes have a devastating impact on the teen parents and state taxpayers. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and children born to teens are nine times more likely to live in poverty. Each year, Wisconsin spends $273 million on costs associated with unintended teen childbearing and STDs.

The Healthy Youth Act requires that public schools that choose to offer sexuality education include core elements that have been proven to reduce teen pregnancy and STI rates. These elements are taught when age appropriate and include: stressing abstinence as the most reliable way to prevent pregnancy and STIs; discussing contraception and barrier methods to prevent disease and pregnancy and the development of healthy life skills, to name a few.

This bill does not mandate that any school teach comprehensive sex ed, instead it gets rid of the inaccurate, ineffective abstinence only curriculum that our schools are currently teaching. School boards still have the decision to teach sex ed, parents still maintain the right to review the curriculum and pull their children out of such classes. Further it enhances parental involvement by ensuring they are informed if a school district chooses not to teach human growth and development.

By voting against the Healthy Youth Act, you voted to withhold accurate and scientific information from Wisconsin youth, and did nothing to reduce the crisis level STI and teen pregnancy rates.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]