SIECUS Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education

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The SIECUS Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education

The SIECUS Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: K-12 are a framework to promote and facilitate the development of comprehensive sexuality education programs. The Guidelines are the first national model for comprehensive sexuality education in the United States. They were developed in 1990 by a Task Force of 20 leading health, education, and sexuality experts convened by SIECUS and revised in 1996 to reflect societal and technological changes that occurred during the subsequent five years. The Guidelines identify the goals of comprehensive sexuality education, six key concepts that a comprehensive programs need to cover, as well as a variety of topics that should be included.

Read the Guidelines in their entirety in Adobe Acrobat format. (252 KB download)

The Goals of Sexuality Education

The primary goal of sexuality education is the promotion of sexual health. Sexuality education seeks to assist people in understanding a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information and skills about taking care of their sexual health, and help them acquire skills to make decisions now and in the future.

The Guidelines recognize four primary goals of sexuality education.

Key Concepts and Topics

The Guidelines recognize six key concepts that represent the most general knowledge about human sexuality and family living. The key concepts encompass the components of the broad definition of sexuality. Each key concept has specific topic areas.

The Guidelines recognize six key concept areas of sexuality education.

Life Behaviors

Several life behaviors, or those desired actions that represent outcomes of instruction were generated for each key concept. The behaviors reflect actions of students either following instruction or during adulthood. These life behaviors represent the desired outcomes of a sexuality education program.

Life Behaviors of a sexually healthy adult according to the Guidelines.

Values Inherent in the Guidelines

The Guidelines are based on specific values related to sexuality. The Task Force has developed these Guidelines to be consistent with values that reflect the beliefs of most communities in a pluralistic society. Each community will need to review these values to be sure that the program is consistent with community norms and diversity.

The Guidelines are based on numerous values related to sexuality.

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