State Profiles

Advocates regularly face uphill battles in advancing sex education in Alaska, routinely working to advance sex education that is age-appropriate and medically accurate. However, in 2022, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson (D-I) introduced Senate Bill 157, which would require sexual health education to be a component of health and personal safety curriculum for K-12 schools. This is the first time in years that advocates have had a positive bill to advocate for. Although ultimately unsuccessful in previous sessions, it continues to be re-introduced in subsequent legislative sessions. Various regressive pieces of legislation were introduced in 2022, including Senate Bill 196 and House Bill 342, which both aimed to increase the accessibility of curriculum to the public. While appearing to increase “parental rights,” bills like Senate Bill 196 and House Bill 342, stigmatize the vital and important information provided under sex education and infringe upon young people’s right to access this education to help them make healthy, informed decisions for themselves. These bills also represent the opposition’s attempt to create additional, unnecessary procedures for consent, review of instructional materials, and advanced notification. These bills represent one of the many challenges faced by advocates in Alaska’s legislative landscape.