FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23rd, 2026

Contact: Alison Macklin

[email protected]

For years, SIECUS has tracked a well-funded, highly-coordinated effort to undermine comprehensive sex education across the United States—from copycat “Baby Olivia” legislation requiring medically inaccurate fetal development content in classrooms, to federal attempts to introduce false information about contraception, to the persistent promotion of abstinence-only messaging that leaves young people unprepared to make informed decisions about their lives and health.

The recently released Heritage Foundation policy roadmap, Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years, represents a significant escalation of these efforts.

This is a detailed policy playbook that, if implemented, would roll back decades of progress for women and girls, LGBTQIA+ people, and people of color. The roadmap envisions the elimination of evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education in favor of curricula that: teach young people that the primary purpose of women is to grow up and bear children; omit medically accurate information about contraception and abortion; present a narrow life path centered on heterosexual marriage and childbearing as the sole measure of success; and disregard consent, autonomy, sexual orientation, and gender identity entirely. 

“The Heritage Foundation is the same organization behind Project 2025, a roadmap that this administration has moved to implement in its entirety. That alone should alarm every person who cares about the health and futures of young people. SIECUS is paying close attention and we will not back down,” said Callie Simon, Executive Director of SIECUS Sex Ed for Social Change. 

The Heritage Foundation understands that its vision for America is unpopular. Targeting sex education is a deliberate strategy to shape the values and beliefs of future voters, policymakers, and leaders before they have access to honest, accurate information.

SIECUS remains committed to ensuring that all young people have access to medically accurate, inclusive, and affirming sex education that supports their health, safety, and ability to make decisions aligned with their own values and aspirations. 

We urge supporters, educators, and advocates to take action:

• Learn what’s happening locally: Curriculum decisions are frequently made at the local level. Attending school board meetings and voicing support for evidence-based, inclusive sex education is one of the most direct ways to protect young people in your community.
• Engage at the state level: Legislation advancing the Heritage Foundation’s agenda is being introduced in statehouses across the country. Staying informed about sex education policy in your state and holding elected representatives accountable for their votes is critical.
• Get involved with SIECUS: Join us as we continue to advocate for the freedom, safety, and equality of all young people.

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SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change has served as a leading national voice for sex education since 1964, asserting that sexuality is a fundamental part of being human, one worthy of dignity and respect. Through advocacy, policy, and coalition building, SIECUS advances sex education as a vehicle for social change—where all people receive sex education, are affirmed in their identities, and have the power to make decisions about their own health, pleasure, and wholeness.