By Jan Soma, Progressive Needham
Earlier today, over 200 advocates, legislators, and staffers came together in the Great Hall of the Massachusetts State House to join forces in a spirited rally/lobby event focused on sex education in our schools.
The Healthy Youth Act — An Act relative to healthy youth (H544/S268) — was first introduced in 2011. It has been passed unanimously by the Senate, but has not been brought to the floor for a vote in the House.
At the event, lead sponsors Rep. Jim O’Day (D-West Boylston), Rep. Vanna Howard (D-Lowell), and Sen. Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett) spoke of this commonsense bill as vital to the health of our young people. A graduating senior from the Worchester Technical School, Lexis Keys, talked frankly about how we need to do better to educate our young people about sexual health and relationships. Planned Parenthood Vice President of Education, Learning and Engagement Jennifer Hart shared the results of a Guttmacher Institute study that shows Massachusetts as having a sex ed score of zero. Fourteen other states are doing better than we are.
The consensus of the speakers and the audience was that we can and must do better. Of likely voters in Massachusetts, 92% believe that all students have the right to receive sex ed in high school. Sex ed has been shown to reduce bullying and abuse, helps students form healthy relationships and improves their academic performance.
Some hope that having a new governor who is supportive of sexual health education might tip the balance this session. After the rally, advocates fanned out to speak with their legislators to urge their support or to thank them for their ongoing efforts to pass this bill.
