What is the Healthy Youth Act (HYA)?
An Act relative to healthy youth (S.268/H.544) is a common sense bill that reflects the consensus of the vast majority of MA residents. The bill would require any public school that already chooses to teach sex ed to provide a “medically accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education.”
What would happen if HYA was passed?
- School districts that offer sex education would be required to provide medically accurate, age-appropriate information.
- The curriculum would focus on building healthy relationships to help youth understand consent and boundaries.
- The material would be inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
- Parents and guardians would be allowed to opt their children out from attending offered sexual education classes.
Information from the Healthy Youth Act Coalition.
How is HYA different from the Revised Curriculum Framework that was approved in August, 2023?
- HYA would make sure sex ed curriculum frameworks get updated every 10 years, ensuring that high-quality, inclusive, consent-based health education is available for generations to come.
- Data to help identify districts that need support in providing inclusive content would be collected by the state.
- HYA as a state law can’t be overturned by a new governor’s administration (unlike the Curriculum Framework)
Why does it matter?
Most schools in MA aren’t covering the basics in sex ed.
- Only 50% of MA teens report that they learned how to use a condom.
- By the time Massachusetts high school students graduate, over 60% of them will have had sex.
Comprehensive sex ed teaches students about healthy relationships. This is so important because consent is key in reducing and preventing sexual assault and harassment and fostering positive health outcomes.
Including LGBTQ+ youth in the curriculum will reduce the isolation and barriers that contribute to queer youth facing higher risk of sexual violence. It’s so important to cultivate open conversations about sexual health and consent because it can increase the likelihood of youth survivors reaching out for support.
You can listen to BARCC’s testimony on our Youtube.
Information from School Health Profiles 2020 and CDC – YRBS – Youth Online
How can I take action?
- Reach out to your legislators to tell them you care about the Healthy Youth Act!
- Subscribe to BARCC’s email list and follow us on Facebook, X(Twitter), Instagram and LInked in to make sure you’re up to date on all things Healthy Youth Act!
