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The National Education Association first discussed the idea of sex education in schools.
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Chicago became the first major city to teach sex education in high school
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Rampant STDs during WWI got the federal government involved in sex ed. In 1918, Congress passed The Chamberlain-Kahn Act, which allocated money to educate soldiers about syphilis and gonorrhea. During this time, Americans began to view sex ed as a public-health issue.
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an English teacher named Lucy S. Curtiss wrote an influential article called "Sex Instruction through English Literature" that encouraged teachers to draw on classical literature when explaining sex to students.
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As a result of the 1930 White House conference on Child Welfare, a statement was made that schools should include instruction in, "social hygiene, including sex; and in the preparation for potential parenthood"
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Courses in sexuality began to appear on college campuses.
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The American School Health Association launched a nationwide program in family life education. Two years later, the American Medical Association, in conjunction with the NEA, published five pamphlets that were commonly referred to as "the sex education series" for schools.
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In 1964, Mary Calderone, a physician who had been the medical director at Planned Parenthood, founded the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
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Congress enacts Title X of the Public Health Services Act, providing funding for family planning services, educational programs, and research.
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Congress expands Title X to include community-based sexuality education and other preventive services for teenagers. "Sex and birth control education programs in communities around the country gathered pace, with increased attention to hard-to-reach populations, such as the handicapped, and to helping parents become the sex educators of their children."
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1988, over 90 percent of all U.S. schools offered some sexuality education
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23 states had passed mandates for sexuality education, an additional 23 states strongly encouraged sex education, 33 mandated AIDS education and 17 additional states recommended it
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Congress authorizes $250 million for abstinence-only education as part of the welfare reform act
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President Obama's budget eliminates most federal funding for abstinence-only sex-education programs, replacing it with funding for programs that have been proven effective through "rigorous evaluation," to delay sexual activity, increase contraceptive use or to reduce teen pregnancy.
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Congress made available $75 million in federal funds for states to implement evidence-based comprehensive sex education, unfortunately it also re-established Title V, providing $50 million in federal funds for states to implement abstinence-only until marriage programs
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In December 2010, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, which included $114.5 million for the President’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative.
The initiative will be administered by the Office of Adolescent Health within the Department of Health and Human Services.
