Louisiana's Laws
Remember, policymakers work for you, the local citizen. Voicing your concerns about issues facing the community they serve is the only way they’ll know how to vote for what the constituents want. Change in a community starts with its citizens.
Click the link below to find talking points, notable statistics, and an email/letter template to encourage and empower you and other parents and caregivers to Geaux Talk to policymakers.
The Facts
Comprehensive sex education (CSE) will help our youth be smarter about their sexual health. In recent years, Louisiana has seen an increase in teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STDs).
CSE programs have been shown to be highly effective in preventing the onset of sex, as well as reducing teen pregnancy and STD rates. Click HERE to download fact sheets about the current state of Louisiana’s health and sex education and arm yourself with information.
Why do we need parent resources & CSE in schools?
- Parents and caregivers want to discuss sexual health with their children but do not feel equipped to do so.
- They want education about sex, sexuality, and information on how to discuss sexual health-related topics with children/adolescents.
- Parents and caregivers identify schools as a good source of sex education for themselves.
- Parents and caregivers expressed that discussing sexual health topics is not only uncomfortable, but that they are in need of training/education of their own in order to be able to approach sexual health topics with their children.
- There is a difference between feeling comfortable discussing sexual health with one’s children and feeling that those conversations are effective.
- Focus group participants who were comfortable bringing up sex-related topics with their children were not confident that these conversations were effective/would impact their child’s behavior.
According to survey results, parents and caregivers have expressed interest in their children being taught about the following topics:
- Bullying
- Rape, date rape, sexual assault
- Self-esteem building and coping skills
- Spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS and STDs
- Talking to parents and caregivers about sexual health
- Peer pressure to have sex
- Healthy and unhealthy relationships/ abuse
- Benefits of not having sex, abstinence
- Stress and its effect on the body
- Basics of puberty and reproduction
- Use of and obtaining birth control and condoms
- How to put a condom on
- Sexual orientation and gender