Nearly half of the 50 New York school districts examined in a new statewide report received a failing grade for how they teach sex education, with materials in some classrooms including false medical claims and content pulled from anti-abortion groups. The New York Civil Liberties Union's report, released Wednesday, found that more than a third of the districts it surveyed relied on outdated or misleading materials, some dating back to the 1990s or early 2000s.
Titled “Stereotypes, Stigma, and Silence: How New York Fails Students on Sex Ed,” the report evaluated 2023–2024 curricula from rural, urban and suburban districts against the National Sex Education Standards, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. The organization says the review looked at how districts explained consent, LGBTQ+ identities and sexual health, and found that an overemphasis on abstinence ran through much of the material. Aliyah Ansari, a senior education strategist for the NYCLU, said the findings show some districts still teach from materials that are decades old.
Bizarre and Inaccurate Claims Found in Classroom Materials
Some of what turned up in the review reads more like historical fiction than health science. As NYS Focus reported, materials in New York classrooms falsely claimed that Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte had syphilis, that birth control pills increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, and that premarital sex makes someone more likely to cheat on a future spouse.
Of the 50 districts surveyed, 10 used a strict abstinence-only curriculum, 17 relied on fear- or shame-based instructional materials, and three used content sourced from anti-abortion groups including Project Truth, American Pregnancy Association and Birthright International, per the same outlet's report. Quinn Martha, an NYCLU education strategist, said the study also found stigmatizing and shame-based messaging built around abstinence that failed to reflect the full range of student experiences.
No Statewide Standard Leaves Districts to Decide
New York does not have statewide comprehensive sexuality education standards, which Ansari said allows individual schools to define sex education however broadly or narrowly they choose. State regulations under 8 NYCRR 135.3 require public schools to teach HIV/AIDS prevention, but general sexual health instruction isn't mandated by state law, according to a Syracuse University analysis.
That regulatory gap isn't new. The NYCLU published a similar statewide report in 2012 called “Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York's Students,” which reviewed the 2009–2011 school years and documented nearly identical problems with medical inaccuracies, gender stereotyping and shame-based messaging. Fourteen years later, advocates say the same gaps persist largely unaddressed.
Buffalo-Area District Pushes Back on Its Failing Grade
Among the districts that received an F grade was Pioneer Central School District near Buffalo. Superintendent Nicholas Silvaroli disputed the finding, saying the district's health education program is not abstinence-only and that the NYCLU's concerns don't accurately reflect its comprehensive health instruction, as reported by Spectrum News.
Silvaroli said the district's curriculum is age-appropriate and aligned with New York State learning standards, and that its health program includes abstinence as one method of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections while addressing topics beyond it. He also said he was not aware of the NYCLU's methodology or of any recent outreach to the district, per the station's report.
Olean City Cites Outdated Records, Can't Explain Gap
Olean City School District also received a failing grade. A district representative said the materials the NYCLU reviewed were several years old and don't reflect the district's current curriculum, adding that Olean has since updated its health and sex education program to align with current state learning standards and guidance, the same report notes.
The district could not explain why it failed to provide current materials in response to the NYCLU's Freedom of Information Law request, and it did not respond to the NYCLU's outreach after the organization contacted Olean in January with concerns about its sex education documents. Kaye Dyja, a senior communications strategist, said FOIL requires agencies to provide responsive, accurate and up-to-date records, and called outdated curriculum submissions a serious transparency concern.
Public Health Stakes Behind the Push for Reform
The debate over classroom content is tied to broader public health numbers. As of 2024, New York ranked among the top 10 states nationally for rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea, and the state's teen pregnancy rate increased between 2021 and 2023 for the first time in two decades, according to the NYS Focus report. NYCLU analysis says young people aged 15 to 24 consistently have the highest STI rates.
Ansari said teaching safety and respect for differences and identities can help create a safer school climate overall.
Healthy and Safe Students Act Awaits Lawmakers
The NYCLU is pushing state lawmakers to pass the Healthy and Safe Students Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas and Senator Julia Salazar, which would amend New York Education Law to mandate K-12 comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate and LGBTQ+-inclusive sexuality education in all public and charter schools, according to bill tracking records.
Quinn and Ansari both said they hope the report spurs lawmakers into action. Quinn said the study is meant to encourage local engagement and push legislators to listen to students directly, rather than let another decade pass with the same unresolved gaps documented back in 2012.
