Lawmakers will introduce a bill to make comprehensive sexual education available to every student in New Mexico, as a way of preventing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, sexual violence, bullying and sexual harassment. (Shelby Kleinhans for Source NM)
When Jade Waskow attended Albuquerque Public Schools, she took a sexual education course in junior high, but it wasn’t until she was in high school she learned on her own that she is “ace,” or asexual, so sex didn’t really interest her.
Her schooling hadn’t even presented her identity as an option, said Waskow, the communications and training coordinator at the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, who also identifies as queer.
“Me being able to discover that word online was in itself a protective factor because if I had just relied on the education I had gotten from my class and that I was hearing from my peers, I would have probably put myself in situations where I wasn’t comfortable, or pushed myself to do things that I thought were normal, because I didn’t get presented with all the different types of relationships and choice could look like,” she said.
Waskow’s organization, along with Equality New Mexico, ACLU-NM and a coalition of other groups, are preparing to push for a bill in the upcoming legislative session starting Jan. 21 to make comprehensive sexual education available to every student in New Mexico, as a way of preventing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, sexual violence, bullying and sexual harassment.
She spoke at a gathering of parents, educators and community organizers in Santa Fe and online on Tuesday night about improving sexual education in New Mexico schools.
Attendees shared personal sex ed experiences when they were in school in New Mexico and elsewhere. Many remembered the courses taught by gym teachers, or whoever could take on the role in addition to their existing duties.
“It can be remarkably hard to find adults who are really comfortable having this conversation, because it’s almost as if nobody had those conversations,” said Jess Clark, director of sexual violence prevention at the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. “We already have standards to teach sex ed in New Mexico. The problem is they’re not being followed, and they’re not as comprehensive as they need to be.”
New Mexico’s standards surpass many other states, he said, but they need an update. They require lessons on healthy relationships in grades K-4, on unhealthy sexual behavior in grades 5-8 and on more detailed topics related to sexuality in grades 9-12.
“Right now, youth getting access to sex ed in New Mexico is dependent on where they live,” said Clark. “That’s one of the things we’re trying to fix, is making sure that every student in New Mexico actually gets access.”
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Nonprofit organization Resolve teaches classes on sexual assault prevention, boundaries and healthy relationships. It partners with Santa Fe Public Schools nurses to provide five sexual health education lessons to 7th and 8th graders in order to meet New Mexico’s Health Education Standards.
Marie Schow, administrative and development coordinator at Resolve, said Santa Fe’s sexual education curriculum is unique as the only district-wide one in New Mexico.
That happened because the district’s Office of Student Wellness made comprehensive sexual education a priority, Clark said.
“We know that young people really need this, and they want it, and that if we are not providing the structure for it in schools that they’re going to seek it out elsewhere,” Clark said. One attendee said when he was a child, he received all of his information about sex from his older brother.
State regulation requires districts to allow parents to exempt their children from the sex ed portion of required health courses.
Clark said some opponents of teaching sexuality in schools often say it should be up to parents to speak with their children about it. He said that should be part of the conversation, but many children don’t want to talk to their parents about sexuality.
The bill would preserve this opt-out option, Clark said, but said it’s equally as important that all students at least have access to this information.
“We can’t let some parents not wanting it take away access for everyone,” he said.
Part of what makes the proposed curriculum under the bill comprehensive, Clark said, is its definitions of LGBTQ+, queer and trans identities. “Not just ‘accepting’ but explicitly naming queer and trans identities and sexualities as part of a larger range of sexualities,” he said.
The lack of LGTBQ-inclusive sexual education can be seen as part of a broader political context of school district book bans that target books featuring LGBTQ+ themes or LGBTQ+ characters.
Clark said the bill will be sponsored by Rep. Yanira Gurrola (D-Albuquerque) and Sen. Angel Charley (D-Acoma). As of Friday, the legislation had not been pre-filed.
Clark said the bill would allow for classes that don’t just talk about what parents and educators don’t want children to do, but also what they do want: healthy relationships.
The bill would also provide resources to rural and smaller districts so they can apply for grants to launch comprehensive sexual education programs, Clark said.
Clark said the grant program would have an “oversight entity” that would pick the curricula that school districts would choose, Clark said.
“We’re not saying, ‘Every school district, you have to do this exact thing,’” he said. “What works in Santa Fe may not work in Hobbs. Even what works in Hobbs may not work in Dulce, or Carlsbad, because our communities are wildly different.”
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