Medically Accurate Sexual Health Education (MASHE) is not currently required by Missouri state law. Right now in Missouri, IF a school chooses to teach sexual health education, the law says it can be medically accurate OR it can follow federally approved abstinence-only guidelines.
MASHE ensures that all information regarding sexual health is medically accurate. In contrast to MASHE, many of the federally approved abstinence-only curricula contain misinformation that is dangerous to students’ health and puts students at risk of an unintended pregnancy.
Studies show that teaching abstinence-only-unless-married curricula does not decrease teen sexual activity but does decrease the likelihood of teens using condoms or other types of contraception while engaging in sexual activity.
Teaching comprehensive medically accurate sexual health education has been shown to decrease teen pregnancy rates, delay initiation of sexual activity, and increase the use of contraception. TPPP is committed to advocating for MASHE in all Missouri schools to keep Missouri students healthy and safe!
Looking for resources and research regarding medically accurate sexual health education (MASHE)? Use the resources below to educate, motivate and engage students, teachers, parents and the community to support MASHE.
Adapted from the Working to Institutionalize Sex Ed (WISE) toolkit: http://wisetoolkit.org/resources
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Sexual Risk Behaviors and Academic Achievement, CDC
Data presented from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) show as sexual risk behavior decreases there is an increase in academic achievement, no matter what the sex, race/ethnicity, or grade level of students.
Use the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education websiteto find basic information about school districts such as the number and types of schools (e.g., middle school, high school), enrollment data, and health education codes and standards.
Use the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services websites, or your local health department to find reproductive such as STI and HIV rates among adolescents.
Use the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) State School Health Policy database to explore the laws, legal codes, regulations and mandates of Missouri’s school health policies and activities. This database is searchable by state, topic and keyword.
The CDC’s School Health Profiles
This is a system of surveys that look at school health policies and practices.These profiles are conducted every two years by education and health agencies.
The CDC’s School Health Policies and Practices Study
This is a national survey conducted to evaluate school health policies and practices at the state, district, school and classroom levels.