Conversations with K–12 students about sexuality and health relationships are still largely taboo. Because there is no national law regarding sex education, only 24 states and D.C. require public schools to teach it—and what the curriculum includes, as well as how teachers are trained, varies across the board. The Trump administration has also pushed funding for abstinence-based programs .
Rose Barcklow, a public health and sexual-violence prevention specialist, envisioned a different model for Denver Public Schools when she entered the district three years ago. As a leader in the adolescent health community and a fan of human-centered design principles, she has worked with students, parents, and educators to create structures for the resources, knowledge, and skills to prepare students to have healthy relationships with one another. Barcklow shared her process with ASCD for changing a district's mindset around comprehensive education.
How would you describe the current state of sex education?
There's no national law dictating what sex education needs to look like, so every state gets to choose whether it's comprehensive, whether it's required or not. It's a disservice to children, parents, and teachers to not have a set structure and curriculum to train all teachers. In Colorado, we have local control, where every principal gets to decide whether they teach sex ed and what the curriculum looks like. Because our district doesn't have any mandates for more than 200 schools, a school might have been doing comprehensive sex ed, but we had no knowledge of who was teaching or how they were teaching it. A statewide bill that passed last month reiterates a 2007 law that if sex ed is taught, it has to be comprehensive and include lessons on healthy relationships and consent as well as be inclusive of the LGBTQ population.
How did your district switch to a more intentional approach?
When I got on board, there were a lot of rumors and biases around why sex ed wasn't being taught. I wanted to bring in research and validation. We did interviews for about a year with parents, teachers, and students. We now have a district-level sexual health internship program, so I work with four youth interns. They do focus groups with fellow students to understand what students want, and together, we create teacher trainings so teachers feel prepared to address those wants.
At the district level, we've also rolled out parent workshops prior to teaching, so parents not only know the content that will be taught but also the skills required to have conversations with students. I've been so surprised by feedback from parents: many are not against teaching it, but what makes them nervous is that they don't know how to answer questions when their child comes home. We've added shame and stigma to sex ed by not talking about it.
Teachers without training or a vetted curriculum used to be able to teach sex ed. Now, before they get access to our curriculum, we make sure teachers have baseline knowledge, work with advisors of the Gay-Straight Alliance, and watch videos where students explain what they want to know. We'll also have a weeklong summer institute in June to learn how to teach sex ed for students with disabilities. Because teachers have seen that the district is supportive, they've been more willing to teach it.
What would you say are the most important components to a well-rounded curriculum?
There are three rules I follow: age-appropriate, medically accurate, and scientifically based. We use the Advocates for Youth curriculum in about 30 elementary schools and 10 to15 high schools, which is free and allows for comprehensive education across K–5 and 6–12. Right now, we're focusing on 5th grade (where teachers expand on body systems lessons in science) and 9th grade biology. Some schools teach the class in advisory or freshmen seminar, some started an "Intro to PE and Health" class, some introduced a comprehensive health elective. I've also seen nurses and social workers help out when teachers are on prep time.
What challenges do educators face when talking about these issues with students?
The No. 1 challenge I hear is time—they're evaluated on student growth in their subject area, so to teach an eight-week sex ed curriculum is going to impact them and students. The second challenge is comfort with the topic, because many teachers never had sex ed themselves. Their biggest fear is of parent reactions, which is why we bring parents into the fold. The last issue is classroom management, according to the students. If a teacher doesn't have the tools to control a classroom, to stop side conversations, giggling, and gestures, students feel unsafe or worry that the curriculum will go in one ear and out the other.
How do you think #MeToo has changed the conversation about K–12 sex education?
We've had more student voice and advocacy around getting consent and healthy relationships content into schools. They've been talking to principals and advisors, saying they've been witness to sexual harassment and want to make sure it stops, but don't feel like they have the skills and knowledge to make those decisions. The physical part of sex ed is easy to teach, but what students feel like they're missing is the social-emotional side—how to have a healthy relationship and feel empowered to say yes or no.
Your district has worked to incorporate student voice in shaping the curriculum. What are the best ways to do so?
You need grant funding from private foundations that work for teen pregnancy prevention, sexual health, and adolescent health. Also, get a job description for a health specialist and teens' work into the district process. If you have student voices, you need to pay them for their expertise and knowledge. Most schools have career-readiness departments, so you'll want to expand interns' work with that program, too. When principals hear 30 students say, "Here's what I'm experiencing, here's why I want to know this information," it changes their minds. Without student voices, I would still be at ground zero.
What advice would you have for educators who want to replicate your district's work?
It's important for schools to let teachers, administrators, and parents know that comprehensive education does include abstinence. We do hope students delay sexual activity, but 50 percent are going to engage before they graduate, so we need to support all students, not just those who delay. Vet the curriculum: Is there inclusive language? Is birth control only talked about in a negative light? California's The WISE Initiative is working to institutionalize sex ed and funds a coalition in almost every state. I constantly look to Washington state and their K–12 model called the FLASH curriculum (which does cost money).
Districts can also use a model of students being the voice for change. Year after year, students want skills to know how to say no and how to say yes. When you follow their needs and requests, comprehensive sex ed always rises to the top.