New Sex Education Standards Become Target in New Jersey

Dr. Eva Goldfarb and Dr. Lisa Lieberman, Professors in the Public Health Department, studied 30 years of sex education literature and its effects on children. They say the reaction to the new standards has been dominated by a loud minority who are seeking to take advantage of a national debate that has focused on classroom instruction about the LGBT community.

“The vast majority of parents support quality, inclusive sex education. I think some folks are stirring this up for political advantage and are not being truthful in what they’re saying,” said Dr. Lieberman.

Dr. Goldfarb and Dr. Lieberman called the new standards some of the best in the nation. In their studies, they found comprehensive sex education beginning in younger ages can help create a strong foundation for “lifelong sexual health.”

They compared sex education to math: Teachers wouldn’t expect eighth graders to start learning algebra if they never completed lessons on long division, fractions, or basic addition and subtraction. Teaching kids about concepts like gender identity in their formative years will help them better apply and understand the topics in the future, they said.

And at the higher grade levels, their studies found sex education leads to decreased domestic violence between partners, among other things. Mental health also improves among LGBT students when sex education is inclusive to all genders and sexual orientation, they said.

“This sets the stage for anti-bullying, and anti-harassment that comes into play later in life. We’re building basic foundational blocks for what’s appropriate at each grade level,” said Dr. Goldfarb.

Dr. Goldfarb said the concerted effort to fight comprehensive education hurts progress made in the LGBT community.