Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to affirming that sexuality is a natural and healthy part of life. SIECUS develops, collects, and disseminates information, promotes comprehensive education about sexuality, and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices.[1] It is acknowledged as the institutional voice of these concerns and a pioneer of the comprehensive sex education program.[2]
The organization was founded in 1964 by Mary Calderone, medical director at Planned Parenthood, to challenge the American Social Hygiene Association's sex education program. In 1968, Billy James Hargis and Gordon Drake targeted SIECUS in the famous Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex? pamphlet, as well as other similar publications.[3]
SIECUS is based in Washington, D.C.
SIECUS funds and manages the Future of Sex Education project, whose National Sexuality Education Standards and National Teacher Preparation Standards influence policy-makers and educators alike.
SIECUS is currently a member of the National Coalition Against Censorship.[4]
Curricula proposed by SIECUS include “List medically accurate names for body parts, including the genitals” for Grades K-2 and “Explain common human sexual development and the role of hormones (e.g., romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, timing of pubertal onset)” for Grades 3-5.[5]
References
- ^ "Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)". Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ Irvine, Janice M. (2002). Talk about sex: the battles over sex education in the United States. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520235038.
- ^ Cornblatt, Johannah (2009-10-28). "The Sin of Yielding to Impure Desire: a brief history of sex ed in America". Newsweek.
- ^ "The Coalition". National Coalition Against Censorship. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ SIECUS (2020), NATIONAL SEX EDUCATION STANDARDS (PDF), retrieved 1 August 2022
External links
- Official website
- Future of Sex Education Project of SIECUS, and others, includes evidence based sex education standards.