Sex ed in Florida just got a major overhaul. Thanks to new guidelines from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), districts are no longer allowed to teach students about contraceptives or show any pictures of reproductive organs. Instead, the focus has shifted to promoting abstinence, removing discussions about consent, and making sure there’s no mention of different types of sex, like oral, vaginal, or anal.
Florida’s Sex Ed Classes Banned?
Under this new system, schools must submit their sex ed plans to the state for approval, losing any local control they once had over what’s taught in classrooms. While Florida has long emphasized abstinence as the go-to message for grades 6 through 12, the changes now go a step further by limiting what schools can say about sexual health entirely.
A memo from Broward County officials, obtained by The Orlando Sentinel, revealed the extent of these changes. The state has verbally instructed districts not to include pictures of reproductive anatomy at any grade level and clarified that contraceptives are not part of the health or science curriculum. While contraceptives can still be mentioned as a “health resource,” there can be no demonstrations, activities, or images showing how they’re used.
This leaves districts like Orange County, which used to start sex ed in 5th grade and covered contraception and STDs in high school, scrambling. They now need state approval for any additional curriculum, and if the state doesn’t respond, districts may be forced to cancel sex ed classes altogether.
Elissa Barr, a professor of public health at the University of North Florida, is closely following the changes. She’s been compiling a list of words and phrases local officials have been told to remove from their sex ed plans. These banned terms include: “abuse,” “consent,” “domestic violence,” “fluids,” “gender identity,” and anything LGBTQ-related.
Barr points out that removing the word “fluids” makes it nearly impossible to teach students how HIV is transmitted since the virus spreads through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. “That’s just science,” she said.
As for what the state does want, they’re encouraging districts to use a state-adopted textbook that preaches abstinence as the only way to avoid STDs and pregnancy. The book doesn’t even mention contraception and instead suggests students should avoid being alone with their dates by going on group outings.
