[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3527 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3527
To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people,
including the promotion and attainment of lifelong sexual health and
healthy relationships, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2025
Ms. Adams (for herself, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Davis of Illinois,
and Ms. Bonamici) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people,
including the promotion and attainment of lifelong sexual health and
healthy relationships, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Real Education and Access for
Healthy Youth Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide young people
with sex education and sexual health services that--
(1) promote and uphold the rights of young people to
information and services that empower them to make decisions
about their bodies, health, sexuality, families, and
communities in all areas of life;
(2) are evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope,
confidential, equitable, accessible, medically accurate and
complete, age and developmentally appropriate, culturally
responsive, trauma-informed and resilience-oriented, and align
with the National Sex Education Standards of the Future of Sex
Ed Initiative;
(3) provide information about the prevention, treatment,
and care of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and
interpersonal violence;
(4) provide information about the importance of consent as
a basis for healthy relationships and for autonomy in health
care;
(5) provide information on gender identity and gender
expression;
(6) provide information on the historical and current
condition in which education and health systems, policies,
programs, services, and practices have uniquely and adversely
impacted Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other People of Color; and
(7) redress inequities in the delivery of sex education and
sexual health services to underserved young people.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Young people need and have the right to sex education
and sexual health services that are evidence-informed,
comprehensive in scope, confidential, equitable, accessible,
medically accurate and complete, age and developmentally
appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed and
resilience-oriented.
(2) Currently, there is a gap between the sex education
that young people should be receiving based on expert standards
and the sex education many actually receive.
(3) Only 36 States and the District of Columbia mandate sex
education or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) education in
schools.
(4) When there is sex education or instruction regarding
HIV or sexually transmitted infections (STI), 13 States do not
require the content to be evidence-informed, medically accurate
and complete, age and developmentally appropriate, or
culturally responsive.
(5) Many sex education programs and sexual health services
currently available were not designed to and do not currently
meet the needs of underserved young people. Some such programs
and services actually harm underserved young people.
(6) For underserved young people, a lack of comprehensive
in scope, confidential, equitable, and accessible sex education
and sexual health services is not unfamiliar, but rather a
longstanding manifestation of white supremacy, which has
touched every aspect of our history, culture, and institutions,
including the education and health care systems.
(7) The development and delivery of sexual health education
and sexual health services in the United States historically
has been rooted in the oppression of Black, Indigenous, Latine,
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other
People of Color.
(8) The United States has a long history of eugenics and
forced sterilization. The sexual and reproductive rights and
bodily autonomy of specific communities deemed ``undesirable''
or ``defective'' were targeted by our governments resulting in
state-sanctioned violence and generations of trauma and
oppression. These communities include--
(A) people with low incomes;
(B) immigrants;
(C) people with disabilities;
(D) people living with HIV;
(E) survivors of interpersonal violence;
(F) people who are incarcerated, detained, or who
otherwise have encountered the criminal-legal system;
(G) Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian American, and
other People of Color;
(H) people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer; and
(I) young people who are pregnant and parenting.
(9) Black young people are more likely to receive
abstinence-only instruction. Research shows that abstinence-
only instruction, also known as ``sexual risk avoidance''
instruction, is ineffective in comparison to comprehensive sex
education.
(10) Black, Indigenous, and Latine young people are
disproportionately more likely to be diagnosed with an STI,
have an unintended pregnancy, or experience sexual assault.
(11) The framework of Reproductive Justice acknowledges and
aims to address the legacy of white supremacy, systemic
oppression, and the restrictions on sex education and sexual
health services that disproportionately impact underserved
communities. Reproductive Justice will be achieved when all
people regardless of actual or perceived race, color,
ethnicity, national origin, religion, immigration status, sex
(including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability
status, pregnancy or parenting status, or age have the power to
make decisions about their bodies, health, sexuality, families,
and communities in all areas of life.
(12) Increased resources are required for sex education and
sexual health services to reach all young people, redress
inequities and their impacts on underserved young people, and
achieve Reproductive Justice for young people.
(13) Such sex education and sexual health services should--
(A) promote and uphold the rights of young people
to information and services in order to make and
exercise informed and responsible decisions about their
sexual health;
(B) be evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope,
confidential, equitable, accessible, age and
developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and
trauma-informed and resilience-oriented;
(C) include instruction and materials that
address--
(i) puberty and adolescent development;
(ii) sexual and reproductive anatomy and
physiology;
(iii) sexual orientation, gender identity,
and gender expression;
(iv) contraception, pregnancy, and
reproduction;
(v) HIV and other STIs;
(vi) consent and healthy relationships; and
(vii) interpersonal violence;
(D) promote gender equity and be inclusive of young
people with varying gender identities, gender
expressions, and sexual orientations;
(E) promote safe and healthy relationships; and
(F) promote racial equity and be responsive to the
needs of young people who are Black, Indigenous, and
other People of Color.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Age and developmentally appropriate.--The term ``age
and developmentally appropriate'' means topics, messages, and
teaching methods suitable to particular ages, age groups, or
developmental levels, based on cognitive, emotional, social,
and behavioral capacity of most young people at that age level.
(2) Consent.--The term ``consent'' means affirmative,
conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal,
physical, or sexual activity.
(3) Culturally responsive.--The term ``culturally
responsive'' means education and services that--
(A) embrace and actively engage and adjust to young
people and their various cultural identities;
(B) recognize the ways in which many underserved
young people face unique barriers in our society that
result in increased adverse health outcomes and
associated stereotypes; and
(C) may address the ways in which racism has shaped
national health care policy, the lasting historical
trauma associated with reproductive health experiments
and forced sterilizations of Black, Latine, and
Indigenous communities, or sexual stereotypes assigned
to young People of Color or LGBTQ+ people.
(4) Evidence-informed.--The term ``evidence-informed''
means incorporating characteristics, content, or skills that
have been proven to be effective through evaluation in changing
sexual behavior.
(5) Gender expression.--The term ``gender expression''
means the expression of one's gender, such as through behavior,
clothing, haircut, or voice, and which may or may not conform
to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically
associated with being either masculine or feminine.
(6) Gender identity.--The term ``gender identity'' means
the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other
gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of
the individual's designated sex at birth.
(7) Inclusive.--The term ``inclusive'' means content and
skills that ensure underserved young people are valued,
respected, centered, and supported in sex education instruction
and materials.
(8) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(9) Interpersonal violence.--The term ``interpersonal
violence'' means abuse, assault, bullying, dating violence,
domestic violence, harassment, intimate partner violence, or
stalking.
(10) Local educational agency.--The term ``local
educational agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801).
(11) Medically accurate and complete.--The term ``medically
accurate and complete'' means that--
(A) the information provided through the education
is verified or supported by the weight of research
conducted in compliance with accepted scientific
methods and is published in peer-reviewed journals,
where applicable; or
(B) the education contains information that leading
professional organizations and agencies with relevant
expertise in the field recognize as accurate,
objective, and complete.
(12) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' means the ability
to adapt to trauma and tragedy.
(13) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(14) Sex education.--The term ``sex education'' means high
quality teaching and learning that--
(A) is delivered, to the maximum extent
practicable, following the National Sexuality Education
Standards of the Future of Sex Ed Initiative;
(B) is about a broad variety of topics related to
sex and sexuality, including--
(i) puberty and adolescent development;
(ii) sexual and reproductive anatomy and
physiology;
(iii) sexual orientation, gender identity,
and gender expression;
(iv) contraception, pregnancy, pregnancy
options, and reproduction;
(v) HIV and other STIs;
(vi) consent and healthy relationships; and
(vii) interpersonal violence;
(C) explores values and beliefs about such topics;
and
(D) helps young people in gaining the skills that
are needed to navigate relationships and manage one's
own sexual health.
(15) Sexual health services.--The term ``sexual health
services'' includes--
(A) sexual health information, education, and
counseling;
(B) all methods of contraception approved by the
Food and Drug Administration;
(C) routine gynecological care, including human
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and cancer screenings;
(D) pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure
prophylaxis;
(E) substance use and mental health services;
(F) interpersonal violence survivor services; and
(G) other pregnancy and STI prevention, care, or
treatment services.
(16) Sexual orientation.--The term ``sexual orientation''
means an individual's romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction
to other people.
(17) State educational agency.--The term ``State
educational agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801).
(18) Trauma.--The term ``trauma'' means a response to an
event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is
experienced or witnessed by an individual or group of people as
physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening with
lasting adverse effects on their functioning and mental,
physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.
(19) Trauma-informed and resilience-oriented.--The term
``trauma-informed and resilience-oriented'' means an approach
that realizes the prevalence of trauma, recognizes the various
ways individuals, organizations, and communities may respond to
trauma differently, recognizes that resilience can be built,
and responds by putting this knowledge into practice.
(20) Underserved young people.--The term ``underserved
young people'' means young people who are disadvantaged by
underlying structural barriers and social inequities, including
young people who are--
(A) Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian American,
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other People of
Color;
(B) immigrants;
(C) in contact with the foster care system;
(D) in contact with the juvenile justice system;
(E) experiencing homelessness;
(F) pregnant or parenting;
(G) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer;
(H) living with HIV;
(I) living with disabilities;
(J) from families with low-incomes; or
(K) living in rural areas.
(21) Young people.--The term ``young people'' means
individuals who are ages 10 through 29 at the time of
commencement of participation in a project supported under this
Act.
(22) Youth-friendly sexual health services.--The term
``youth-friendly sexual health services'' means sexual health
services that are provided in a confidential, equitable, and
accessible manner that makes it easy and comfortable for young
people to seek out and receive services.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR SEX EDUCATION AT ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
AND YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Education, shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to
eligible entities to enable such eligible entities to carry out
projects that provide young people with sex education.
(b) Duration.--Grants awarded under this section shall be for a
period of 5 years.
(c) Eligible Entity.--In this section, the term ``eligible entity''
means a public or private entity that delivers health education to
young people.
(d) Applications.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under this
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
(e) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall give priority to eligible entities that are--
(1) State educational agencies or local educational
agencies; or
(2) Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, as defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(f) Use of Funds.--Each eligible entity that receives a grant under
this section shall use the grant funds to carry out a project that
provides young people with sex education.
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR SEX EDUCATION AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary,