NCSD Statement on Dangerous Policy Proposals Targeting Adolescents 

Trend undercuts fundamental tool for keeping students and communities safe  

For Immediate Release: March 21, 2023 

Contact: Elizabeth Finley, efinley@ncsddc.org, 919-749-7309 

Washington, D.C. — The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) is troubled by the increase in state policy proposals targeting young peoples’ ability to safely grow into healthy adults and undermining the ability of parents, schools, and communities to develop healthy community members. Among the most recent proposed bills aligned with this dangerous trend, Florida has taken steps to limit discussion of menstruation and sexually transmitted infections and Iowa has suggested banning schools from mentioning the lifesaving vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV).  

In response to this growing trend, NCSD Executive Director David C. Harvey released the following statement:  

“We are alarmed by the rise in state legislative attempts to undermine health education, one of the most fundamental tools we have to equip adolescents with lifesaving information about their own bodies, common health experiences, and how to protect themselves.”  

“Science has long proven that young people need medically accurate information to manage their health during their teen years and through the rest of their lives. School is a critical source for that information. As the nation experiences record-high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – half of them diagnosed in people under age 25 – we cannot turn our backs on effective health education and leave young people unprotected in the path of preventable diseases.”  

“Raising healthy adolescents is a community effort that requires partnership between parents, schools, and young people themselves.  Lawmakers should not put students at risk by making them vulnerable to preventable illness, cancer, infertility, pregnancy complications, or other avoidable consequences of STIs.”