Sex Education Policies and Requirements at a Glance
Sex education is not required to be taught in American Samoan schools. Instead, the American Samoa Department of Education’s health education program includes a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) School Health Project, which provides education about HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to students. Students in grades 7-12 also receive information on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy through the Teenage Health Teaching Modules, which address issues affecting adolescents. This program teaches students interpersonal communication, “refusal skills, self-esteem, decision-making, and role playing.”
With the goal of reducing HIV infection, schools encourage students “to abstain from sexual intercourse, to not inject drugs, and, when deemed appropriate, to consistently and correctly use latex condoms to prevent HIV infection, if they become sexually active.”
In recent years, advocates have voiced support for the inclusion of sex education in secondary schools beyond HIV/AIDS instruction but this has largely gone unheard by American Samoa’s Ministry of Education.
State Profiles provided by SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. For more information regarding your state’s sex ed policy, visit https://siecus.org/state_profile/u-s-outer-territories-state-profile-23/
