Indivisible Plus Washington Endorses R-90
A yes vote on Referendum 90 will uphold the new Washington state law requiring all public schools to teach age-appropriate, inclusive, comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE) to K-12 students. R-90 will support safe and healthy youth in Washington state.
Indivisible Plus Washington supports R-90 for multiple reasons:
- Approximately 60% of school districts already comply with the CSHE state law. Standardizing CHSE throughout Washington state school districts will result in greater equity across the region. LGBTQ+ children will be represented in curricula across the state and no longer be marginalized at the discretion of individual school districts. Six curricula are currently approved, and R-90 also allows school districts to develop their own CSHE curriculum, so long as it is medically and scientifically accurate, and consistent with the provisions outlined in the bill. Additionally, schools with majority Black and Brown youth will no longer be enabled to deliver substandard curricula.
- Young children who are being sexually abused will be given the tools and language to identify sexual abuse. CHSE’s focus on boundaries, proper names for body anatomy, and bodily autonomy will help prevent and intervene in the sexual assault and rape of children.
- CSHE provides young people access to information and resources about healthy relationships to help them understand how to respect personal boundaries, ask for consent, and learn how to say and receive a “no.” Affirmative consent education is included in this legislation to combat the high rates of unwanted sexual contact experienced by youth in our state. According to the 2018 Healthy Youth Survey, 12.3% of our state’s 8th graders, 18.9% of our 10th graders, and 25.2% of our 12th graders have been forced into unwanted kissing, sexual touch or intercourse.
- Young people who have received quality sex education are less likely to partake in risky sexual behavior, experience unintended pregnancy, or contract sexually transmitted infections.
- Abstinence-only education is not an acceptable curriculum and has been proven not to keep youth safe.
- Parents who are opposed to their children receiving age-appropriate comprehensive sexual health education have a strong opt out option.
Ways to Support R-90
For more ways you can support R-90, see the Positively R-90 video
About Indivisible Plus Washington
Indivisible Plus Washington is a state-wide organization focused on voter engagement and turn out, combatting disinformation, combating systemic oppression and the support and amplification of groups that align with our organizing focus. With more than 20 thousand members, Indivisible Plus WA seeks to tear down the institutional and societal structures that enabled the rise of the current administration to power and create a system that enables all people, including people experiencing marginalization, to thrive.
