The Florida Department of Education has ordered several of the state’s largest school districts to roll back their sex education programs as they head toward more abstinence-based approaches under new state laws. Educators and public health advocates say it could delay students learning about critical topics, including contraception, human development, and consent.

Under it, state officials, on the direction of an appointee from Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, enforce such changes, arguing that some of the instruction materials that exist concerning sexual activity as well as related subjects are not suitable for the students to learn. The directive includes not only sexual activity itself but also quite critical subjects like contraceptives, abuse, and domestic violence.

This new bill has transferred the authority on reproductive health and disease education curricula over to the Florida Department of Education. This is logical for this reason: any instructional material not contained within the state textbook must obtain authorization from the state.

Almost a dozen school districts in Florida are being told to cap their comprehensive sex education instruction plans. According to Elissa Barr, chair of the Florida Healthy Youth Alliance and a public health professor at the University of North Florida, “This could really stall the development and implementation of comprehensive sex education programs needed for healthy relationships and safety education.”.

Critic from comprehensive sex education worried that the far-reaching implication of curricula adopted recently; they feared that the curriculum would bar students from being prepared for all tough dilemmas regarding sexual health and safety. The shift toward curricula that are more restrictive started a battle over the standard of education to the rights of students for a balanced education over important health issues.

School sexual education in Florida faces an uncertain future as the state continues enforcing these guidelines, and many people are advocating for its return to comprehensive and inclusive sexual health education.