Recommended Citation Raitz, Katherine L., "Youth Empowerment in Sex Education " (2015). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 790. Running Head: YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN SEX EDUCATION 1 Youth Empowerment in Sex Education

2 Sex education in public high schools is a critical topic in women and gender studies because sex education content impacts young people’s experiences with and understandings of sex, gender, relationships, and behaviors that impact health and quality of life. This paper critiques the sex education policy and practice in Colorado in order to increase opportunities for youth empowerment. The methods utilized in this paper are critical historical analysis of sex education policy development in the United States, critical discourse analysis of a sex education curriculum that is recommended by the Colorado policy, case studies of sex education extracurricular leadership programs, and interviews with high school-aged leaders in the extracurricular programs. Evidence is presented that the sex education policy in Colorado focuses too strongly on narrow outcomes, including increasing condom use, delaying sexual debut, and reducing a student’s number of sexual partners. The conclusion suggests that increasing the critical thinking opportunities in sex education design will support student learning and agency within sexual experiences and relationships. The paper calls on policy makers to involve sexual healt