You probably don’t need many more reasons to convince you that the 2020 election is SUPER important. But while you’re here, let me tell you about a really important issue on your ballot here in Washington: comprehensive sex education. 
Referendum 90 (“R90”) is our opportunity to weigh in on a law that Washington lawmakers passed earlier this year. The law requires school districts to teach comprehensive, age-appropriate and inclusive sexual education. The curriculum varies significantly by grade, of course, but there are state standards for all K-12 students. This law will only go into effect if Washington voters (like you!) vote to APPROVE Referendum 90. Here are ten reasons why you should be pumped to support Referendum 90 on your ballot:
- Quality sex ed keeps young people safe. Young people who get a comprehensive sex education are less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, contract a sexually transmitted infection or have an unintended pregnancy. These are serious things and helping young folks avoid them is a big deal.
- R90 requires age appropriate education throughout K-12. Starting early means more time to learn, grow and understand important issues. Under R90, students in kindergarten and early grades focus on social-emotional learning. As students get older, the curriculum transitions to more mature and age appropriate topics covering sexual health, consent, STIs, and other topics.
- We NEED to teach young people about consent. Sexual assault and sexual violence are huge issues across our country, and especially among young people. Teaching youth the importance of consent, how to respect boundaries, how to ask for consent and how to understand withdrawing consent is a huge step in the right direction. This is a really important part of R90’s curriculum. R90 also includes lessons on bystander training and intervention.
- Our education needs to include LGBTQ+ youth in positive ways. Approving R90 means LGBTQ+ youth will be reflected positively in sexual health education. This is a valuable and impactful way to make our educational system more inclusive and to widen acceptance and respect among teachers and peers.
- R90 promotes racial equity. Students of color experience stigma and harmful stereotypes throughout our education system, and sex education is no different. Schools that teach disproportionately Black and Brown students are more likely to use abstinence-only education. Furthermore, students of color often experience increased societal stigma against their sexual freedom.
- Children at risk of abuse need a way to ask for help. R90 will keep children safer from abuse. Children who are being sexually abused often don’t understand what is happening until they are provided with the tools and language to communicate the situation with a trusted adult.
- This is about expanding access, not mandating it. Our community is safest and strongest when everyone has access to these lessons. That being said, R90 still allows parents to opt their children out of lessons if they choose to. This isn’t a state mandate, but rather an important expansion of access to critical lessons, information and growth.
- A ton of dope community orgs support R90! When our most trusted community organizations rally together to support a cause, you know it’s serious. R90 is endorsed by Washington Student Association, ACLU of Washington, Planned Parenthood, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Gender Justice League, Disability Rights Washington, Justice for Girls Coalition of Washington State, Northwest Progressive Institute, Sexual Violence Law Center, Washington State Association of School Psychologists and many others!
- Direct democracy is super cool and your voice matters. This one is a bit nerdy, but honestly who cares! We’re lucky to be in Washington where we have a lot of opportunities to weigh in on really, really big policies and issues as VOTERS. Every voter in Washington has the chance to support (or oppose) Referendum 90. A lot of states don’t work like this! We don’t need to call our lawmakers, go to Olympia, lobby, or anything like that. We vote. And if we vote to approve R90, young folks for generations to come will benefit from our decision to support sex ed!
- The Bus LOVES R90! It’s true! We’ve been working hard to get the vote out for R90 and remind young folks of why this referendum is SO important. Just the other night we texted over 25,000 young folks in one night about R90 (see pic below). If you’ve read this far, you’re probably a fan of the Bus and we think you should be a fan of R90 as well 🙂
