S. 1910 — Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act of 2025

This section states the purpose of the Act to provide young people with evidence-informed, comprehensive sex education and sexual health services that promote their rights to information on specified topics (including pregnancy and STI prevention, consent, gender identity, and inequities affecting people of color), align with National Sex Education Standards, and redress inequities for underserved youth. The section also includes congressional findings on gaps in current sex education (e.g., only 36 states plus D.C. mandate it; 13 states lack requirements for evidence-informed content), historical oppression and eugenics impacting underserved communities, disproportionate STI/pregnancy/violence rates among Black, Indigenous, and Latine youth, and the need for resources to achieve reproductive justice.

This section defines 20 terms for purposes of the Act, including "age and developmentally appropriate," "consent" (i.e., affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to sexual activity), "culturally responsive," "evidence-informed," "gender expression," "gender identity," "inclusive," "interpersonal violence" (e.g., dating violence, harassment, stalking), "medically accurate and complete" (i.e., verified by peer-reviewed research or recognized by leading health organizations), "resilience," "sex education" (i.e., instruction on puberty, anatomy, contraception, STIs, consent, and violence following National Sexuality Education Standards), "sexual health services" (e.g., contraception, HPV vaccines, PrEP/PEP), "sexual orientation," "trauma," and "trauma-informed and resilience-oriented," as well as "underserved young people" (i.e., youth facing structural barriers such as people of color, immigrants, foster or justice-involved youth). It cross-references existing statutory definitions for "institution of higher education" (20 U.S.C. 1001), "local educational agency" and "State educational agency" (20 U.S.C. 7801), and "Secretary" (i.e., of Health and Human Services).

This section authorizes the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to award competitive five-year grants to eligible entities (i.e., public or private entities delivering health education to young people) for projects providing sex education to young people. In awarding grants, the Secretary must give priority to state educational agencies, local educational agencies, Indian Tribes, or Tribal organizations (as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act).

This section authorizes the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to award competitive five-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia thereof to provide students with age- and developmentally appropriate sex education. In awarding grants, the Secretary must give priority to IHEs that (1) have an enrollment of needy students, as defined in section 318(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)); or (2) are Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges or Universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, or minority institutions with needy students, as defined in specified sections of such Act. Grant recipients must use funds to develop and implement projects integrating sex education to reach many students through one or more activities: (1) incorporating it into student orientation, general education, or courses; (2) developing or adopting out-of-class educational programming; (3) developing or adopting technology-based delivery methods; (4) developing or adopting peer-led activities for discussion and awareness; or (5) developing or adopting policies and practices linking students to sexual health services.

This section authorizes the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to award competitive five-year grants to eligible entities for professional development and training to increase effective teaching of sex education to young people. Eligible entities include state educational agencies, local educational agencies, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, state or local health departments, educational service agencies, nonprofit institutions of higher education or consortia, and national or statewide nonprofit organizations focused on sex education training; grantees must use funds for training teachers, health educators, faculty, administrators, and staff, and may use funds for related permissible activities—(1) training on content, skills, and dispositions for effective sex education; (2) training on anti-racist and gender-inclusive practices; (3) disseminating effective practices and research; (4) conducting research on teaching practices and assessments of student understanding and program effects; (5) convening conferences; and (6) developing and disseminating research-based materials—and may award subgrants to qualified nonprofits for educator training, distance learning, standards and assessments, best practices replication, multilingual materials, or pedagogy courses at institutions of higher education.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive five-year grants to eligible entities to deliver youth-friendly sexual health services to underserved young people. Eligible entities include public or private youth-serving organizations and covered entities under the 340B drug discount program (i.e., safety-net health care providers such as disproportionate share hospitals and certain clinics that purchase covered outpatient drugs at discounted ceiling prices equal to average manufacturer price reduced by the Medicaid rebate percentage). Grant recipients may use funds to (1) develop and implement evidence-informed projects; (2) modify staff positions, policies, locations, environments, or schedules to increase youth-friendliness; (3) conduct outreach and solicit feedback; (4) establish referral systems; (5) form partnerships for service linkages (e.g., on-site services or transportation); (6) provide comprehensive, confidential, age-appropriate sexual health information; (7) promote communication on sexual health; and (8) train personnel and community members.

This section establishes reporting and evaluation requirements for grants awarded under sections 4, 5, 6, and 7. Specifically, it (1) requires each grantee to submit an annual report to the Secretary detailing the use of grant funds, how such use increased young people's access to sex education or sexual health services, and other information required by the Secretary; (2) directs the Secretary to submit a report to Congress within one year of enactment and annually thereafter for five years that summarizes how grants meet the Act's purpose, the number of grantees and activities under sections 4, 5, 6, and 7, the aggregate and disaggregated number of young people served under sections 4, 5, and 7 (by grant program, race and ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other characteristics determined by the Secretary, without revealing personally identifiable information), the number of personnel trained under section 6, and the status of the evaluation under subsection (c); and (3) requires the Secretary, within six months of enactment, to contract with an independent nonprofit organization experienced in impact evaluations to conduct a multi-year evaluation of projects under sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 using rigorous standards and methods, with a final report due to Congress and the Secretary within six years of enactment and made publicly available (including on the Department of Health and Human Services website).

This section prohibits activities funded under the Act from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), age, pregnancy, parental status, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or religion. It further specifies that nothing in the Act limits rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available under other federal laws—including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—or under state or local laws.

This section prohibits federal funds provided under this Act from being used for sex education or sexual health services that—(1) withhold health-promoting or life-saving information about sexuality-related topics, including HIV; (2) are medically inaccurate or incomplete; (3) promote gender or racial stereotypes or are unresponsive to gender or racial inequities; (4) fail to address the needs of sexually active young people; (5) fail to address the needs of pregnant or parenting young people; (6) fail to address the needs of survivors of interpersonal violence; (7) fail to address the needs of young people of all physical, developmental, or mental abilities; (8) fail to be inclusive of individuals with varying gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations; or (9) are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and public health.

This section strikes from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) three prohibitions on the use of funds under that Act—specifically, (1) developing or distributing materials, or operating programs or courses of instruction directed at youth, that are designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual; (2) providing sex education or HIV-prevention education in schools unless age appropriate and including the health benefits of abstinence; and (3) operating a program of contraceptive distribution in schools—and redesignates the remaining prohibitions on distributing legally obscene materials to minors on school grounds and providing dangerous weapons or related training (with exceptions for certain educational activities, such as archery or hunting). (Thus, ESEA funds may now be used for the activities previously prohibited in items (1) through (3).)

This section repeals section 510 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 710), the Abstinence Education Grant Program—which provides formula allotments to states (or other entities via competitive grants) for sexual risk avoidance education targeting low-income children (previously extended through March 31, 2025)—and transfers its unobligated balances to carry out this Act (amounts remain available until expended). This section authorizes $100 million for each of FY2026 through FY2031 to carry out the Act (amounts remain available until expended) and directs the Secretary to reserve specified shares as follows: (1) not more than 30% for grants for sex education at elementary and secondary schools and youth-serving organizations under section 4; (2) not more than 10% for grants for sex education at institutions of higher education under section 5; (3) not more than 15% for grants for educator training under section 6; (4) not more than 30% for grants for sexual health services for underserved youth under section 7; (5) not less than 5% for reporting and impact evaluation under section 8; and (6) not less than 10% for research, training, and technical assistance (provided directly or via competitive grants, in collaboration with relevant experts).