The weekly report on US and International policy
by Edwina Rogers
Secular Policy Institute Supports Real Education For Healthy Youth Act (REHYA)
National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness around the importance of advancing comprehensive sex education.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-31) has once again introduced the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2015, HR 1706 (REHYA), a bill that would provide comprehensive sex education for youth and young adults, and includes funding for teacher training in this area.  Secular Policy Institute staff will work with other like-minded advocacy groups to get this important legislation passed.
California: Judge Rules Abstinence-Only Curriculum is Not Medically Accurate, Violates State Law
In early May 2015, the Fresno County Superior Court ruled that the Clovis Unified School DistrictÔÇÖs abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) program violated state law. This is the first-ever ruling involving CaliforniaÔÇÖs Comprehensive Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Prevention Act, passed in 2003, and finds that AOUM instruction being provided in the district was unlawful on the grounds of medical inaccuracy and bias. The suit was brought by a coalition of community members and organizations, including local parents, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, the American Academy of Pediatrics California District IX, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. In the ruling, Judge Black stated that ÔÇ£access to medically and socially appropriate sexual education is an important public right.ÔÇØ
California is one of only 13 states in the nation with statutes that require sex education, when provided, be medically accurate. Though the ruling only applies to the Clovis School District, public attention brought about by the case has lead other California schools to scale back their AOUM programs.  This case highlights the importance of parental engagement and how compliance is crucial to making sure young people have the information and skills they need to ensure their health and well-being throughout their lives.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Order To Not Serve LGBT Persons Is A Disgrace To Humanity
Secular Policy Institute┬áCalls for all people who honor basic human rights to boycott Louisiana. ┬áProtecting the so-called ÔÇ£religious freedomÔÇØ rights of anti-gay fundamentalists is not a justification for Louisiana Gov. Bobby JindalÔÇÖs executive order authorizing discrimination against LGBT persons.
Jindal recently signed Executive Order BJ 15-8, which purports to permit government employees, business owners and others to refuse service to LGBT persons if they do so on the basis of their religious beliefs.  This is an obvious attempt to secure support from the religious right as he considers a run for the White House in 2016.
JindalÔÇÖs action came in response to a Louisiana House of Representatives committeeÔÇÖs decision not to advance HB 707, the ÔÇ£Marriage and Conscience Act.ÔÇØ Like the debate surrounding the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), this legislation was premised on the false assertion that so-called ÔÇ£religious freedomÔÇØ permits discrimination, even by government employees and in taxpayer-funded social service providers, against LGBT individuals and families.
Thanks to bipartisan opposition, the bill did not pass.
U.S. Starting To Look Like A Third World Nation on LGBT And Human Rights
 Anti-Gay Laws: What countries outlaw same-sex relations, and what is the impact on LGBT people? Check out this interactive map. View now ».  Courtesy of Human Rights Watch.
┬áBold And Important Stance On LGBT Rights ┬áFor Ireland – US Next?
The Catholic Church has lost its power in Ireland, argues The Daily Beast‘s┬áJay Michelson, which he cites as a major reason the majority-Catholic country legalized same-sex marriage by popular vote over the weekend. Michelson suggests that the Church’s stance on homosexuality has alienated congregants in the Emerald Isle — and a similar trend may be occurring in the U.S. A recent Public Religion Research Institute survey found that nearly one-third (31 percent) of millennials who left their childhood religion did so because of “negative teachings” about homosexuality.