Overview

NOHD trains middle and high school staff to deliver medically accurate, comprehensive sex education, addressing rising STI rates in New Orleans. Trainings cover local health data, state and parish policies, and strategies for creating inclusive classrooms, equipping educators to confidently teach sex education.

What is Comprehensive Sex Education?

Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) is evidence-based, medically accurate, and age-appropriate instruction on sexual and reproductive health.

Research shows that CSE improves health outcomes and reduces disparities.

SHER/NOHD Goals

In New Orleans, limited external options exist for providing comprehensive sex education in schools.

Building in-school capacity is essential to ensure young people gain the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their health and relationships.

Sex Education and Health in Louisiana

11.1% of Louisiana secondary schools taught students all 22 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
24.5% of Louisiana secondary schools taught students all 22 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
4th for HIV diagnosis
1st in new chlamydia cases
2nd in new gonorrhea cases
7th in new congenital syphilis cases
8th in primary and secondary syphilis
3rd in teen birth rates
- Three Decades of Resesarch: the Case for Comprehensive Sex Education
- Abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education and the initiation of sexual activity and teen pregnancy
- Reducing STI Cases: Young People Deserve Better Sexual Health Information and Services
- Read more about Louisiana’s Legislative Scorecard: SIECUS Louisiana State Profile

Sexual Education Facilitator Training

To ensure sexual health modules are taught with accuracy and fidelity, the New Orleans Health Department (NOHD) provides free training for designated school staff. Trainings cover core content knowledge and best practices for values-neutral facilitation of sex education. With leadership approval, health, science, physical education, and advisory teachers in middle and high schools are ideal candidates for this training, as sex education content most often aligns with their courses.

Training Objectives

Increase participant understanding of sexual health and sex education nationally and locally; participants will be able to define key concepts including sexual health, sexuality, sex education, and consent. Each module will be reviewed to cover puberty and anatomy, consent and supportive relationships, STIs, and contraceptive care.
Participants will examine current Orleans Parish public health data related to sexual and reproductive health; participants will be able to describe adverse health outcomes with specific understanding of Orleans parish health rankings.
Familiarize participants with Louisiana state sex ed legislation, aligned grade level expectations, consent laws, mandated reporting, and recent legislation affecting LGBTQ+ inclusive environments.
Equip participants with an understanding on the importance of values neutral sex education and build awareness around limiting self-disclosures in effort to provide adolescents comprehensive, evidence-based sexual health information.
Participants will practice responding to sexual health questions using techniques that are widely used by sexual health educators. These tools support adults to deliver information that is developmentally appropriate, medically accurate and without bias.
Provide attendees with trusted sexual health resources nationally and locally; participants will receive a resource guide in addition to the sexual health modules and facilitator guide to prepare for implementation.

Training Curriculum

- Students will learn medically accurate terminology and gain understanding of the reproductive system
- Overview of puberty and associated physical, mental, emotional, and social changes
- Health-focused resources for taking care of body and mind during puberty
- Students will reflect on social-emotional learning skills and relationship value
- Define healthy/supportive relationships and unhealthy/unsupportive and associated qualities
- Define and discuss importance of consent
- Resources to support healthy relationships
- Students will learn about STIs and modes of transmission
- Students will learn about STI prevention, testing, and treatment
- Resources will be shared for further information and support
- Students will learn about various types of birth control including abstinence, condoms, and hormonal methods
- Discuss how birth control might support a person’s overall health and goals
- Resources will be shared for further information and support

Outcomes

9 attendees across 4 unique school sites and 2 community organizations

Ryann Martinek, MPH

Ryann Martinek is a sexual health professional with over a decade of experience advancing education, healthcare access, and gender equity across the U.S. and Asia. She earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington, where she focused on innovative, app-based approaches to adolescent sexual health education.

In New Orleans, Ryann served as a sexual health educator at the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies, teaching comprehensive sex education to more than 400 students. She now works as the Sexual and Reproductive Health Specialist at the New Orleans Health Department, leading community-centered initiatives, training, and policy efforts to improve sexual health across the city.

For more information please reach out to Ryann Martinek at ryann.martinek@nola.gov.

Learn more at nola.gov/sexualhealth