The disability community represents a diverse group of perspectives on identity and language use. In accordance with current community language guidelines, we choose to capitalize Disabled and other identity terms on an individual basis based on feedback from key stakeholders. We also choose to use a combination of identity-first and person-first language in order to best represent the diversity of perspectives within the Disability community.

We believe that all people have the right to choose the language used to describe them, and we welcome feedback about our language use from those who are part of the communities we discuss in this work. In your own work, please consider the diversity of perspectives represented in identity-based language, and always ask the students and families that you work with what language they use for themselves and what language they would like you to use for them.

We believe that disability is a neutral identity, and that disability labels carry no negative connotations. We are also strong advocates against the use of euphemisms for disability, in alignment with current community language guidelines. When community language guidelines conflict with guidelines from the American Psychological Organization or other professional organizations, we choose to defer to community guidelines and to the recommendations from the National Center on Disability and Journalism’s Disability Language Style Guide.

Sex education is associated with increases in prosocial behavior, empowerment, and self protection (Ward et al., 2013, Hickson et al., 2015, Khemka et al., 2005, and Bollman & Davis, 2009, in Stoffers & Curtiss, 2025, pp. 191-192).

Sex education is associated with increased contraceptive use, a 50% reduction in teen pregnancy, and reduced rates of STI and HIV transmission (Kirby, 2008, Stanger-Hall & Hall, 2011, and Kohler et al., 2008 in Stair & Roach, 2024; Haberland, 2015).

Sex education has been found to improve overall school climate (Baams et al., 2017). In particular, sex education curricula that are inclusive of all sexual and gender identities across all content areas reduced homophobic bullying and harassment and increased safety for LGBTQIA+ students (Goldfarb & Lieberman, 2021). Although no disability-specific research is yet available, we believe that disability-affirming and inclusive sex education would have similar positive impacts for Disabled students.

The lack of comprehensive sex education is linked to a variety of harmful outcomes, such as higher risk of sexual victimization, assault, and abuse, STI transmission, unwanted pregnancy, and overall reduced knowledge of one’s own body and how to protect yourself and others during sexual interactions (Toman et al., 2024).