Student Age, Inclusion of LGB Topics, and Specifying Appropriateness on Support for Sex Education in the United States: Results From a National Survey Experiment

This study examines public opinion on school-based sex education using a survey experiment ( N = 1,003) that varies grade level (elementary vs. high school), the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) topics, and whether the curriculum is labeled “age appropriate.” Support was lower for elementary school curricula and for those that included LGB topics. The “age-appropriate” label had no effect. Critically, respondents presented with high school curricula that included LGB topics were no more supportive than those presented with elementary school curricula that included LGB topics, indicating that disapproval of LGB inclusion did not depend on age. However, in open-ended responses, many justified opposing the proposal by invoking concerns about student age. This study examines sex education as a critical cultural domain, showing how public judgments about what should be taught and when are shaped by moral discomfort, levels of institutional trust, and perceptions of legitimacy.