Executive Order 44

September 16, 2024

Download Executive Order 44

Sexual Health Education Task Force

WHEREAS, the New York City’s Department of Education serves more than 900,000 public school students; and

WHEREAS, the City of New York seeks to gather and promote best practices and up-to-date policies on sexual health education to better serve students, prioritize wellness, and engage families; and

WHEREAS, City of New York is committed to creating a modern model for improving women’s health and to dismantling barriers to care through Women Forward NYC, the City’s multi-program, $43-million investment in, and action plan for, gender equity; and

WHEREAS, the City of New York has taken a range of actions to improve outcomes for school-age New Yorkers from bolstering youth mental health by making free online therapy available to teenagers and opening new mental health clinics in public schools, to investing in enriching summer programming and comprehensive gender-affirming health care services for LGBTQ+ patients, including young people; and

WHEREAS, equitable access to comprehensive sexual health education is a foundational element in promoting a culture of respect and inclusivity, and serves to promote health and gender equity for students in the nation’s largest school district; and

WHEREAS, a Sexual Health Education Task Force was created by Local Law 90 of 2017, which sunset in 2022 (“LL90 Task Force”); and

WHEREAS, in 2018, the LL90 Task Force published a report with 11 multifaceted recommendations to promote and improve access to sexual health education, with the goal of fostering healthy relationships, equity, rights, and respect in every borough (the “2018 Report”); and

WHEREAS, a new task force is now necessary to reexamine and build upon the recommendations from the 2018 Report, continue the progress achieved since its publication, promote current best practices, maintain and build stakeholder support and engagement, and continue to promote the implementation of those recommendations;

NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Establishment of the Task Force.  There is hereby established a Sexual Health Education Task Force (the “Task Force”). All members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation and at the pleasure of the Mayor.   

1. The Executive Director of the Commission on Gender Equity or such Executive Director’s designee shall be invited to join and serve ex-officio as chair of the Task Force. Should such Executive Director decline, the Mayor may appoint any other member of the Task Force to serve as its chair.


2. The Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene or such Commissioner’s designee shall serve ex-officio as co-chair of the Task Force, and work in partnership with the chair and other co-chairs.


3. The Chancellor of the Department of Education or, upon the Chancellor’s consent, the Chancellor’s designee, shall be invited to serve on the Task Force and serve as co-chair of the Task Force, and work in partnership with the chair and other co-chairs. 


4. The chair shall identify and recommend to the Mayor up to twenty community members, including sexual health advocates, parents, caregivers, educators, and representatives from relevant organizations to serve on the Task Force. One such member who is a sexual health advocate shall be invited by the chair to serve as co-chair of the Task Force, and work in partnership with the chair and other co-chairs.


5. Deputy Mayors, or their designees, may serve ex-officio as members of the Task Force.


6. The chair may invite representatives from any mayoral agency or office, including but not limited to the Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Administration for Children’s Services, and the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, to serve ex-officio as members on the Task Force.

§ 2. Duties of the Task Force. 

1. The Task Force shall hold at least one meeting every four months and shall:
   
   
   1. Examine the 2018 report recommendations;
   2. Seek out, listen to and incorporate feedback from students, parents, caregivers, teachers, and school leaders regarding concerns and preferences around existing sexual health education topics;
   3. Request information to inventory existing sexual health education programming and services in New York City public schools;
   4. Identify and recommend opportunities to expand and adapt existing sexual health education programs and launch new programs, with consideration of the availability of resources in public schools; and
   5. Identify opportunities for collaboration on sexual health education programming and services among City agencies, schools, and other relevant stakeholders.
      
      
2. The chair may invite experts and community stakeholders to attend Task Force meetings to share relevant information with the Task Force.


3. The Task Force shall submit at least one report on its findings and recommendations to the Mayor no more than two years after its first meeting. Following the submission of the report, the Task Force may submit ongoing findings and recommendations to the Mayor as it deems necessary, as well as offer its services as a collaborative partner in the furtherance of sexual health education programming and services to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Education, as relevant.

§ 3.  Each year, the Task Force shall report its activities and progress to the Commission on Gender Equity, which may, at its discretion, include such information in the Commission’s annual reports.

§ 4. This Order shall take effect immediately, and shall expire and be deemed revoked on December 31, 2029.


Eric Adams
Mayor