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Most schools in the United States today are falling short on sex education.

Only 24 states require public schools to teach sex ed, and of that number even fewer require including HIV in the curriculum.

But experts say it's not the schools' failure to talk about protected sex that's the biggest issue.

It's time for the talk. Or preferably, "talks."

 chief of the division of adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, and 

 sex educator at Friends' Central, a private school near Philadelphia, about the state of sex education across the country.

Both guests stressed the importance of going beyond just talking about contraception.

Introducing an open discourse in schools and at home about pleasure, power dynamics and sexual identity is imperative to the safety of children, said Walker.

"Kids when they're alone, and they feel safe will ask you a lot of questions that may be critical to them feeling that they're safe and normal and able to have a good life," she said.

Vernacchio agreed, adding that failure to use consistent healthy communication in these discussions is a big problem in sexual education that can lead to kids entering into unhealthy relationships later in life. 

"So often in our sexuality education classes we think we're giving kids clear messages but we're only giving them part of the information," he said.

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To hear the full discussion, click the play button above.

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"The talk" should really be multiple talks say Dr. Leslie Walker and sex educator Al Vernacchio.

Less than half of high schools in the United States cover all of the topics suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in sex education. Only 24 states require public schools to teach sex education, and of that number even fewer require including HIV in the curriculum. MPR News host Kerri Miller discussed the state of sex education across the U.S. with Dr. Leslie Walker, and Al Vernacchio, sex educator. 8/4/16

How to improve sex education at school, and at home

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