If you think that everyone gets the same sex education that you get, think again.

Only 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education, and a mere 13 require that instruction be medically accurate. The sex education in other states is unlike what is taught at WHS, where four credit years of health is required to graduate, in a state where sex education is mandated and required to be medically accurate.

So what is sex ed like in other states?

In Arizona, Chandler High School sophomore Avery Canedy only needs a semester of health to graduate. After having been through the course, she says, “They only teach about abstinence and STDs so it doesn’t help out a lot.” Sex education is not mandated or required to be medically accurate within the state of Arizona, so it differs from school to school. When education is provided, the only requirements are that it must stress abstinence and include information on the negative outcomes of teen sex.

In North Carolina, Needham B. Broughton High School senior Alessia Corsi only needed a year of health to graduate. Corsi believes that a mere year of health is not sufficient enough to educate the student population. When asked if there should be more comprehensive sex ed, Corsi stated: “I feel there should be more education that’s preventative and more inclusive to other sexualities.” Sex ed is mandated in N.C., but it is required to stress abstinence and the importance of sex only within marriage.

In Wisconsin, Homestead High School senior Anvesha Mukherjee is only required to take one trimester of health in order to graduate. Mukherjee noticed that the course offered at her high school was lackluster, claiming, “There is no special effort made by my school to promote any type of sexual safety to my knowledge, and if so, it is not significant enough to affect the entirety of the school’s population.” In a state where sex education is not mandated and is not required to be medically accurate when taught, the requirements for a health class differ from school to school.

So the next time you zone-out in health class, think about how the information you are learning is both helpful and factual in a state where sex education is mandated.