About KAEP

For information about the Kansas Abstinence Education Program (KAEP), visit the official KDHE Web site at http://www.kdheks.gov/c-f/ab-ed.html.

The Federal Definition of Abstinence

In recent guidance on abstinence education programs, the Administration for Children and Families of the US Department of Health and Human Services provided the following definition: “Abstinence means voluntarily choosing not to engage in sexual activity until marriage. Sexual activity refers to any type of genital contact or sexual stimulation between two persons including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse.”

Additionally, under the Social Security Act, Title V, Section 510 governing federally funded abstinence education programs, abstinence education is an educational or motivational program which —

1. has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
2. teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school age children;
3. teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems;
4. teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity;
5. teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
6. teaches that bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents, and society;
7. teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances; and
8. teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.

Both the definition of abstinence and of abstinence education provide clear guidelines on the conduct of the Kansas Abstinence Education Program (KAEP). KDHE follows those guidelines in selecting the local agencies that implement the KAEP and in oversight of other elements of the Program such as this Web site.