Giving Compass' Take:

• The 2017 book Girl: Love, Sex, Romance and Being You along with a separate video campaign called AMAZE helps cover gaps in sex education classes covering content that students might not otherwise be learning about. 

• Why are these extra materials helpful for providing a comprehensive sex education?

• Read about how different states handle sex education. 

The book titled Girl: Love, Sex, Romance and Being You, and a separate video campaign called AMAZE, aimed at both girls and boys, are both designed to tackle topics that students don't cover in school.

Summer is traditionally a time when young people have a bit more independence and a chance to explore and try new things. And there's a new generation of resources out there aimed at parents who want to make sure that teens are armed with the best possible information about their bodies, sex, and relationships so that they can make good decisions away from adult supervision.

AMAZE is a project of three sexual education nonprofits called Advocates for Youth, Answer, and Youth Tech Health. It first launched last fall, and now there are around 30 animated short videos available on YouTube, with about a million views total. Each tackles a different topic, from coming out as LGBT, to HIV, to dealing with BO.

The goal is to "recognize and acknowledge that sexual development is normal and healthy and people need information that's honest," says Debra Hauser, the president of Advocates for Youth. "Sex education, if it's done well and speaks to young people, can create the foundation for sexual health throughout their lives."

Part of the reason groups like AMAZE are looking for ways to reach students outside of school settings is that there are gaps in official sex-ed classes. According to research by the Guttmacher Institute, which supports reproductive rights, 40 percent of young women and 45 percent of young men reported receiving no formal instruction on contraception.

Read the full article about sex education by Anya Kamenetz at NPR