Standley Middle School
THE CALIFORNIA HEALTHY YOUTH ACT – EDUCATION CODE §§ 51930 ‐ 51939 COMPREHENSIVE SEXUAL HEALTH AND HIV PREVENTION EDUCATION
THE CALIFORNIA HEALTHY YOUTH ACT – EDUCATION CODE §§ 51930 ‐ 51939 COMPREHENSIVE SEXUAL HEALTH AND HIV PREVENTION EDUCATION
Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Notification
August 28, 2023
Dear Parent/Guardian:
California state law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires that comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education be provided to students at least once in middle school and once in high school, starting in grade 7. A school district may also provide comprehensive sexual health or HIV prevention education earlier than grade 7 consisting of age-appropriate instruction and medically accurate information on any of the general topics. In keeping with these requirements and guidelines, San Diego Unified School District offers comprehensive sexual health education in grades 6, 8, and high school. The California Healthy Youth Act, corresponding CA Education Code, and other instructional resources can be found on the Sexual Health Education Program’s website: www.sandiegounified.org/SHEP.
Our district will be using the Board of Education-approved Rights, Respect, Responsibility curriculum in an in-person classroom-based format. Instruction will be delivered during a timeframe determined by and communicated to you by your child’s teacher. Instruction will be provided by trained district classroom teachers or health agency educators. These health agencies may include Family Health Centers of San Diego, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, and San Ysidro Health.
Instructional materials remain available to preview by parents/guardians online at the school site or from home. To provide you with an accessible opportunity to preview instructional materials, you may watch the pre-recorded online curriculum presentation here. You may also preview instructional materials on the SHEP Curriculum webpage. If you have any trouble viewing these links, you are welcome to come to Standley Middle School and we will get you online to view them.
Please note that parents/guardians may excuse their child from the sexual health instruction for this school year by providing an electronic, printed, or hand-written note in their preferred language to their child's teacher. The note should simply state that they are excusing their child from the instruction, include their child's name, and be generated or signed by the parent or guardian. There is no need for any reason to be stated in this note.
California requires that this instruction be inclusive of all students, encourage students to communicate with parents/guardians about human sexuality, and provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development. Therefore, the following topics must be and are included in our curriculum:
In addition, instruction in grade 8 and high school must and does include:
Online sexual health instruction will only be implemented within independent study schools that use primarily online instruction. If delivered via an online learning format, it is important for families to ensure that:
Sincerely,
William Pearson
Principal
Standley Middle School
August 28, 2023
Dear Parent/Guardian:
California state law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires that comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education be provided to students at least once in middle school and once in high school, starting in grade 7. A school district may also provide comprehensive sexual health or HIV prevention education earlier than grade 7 consisting of age-appropriate instruction and medically accurate information on any of the general topics. In keeping with these requirements and guidelines, San Diego Unified School District offers comprehensive sexual health education in grades 6, 8, and high school. The California Healthy Youth Act, corresponding CA Education Code, and other instructional resources can be found on the Sexual Health Education Program’s website: www.sandiegounified.org/SHEP.
Our district will be using the Board of Education-approved Rights, Respect, Responsibility curriculum in an in-person classroom-based format. Instruction will be delivered during a timeframe determined by and communicated to you by your child’s teacher. Instruction will be provided by trained district classroom teachers or health agency educators. These health agencies may include Family Health Centers of San Diego, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, and San Ysidro Health.
Instructional materials remain available to preview by parents/guardians online at the school site or from home. To provide you with an accessible opportunity to preview instructional materials, you may watch the pre-recorded online curriculum presentation here. You may also preview instructional materials on the SHEP Curriculum webpage. If you have any trouble viewing these links, you are welcome to come to Standley Middle School and we will get you online to view them.
Please note that parents/guardians may excuse their child from the sexual health instruction for this school year by providing an electronic, printed, or hand-written note in their preferred language to their child's teacher. The note should simply state that they are excusing their child from the instruction, include their child's name, and be generated or signed by the parent or guardian. There is no need for any reason to be stated in this note.
California requires that this instruction be inclusive of all students, encourage students to communicate with parents/guardians about human sexuality, and provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development. Therefore, the following topics must be and are included in our curriculum:
- Information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including transmission, FDA approved methods to prevent HIV and STIs, and treatment
- Information that abstinence is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other STIs, and information about the value of delaying sexual activity
- Discussion about social views of HIV and AIDS
- Information about gender, sexual orientation, and the harm of negative gender stereotypes
- Information about healthy relationships and skills to avoid unhealthy behaviors and situations
In addition, instruction in grade 8 and high school must and does include:
- Information about accessing resources for sexual and reproductive health care
- Information about pregnancy, including FDA approved prevention methods and pregnancy options
Online sexual health instruction will only be implemented within independent study schools that use primarily online instruction. If delivered via an online learning format, it is important for families to ensure that:
- Students have headphones or a private space away from younger children to participate in these lessons.
- Students should not record or distribute any of the instructional material without their teacher’s permission.
Sincerely,
William Pearson
Principal
Standley Middle School