Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
Home › Student Services » Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Resources
Palo Alto Unified School District's (PAUSD) Comprehensive Sexual Health Education program is designed to encourage students to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development, body image, gender roles, sexual orientation, relationships, marriage, and family (EC 51930). Per California law, PAUSD and all California public school districts, shall ensure that all students in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education. Each student shall receive this instruction at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school (EC 51934 (a)).
If you have any questions, please contact Health Services at (650)833-4240 or health@pausd.org.
2019-20 Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Parent Nights
Parent Night # 1: October 15th, 2019 @ 6:30 pm, Palo Verde MPR
Parent Night # 2: January 13th, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, Walter Hays MPR
Parent Night # 3: February 27th, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, Nixon MPR
Ohlone 4th/5th Grade Parent Night: April 22nd, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, Ohlone MPR
Fletcher Middle School: April 1st, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, Fletcher Middle School MPR
JLS Middle School: April 20th, 2020 @ 7:00 pm, JLS Middle School MPR
Greene Middle School: February 6th, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, Greene Middle School MPR
Family Talk Workshops (Attendance By Reservation through Eventbrite)
What's Happening To Me? Workshop - for 5th and 6th graders and their families
October 2nd, 2019 @ 6:30 pm, PAUSD District Office Board Room
What Am I Feeling? Workshop - for 7th and 8th graders and their families
March 25th, 2020 @ 6:30 pm, PAUSD District Office Board Room
2019-20 Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Lesson Schedule
10/28/19 - 11/1/19
Palo Verde Elementary School
Escondido Elementary School
Barron Park Elementary School
El Carmelo Elementary School
Fairmeadow Elementary School
Juana Briones Elementary School
Walter Hays Elementary School
Duveneck Elementary School
Addison Elementary School
Ohlone Elementary School (4th/5th Grade)
3/2/20 - 3/20/20
Greene Middle School
JLS Middle School
California Healthy Youth Act Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the California Healthy Youth Act?
A: The California Healthy Youth Act (California Education Code Sections 51930-51939), which was approved in October of 2015 and took effect in January of 2016, requires all California school districts to provide comprehensive sexuality education at least once in middle school and at least once in high school.
Q: What is the difference about the new law?
A: The California Healthy Youth Act reinforces a focus on having healthy attitudes, behaviors, and relationships. In addition to HIV/AIDS prevention education, this law expands the requirement to include the teaching of all modes of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and addressing all gender identities and orientations.
Specifically, the law (California Ed. Code 51930) addresses the teaching of the following:
To provide pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect their sexual and reproductive health from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and from unintended pregnancy.
To provide pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development, body image, gender, sexual orientation, relationships, marriage, and family.
To promote understanding of sexuality as a normal part of human development.
To ensure pupils receive integrated, comprehensive, accurate, and unbiased sexual health and HIV prevention instruction and provide educators with clear tools and guidance to accomplish that end.
To provide pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to have healthy, positive, and safe relationships and behaviors.
Q: Who determines what is "age appropriate" and medically accurate" sexual education?
A: The Adolescent Sexual Health Work Group (ASHWG), which is comprised of program managers from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Department of Education (CDE), and key non-governmental organizations, reviews sexual health education programs for age appropriateness and medically accuracy.
California Education Code 51931, defines "age appropriateness" and "medically accuracy" as:
"Age appropriate" refers to topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular ages or age groups of children and adolescents, based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age or age group.
"Medically accurate" means verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field, such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Q: Who will be delivering the comprehensive sexual health lessons in PAUSD?
A: PAUSD uses the Health Connected supplemental materials in grade 5 (Puberty Talk), grade 7 (Teen Talk Middle School), and high school (Teen Talk High School). 5th grade instruction is led by Health Connected educators. In 7th grade, 1st year teachers to the Health Connected lessons will have Health Connected educators delivering materials. 2nd year and above teachers will deliver the Health Connected materials to their own classrooms. In High School, Health Connected materials are incorporated into the Living Skills class and is taught by the PAUSD teachers.
Q: How was the Health Connected content selected for use?
A: PAUSD has contracted with Health Connected, a Bay Area based non-profit organization that has a long history with many school districts in our state. This agency has provided long term support to PAUSD living skills classes at the high school level and has also trained district nurses. Selecting Health Connected to provide elementary (grade 5) and middle school (grade 7) sexual health information allows for K-12 alignment in the district and continuity for students and families. While PAUSD has taught health standards using a variety of supplemental resources for more than 15 years, the Health Connected resources are a response to the mandated topics required by the California Healthy Youth Act (California Education Code Sections 51930-51939) and ensure consistency of information to all students. PAUSD uses the Health Connected materials in grade 5 (Puberty Talk), grade 7 (Teen Talk), and high school (Teen Talk High School).
Q: How was the Health Connected content verified?
A: Health Connected's curricula has gone through a rigorous review process. The Teen Talk Middle School and Teen Talk High School curricula were both reviewed by the Adolescent Sexual Health Work Group (ASHWG). Health Connected also partnered with physicians at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) to complete a medical review of each curricula before they are published. Lastly, Health Connected's curricula were evaluated by the California Healthy Kids Resource Center's Material Review Board process and determined to be of high quality.
You can find the curriculum review for Health Connected here: http://www.health-connected.org/curriculum-review
PAUSD school principals and chief academic officers reviewed requirements of the new law and the materials Health Connected had developed to meet the school district's legal obligations to student sexual health information. The content was fully vetted by PAUSD school principals and chief academic officers.
Q: What components are included in the 7th Grade Teen Talk program?
A: The following public health topics are components of the Health Connected Teen Talk for seventh graders:
Decision-making and values clarification
Communicating with parents
Healthy relationships and peer and partner communication
Access and rights to health care
Definitions of sex/abstinence
Consent, sexual safety, and the law
Sexual identity and gender identity
Sex and sexuality in the media
Reproductive anatomy
Q: How can I view the lessons before instruction begins?
A: Each school year, the curriculum is available for viewing by parents at school sites during office hours prior to the beginning of instruction. Materials are also available from 8:00 am - 4:45 pm at the District Office in Educational Services. Further details about viewing materials will be included in correspondence from each school to parents.
Q: How does PAUSD evaluate the effectiveness of the program?
A: In addition to Health Connected's own program internal evaluation, PAUSD will be extending the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) to include the optional module of sexual health in order to monitor student behavior and attitude.
Q: Can I opt out my student from Comprehensive Sexual Health Education?
A: California state law allows you to remove your student from all or part of any sexual health education provided. You may also excuse your student from any assessments given by the district. If you DO NOT want you student to participate in the comprehensive sexual health education lessons or assessments, please send a written note to your schools' front office or student's teacher.
Q: Can I selectively opt out my student from LGBTQ-related content?
A: No, you cannot selectively opt out your student from the LGBTQ-related content while remaining in the classroom for other sexual health instruction. Permitting parental opt-out that targets LGBTQ-related lessons would make it impossible for a school to fulfill its mandate of correcting hostile environments and would instead promote, allow, and facilitate discrimination in violation of both state and federal law. Parents/guardians may, of course, choose to remove their students from comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention instruction in its entirety, including the LGBTQ-focused content.
For more information on LGBTQ-inclusivity requirements, please see the CALIFORNIA HEALTHY YOUTH ACT IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKIT LGBTQ-Inclusivity Requirements and How They Interact with Parental Opt-Out from the ACLU.