Change in the Organization of the Standards

2014

2020

2.1 Wellness

1. Personal Growth and Development
2. Nutrition
3. Diseases and Health Conditions
4. Safety
5. Social and Emotional Health

2.2  Integrated Skills

1. Interpersonal Communication
2. Decision-Making and Goal Setting
3. Character Development
4. Advocacy and Service
5. Health Services and Information

2.3  Drugs and Medicines

1. Medicines
2. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs
3. Dependency/Addiction and Treatment

2.4 Human Relationships and Sexuality

1. Relationships
2. Sexuality
3. Pregnancy and Parenting

2.5 Motor Skill Development

1. Movement Skills and Concepts
2. Strategy
3. Sportsmanship, Rules, and Safety

2.6 Fitness

1. Fitness and Physical Activity

2.1 Personal and Mental Health

1. Personal Growth and Development
2. Pregnancy and Parenting
3. Emotional Health
4. Social and Sexual Health
5. Community Health Services and Support

2.2 Physical Wellness

1. Movement Skills and Concepts
2. Physical Fitness
3. Lifelong Fitness
4. Nutrition
5. Personal Safety

2.3 Safety

1. Health Conditions, Diseases and Medicines
2. Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs
3. Dependency, Substance Disorder and Treatment

Grade level benchmarks:

 Pre, 2, 4, 6, 8,10 & 12

Grade level benchmarks:

2, 5, 8, & 12

Standards Added to the

2020 Health & Physical Education Curriculum

2.1 Personal and Mental Health by the end of Grade 2:

Personal Growth and Development:

• 2.1.2.PGD.5: List medically accurate names for body parts, including the genitals

Social & Sexual Health:

• 2.1.2.SSH.1: Discuss how individuals make their own choices about how to express themselves.
• 2.1.2.SSH.2: Discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.
• 2.1.2.SSH.7: Explain healthy ways for friends to express feelings for and to one another
• 2.1.2.SSH.8: Demonstrate healthy ways to respond to disagreements or conflicts with others (e.g., leave, talk to trusted adults, tell a sibling or peer).
• 2.1.2.SSH.9: Define bullying and teasing and explain why they are wrong and harmful.

Pregnancy and Parenting

• 2.1.2.PP.1: Define reproduction (i.e. that living beings reproduce, not how they reproduce)
• 2.1.2.PP.2: Explain the ways in which parents may care for their offspring (e.g., animals, people, fish).

2.1 Personal and Mental Health by the end of Grade 5:

Personal Growth & Development

• 2.1.5.PGD.1: Explain the relationship between sexual intercourse and human reproduction.
• 2.1.5.PGD.2: Examine how the body changes during puberty and how these changes influence personal self-care.
• 2.1.5.PGD.4: Explain common human sexual development and the role of hormones (e.g., romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, timing of pubertal onset). Those in parentheses are suggestions and are not mandated topics.
• 2.1.5.PGD.5: Identify trusted adults, including family members, caregivers, school staff, and health care professionals, whom students can talk to about relationships and ask questions about puberty and adolescent health.

Social and Sexual Health

• 2.1.5.SSH.1: Describe gender-role stereotypes and their potential impact on self and others.
• 2.1.5.SSH.2: Differentiate between sexual orientation and gender identity.
• 2.1.2.SSH.4: Determine the factors that contribute to healthy relationships within a family.

2.1 Personal and Mental Health by the end of Grade 8:

Personal Growth and Development

• 2.1.8.PGD.3: Describe the human reproductive systems, the external and internal body parts and their functions, and the natural variations that exist in human bodies.  

Social and Sexual Health

• 2.1.8.SSH.2: Develop a plan for the school to promote dignity and respect for people of all genders, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations in the school community.
• 2.1.8.SSH.3: Demonstrate communication skills that will support healthy relationships
• 2.1.8.SSH.7: Identify factors that are important in deciding whether and when to engage in sexual behaviors.
• 2.1.8.SSH.8: Identify factors that can affect the ability to give or perceive consent to sexual activity (e.g., body image, selfesteem, alcohol, other substances).
• 2.1.8.SSH.9: Define vaginal, oral, and anal sex.  

Community Health Services and Support

• 2.1.8.CHSS.2: Describe the state and federal laws related to age of consent, minors’ ability to consent to health care, confidentiality in a healthcare setting, child pornography, sexting, safe haven and sex trafficking.
• 2.1.8.CHSS.3: Identify the state and federal laws related to minors' access to sexual healthcare services, including pregnancy and STIs/HIV prevention, testing, care, and treatment.
• 2.1.8.CHSS.4: Identify community resources and/or other sources of support, such as trusted adults, including family members, caregivers, and school staff, that students can go to if they are or someone they know is being sexually harassed, abused, assaulted, exploited, or trafficked.  
•  2.1.8.CHSS.5: Identify medically accurate sources of information about STIs, including HIV, such as local STIs / HIV prevention, steps to obtain PrEP and PEP, testing, and treatment resources.

2.1 Personal and Mental Health by the end of Grade 12:

Social and Sexual Health

• 2.1.12.SSH.2: Advocate for school and community policies and programs that promote dignity and respect for people of all genders, gender expressions, gender identities, and sexual orientations.
• 2.1.12.SSH.3: Analyze current social issues affecting perceptions of sexuality, culture, ethnicity, disability status and make recommendations to address those issues.
• 2.1.12.SSH.5: Demonstrate ways to show respect for the boundaries of others as they relate to intimacy and sexual behavior.
• 2.1.12.SSH.8: Describe the human sexual response cycle, including the role of hormones and pleasure
• 2.1.12.SSH.9: Analyze the personal and societal factors that could keep someone from leaving an unhealthy relationship.
• 2.1.12.SSH.10: Analyze the state and federal laws related to minors’ ability to give and receive sexual consent and their association with sexually explicit media.

Pregnancy and Parenting

• 2.1.12.PP.1: Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of contraceptive and disease prevention methods (e.g., abstinence, condoms, emergency contraception, dental dams).
•  2.1.12.PP.2: Develop a plan to eliminate or reduce risk for unintended pregnancy and/or STIs (including HIV) and identify ways to overcome potential barriers to prevention.
• 2.1.12.PP.3: Identify trusted adults, including family members, caregivers, school staff, and health care professionals to ask questions and discuss pregnancy and other health topics.
• 2.1.12.PP.7: Analyze the emotional, social, physical, and financial effects of being a teen or young adult parent.
• 2.1.12.PP.8: Assess the skills needed to be an effective parent.

Community Health Services and Support

• 2.1.12. CHSS.3: Explain the purpose of the Safe Haven Law and identify locations in your community.
• 2.1.12.CHSS.4: Identify medically accurate sources of information and local services that provide contraceptive methods (including emergency contraception and condoms) and pregnancy options (including parenting, abortion, safe haven, adoption, and prenatal care).

By the end of 2nd grade:

2.1.2.SSH.2: Discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.

Rationale:

Students typically begin to develop an understanding of themselves and people around them in elementary school. This is also a time when implicit and explicit messages about gender and identity can become ingrained. For instance, girls may receive messages that math and science are “boy” subjects, and boys may be taught that arts are for girls. Gendered stereotypes are real and can have negative consequences for children’s academic growth, self-worth, and mental health as they get older. These standards are designed to ensure that children understand that everyone has the ability to live their life in the way that suits them, no matter their gender. They should also help children to understand that every person deserves respect, no matter their identity or expression. Children also initiate and develop relationships and navigate increasingly complex peer relationships in school settings. The inherent complexity in peer interactions can be challenging for students, from all backgrounds, and the rise in mental health concerns suggests a need to promote healthy relationships and positive self-worth at early ages. Beginning these conversations in early elementary school will help students develop empathy for a diverse group of people, and to learn about how to show respect to people no matter how they identify.

By the end of 5th grade:

2.1.5.PGD.4: Explain common human sexual development and the role of hormones (e.g., romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, timing of pubertal onset).

Best practice is to introduce students to information about puberty prior to its onset, so that children know what to expect (see, for example, World Health Organization 2021 and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] 2018). Waiting until after they have begun processing the feelings and emotions associated with puberty may leave children without the tools to appropriately process these changes. This can be a challenging time, where students’ rapid physical and emotional development can put them at risk for bullying, social isolation, and increased need for mental health support. Instruction in upper elementary school focuses on the physical, emotional, and social changes that students may experience. The focus of instruction is to emphasize to students that developmental changes and feelings are normal. It is important to note that the examples in parenthesis of the performance expectations are not required concepts that must be taught in classes. These are merely examples and school district curricula does not need to include these specific words or concepts in order to meet the Core Ideas or Performance Expectations of these standards.

By the end of 8th grade:

2.1.8.SSH.9: Define vaginal, oral, and anal sex.

Finally, ensuring that students understand that they have agency over their own bodies is foundational to keeping them safe and protecting themselves from pressure, dating violence, and assault. It is important to provide students language for, and understanding of, specific acts, empowering them to stay safe, evaluate risks, make informed decisions, and communicate health issues or injuries if necessary. Further, youth who are unable to appropriately name sexual acts may not be able to accurately report instances of sexual harm or abuse if it occurs.