An Act Providing Health Education in Schools
Senate Bill 288, House Bill 597
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An Act Providing Health Education in Schools would insert health education, as defined by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks and as required by the Supreme Judicial Court, into the core curriculum for public schools. School districts would be required to teach age-appropriate health education in grades K-12.
Background on health education in Massachusetts
Some school districts have excellent health education programs. Other school districts have little or no health education as part of their curriculum.
In 1993, the Supreme Judicial Court required that the Commonwealth provide an adequate education for those enrolled in the public schools. It further defined “adequacy” by requiring that students possess specific capabilities including, “sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness”.
The Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) created a science-based health education framework in response to the Supreme Judicial Court decision. However, the DOE has no mechanism to enforce the compliance of school districts unless health education is part of the core curriculum.
Click here to view the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Education Curriculum Framework: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/health/1999/1099.pdf
Why is this necessary?
Adding health education to the core curriculum affords students the opportunity to learn about a wide range of important topics such as nutrition, physical activity, mental health, safety and injury prevention, reproduction and sexuality, substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, consumer health, growth and development, family life, interpersonal relationships, disease prevention, ecological health and community health.
Results of the 2005 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey demonstrate that young people in the Commonwealth are very much in need of health education. Among Massachusetts youth:
- 51% had tried smoking cigarettes at least once in their lifetime
- 27% engaged in at least one episode of binge drinking in the month prior to the survey
- 13% had seriously considered suicide
- Among sexually active students, only 65% used a condom the last time they had sex
- 45% have had sexual intercourse in their lifetimes
- 29% were in a physical fight in the 12 months before the survey
- 27% are overweight or at risk for being overweight.
The survey also found that risky behaviors are associated with lower academic achievement, and that health education can raise school attendance, graduation rates, and increase cognitive development and decision-making skills.
Current Status of this bill
On May 29th, the Health Education Bill was heard by the Joint Committee on Education. We are now awaiting the Committee's report on this legislation.
Who supports this bill?
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is part of a broad, statewide coalition of over 110 organizations that has formed to support and advocate for comprehensive health education in the public schools. This coalition, CARE for Youth, includes organizations that represent a wide-range of health and prevention issues such as the Massachusetts Nurses Association, Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, Teens Against Dating Abuse, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.
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