Frequently Asked Questions

The California Healthy Youth Act, which took effect in January 2016, requires school districts to provide students with integrated, comprehensive, accurate, and unbiased comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school. The purposes of the California Healthy Youth Act are:

• 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

More information about the California Healthy Youth Act can be found on the California Department of Education website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/index.asp.

In addition to requiring that students receive comprehensive sexual health education at least twice—(at least) once in middle school and (at least) once in high school—the California Healthy Youth Act includes new language about adolescent relationship abuse and sex trafficking and reinforces a focus on healthy attitudes, healthy behaviors, and healthy relationships. It also strengthened previous requirements that instruction and materials be appropriate for students of all sexual orientations and genders and ensures that sexual health education does not promote outdated gender norms. The law also updated the existing HIV prevention education mandate to reflect the developments made in our understanding of and ability to treat and prevent HIV over the last 20 years.

Yes. The state legislation, AB 329, requires that students in grades seven through 12 receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school.

Comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education may be taught in grades K-6; however, all instruction and materials in grades K-6 must meet the instructional criteria or baseline requirements listed identified on EC 51933. Content that is additionally required in grades 7-12 may be also be included in an age-appropriate way in earlier grades.

Abstinence‐only instruction is not permitted. 

According to the Education Code (EC 51933), all instruction and materials in all grades must:

• Be age-appropriate;

• Be medically accurate and objective;

• Align with and support the purposes of the California Healthy Youth Act, as described above;

• Be appropriate for use with pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds;

• Be appropriate for and equally available to English language learners;

• Be appropriate for and accessible to pupils with disabilities;

• Affirmatively recognize different sexual orientations and be inclusive of same-sex relationships in discussions and examples;

• Teach about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and the harm of negative gender stereotypes;

• Encourage students to communicate with their parents/guardians and other trusted adults about human sexuality, and provide skills for doing so;

• Teach the value of and prepare students to have and maintain committed relationships such as marriage;

• Provide knowledge and skills for forming healthy relationships that are free from violence; and

• Provide knowledge and skills for making and implementing healthy decisions about sexuality including negotiation and refusal skills to assist students in overcoming peer pressure and using effective decision making skills to avoid high-risk activities.

In addition, the Education Code (EC 51933) specifies that instruction and materials in all grades may not:

• Teach or promote religious doctrine; or

• Reflect or promote bias against any person on the basis of actual or perceived disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race or ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation, or any other category protected by the non-discrimination policy codified in EC 220.

Instruction provided in grades 7-12, in addition to meeting the instructional criteria or baseline requirements above, must include all of the following content (EC § 51934):

• Information on the nature and transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs);

• Information about all federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved methods of preventing and reducing the risk of transmission of HIV and other STIs, including antiretroviral treatment, and information about treatment of HIV and STIs;

• Information about reducing the risk of HIV transmission as a result of injection drug use by decreasing needle use and needle sharing;

• Discussion about social views of HIV and AIDS, emphasizing that all people are at some risk of contracting HIV and that the only way to know one’s HIV status is by being tested;

• Information about accessing resources for sexual and reproductive health care and assistance with sexual assault and intimate partner violence, as well as students’ legal rights to access these resources;

• Information about the effectiveness and safety of all federal FDA-approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy (including emergency contraception);

• Information that abstinence is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy and HIV and other STIs; information about value of delaying sexual activity must be included and must be accompanied by information about other methods for preventing pregnancy, HIV and STIs;

• Information about pregnancy, including 1) the importance of prenatal care; 2) all legally available pregnancy outcomes, including parenting, adoption, and abortion; and 3) California’s newborn safe surrender law; and

• Information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, adolescent relationship abuse, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking.

Abstinence‐only instruction is not permitted. 

Parents/guardians are notified that their student will be receiving comprehensive sexual health instruction via the EGUSD Parent & Student Handbook, as well as a notification sent home at least two weeks prior to instruction.

The notification will provide information about how to view the curriculum and other instructional materials and how parents/guardians may opt their student out of instruction. Districts must also allow parents to remove their student from instruction if they so choose, using a passive consent (“opt‐out”) process in which parents must request in writing that their student not receive the instruction.

Although CA legislation permits parents/guardians to opt out of "all or part" of comprehensive sexual health instruction, it should be noted that some topics are integrated throughout the curriculum and not isolated to a single lesson. For example, the curriculum is LGBTQ-inclusive and integrates LGBTQ content throughout; therefore, it would not be possible to selectively opt a student out of instruction on gender and sexual orientation. Additionally, state and federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation in schools; a district permitting a student to be opted out of learning about a group of people would violate the non-discrimination provisions.

“AGE‐APPROPRIATE” is defined in EC § 51931(a) as “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.”

Yes. The California Healthy Youth Act requires that students learn about local resources for sexual and reproductive health care, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. The law also requires instruction about how students can access those resources and their rights to access them.

EGUSD Middle School and High School students will be able to access information about local health resources included on the EGUSD "Know Your Rights" handout.

Education Code 33544 requires that all school districts that have health education as a graduation requirement must include instruction on California’s affirmative consent standard. This standard is defined as follows: “‘Affirmative consent’ means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is the responsibility of each person involved in the sexual activity to ensure that he or she has the affirmative consent of the other or others to engage in the sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent. Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.” (EC 67386.)

The law also does not require that this instruction be provided within comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education. However, the California Healthy Youth Act does require that comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education address healthy relationships and communication; establishing boundaries, understanding bodily autonomy, and giving and giving consent are important components of this instruction. Therefore, there is a natural overlap between the topic of consent and the California Healthy Youth Act.

All instruction and materials in grades K-12 must be inclusive of LGBTQ students. Instruction shall affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations and, when discussing or providing examples of relationships and couples, must be inclusive of same-sex relationships. (EC 51933(d)(5).) It must also teach students about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes. (EC 51933(d)(6).) This means that schools must teach about sexual orientation and what being transgender means.

The California Healthy Youth Act requires that sexual health education be appropriate for use with students of all genders and sexual orientations and clearly states that part of the intent of the law is “to encourage a pupil to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development, body image, gender, sexual orientation, relationships, marriage, and family.” (EC 51930.)

The California Healthy Youth Act also prohibits sexual health education classes from promoting bias against anyone on the basis of any category protected by Education Code 220, which includes actual or perceived gender and sexual orientation.

All topics included in the curriculum are required by California legislation or as a result of input from educational partners (including students, families, community members, teachers, health professionals, etc) in order to ensure the curriculum was coherent and inclusive of all individuals.

Topics include:

• Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights

• Human Reproductive System

• Human Life Cycle, including puberty, menstruation, and pregnancy

• Gender & Sexual Orientation

• Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Assault

• Healthy Relationships

• Human Trafficking

• Consent

• Communicable Disease

• Decision-making

• Communication Skills

Additionally, for middle school & high school only:

• Contraception

• Pregnancy Options, including Safely Surrendered Baby Law

• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV & AIDS

For specific information addressed on these topics, please refer to the CSHE Learning Progression or grade-level lessons.

• Goodheart-Willcox

• P&G School Programs

• Positive Prevention PLUS

• Advocates for Youth 3R’s

• FLASH

• Be Real. Be Ready. (from SFUSD)

• Teen Talk

While most lessons were developed by EGUSD teachers, some activities and/lessons were adapted from existing open educational resources. Where appropriate, the sources have been cited.

January 2022 - Current  EGUSD Health teachers, Student Equity Councils*, the EGUSD Health Steering Committee (comprised of both K-12 teachers and district office health staff), and the EGUSD Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Advisory Committee reviewed each lesson and supporting materials.

January 19, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 1, 2022, June 1, 2022, and July 7, 2022  Additionally, feedback opportunities for EGUSD staff were held via Zoom.

February 2022  The learning progression and lessons were presented to the EGUSD Wellness Collaborative. Follow-up meetings with Collaborative members and colleagues allowed for an in-depth discussion of topics in the curriculum and approaches to instruction.

May 2022  The EGUSD Health Steering Committee and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Advisory Committee took action to recommend the high school curriculum for adoption.

August - September 2022  The high school curriculum was made available online for public review and feedback.

September 2022  The EGUSD Board of Education took action to adopt the high school curriculum.

In Progress...

January 2023  The 5th grade and middle school curriculum will be made available online for public review and feedback.

February 2023  The EGUSD Board of Education will review the proposed curriculum and be asked to take action to adopt the curriculum.

February - March 2023  Annual K-12 Parent Information Nights will be held at three locations to provide information and resources to support comprehensive sexual health education in the classroom and at home.

Spring 2023 and beyond  Community Wellness Workshops will be hosted to support families in developing a deeper understanding of comprehensive sexual health topics, support for engaging in conversations at home, and local healthcare resources.

Ongoing  EGUSD teachers will participate in mandated training in order to implement high-quality, inclusive, and legally compliant comprehensive sexual health instruction. Additional refresher trainings and supplemental, optional trainings will be available.

Ongoing  Feedback will be solicited and reviewed after curriculum is taught in order to continuously improve the training and implementation of the comprehensive sexual health education program.

The curriculum can be accessed here: EGUSD Curriculum Development

All teachers providing comprehensive sexual health instruction in EGUSD are required to participate in a mandated training prior to teaching. The training includes the following information:

• Legislative requirements and district policies

• Recent research and data related to comprehensive sexuality education, current health statistics (local and national), and recent medical updates and findings

• Local healthcare resources

• Implementation of the adopted curriculum

Additional optional training is offered throughout the year for a more in-depth exploration of specific topics and/or requirements by EGUSD personnel, Sacramento County Office of Education, California Department of Education, and local/state Public Health Departments.

No. School districts have an affirmative legal obligation to prevent bias-based bullying, harassment and discrimination and to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students (EC 201, 220). The California Healthy Youth Act supports these efforts by requiring inclusive instruction and prohibiting biased instruction. This is to ensure that all students feel safe on and off campus knowing that all their peers received the same messages on acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, resulting in a positive school climate. 

From the California Health Education Framework: "[...]Receiving puberty and sexual health education separately can foster anxiety and misinformation between genders and allow for some students to be misgendered, or placed in a group that does not reflect their gender identity. In a safe learning environment where students of all genders learn together about growth and development, teachers can reduce discomfort and foster understanding about both similarities and differences in the puberty changes experienced by students" (p.261).

The following list includes resources for parents/guardians who wish to engage in conversations with their student(s) at home about comprehensive sexual health in the absence of classroom instruction:

• Talk with Your Kids (https://www.talkwithyourkids.org): tips for parents on how to talk with their children at different ages to support them in making healthy and informed decisions to reduce their risk for unintended pregnancies, STD transmission, and experience healthy relationships

• Amaze for Parents (https://amaze.org/parents): resource to help parents and guardians talk to their kids about everything from babies to bodies to gender to consent to relationships, including resource guides and videos

• Proctor & Gamble Resources for Parents (https://www.pgschoolprograms.com/Parents): videos and reading list to support conversations between parents and children about puberty

• Common Sense Media Parents Need to Know (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent-concerns): articles, videos, and FAQs that increase parent and student awareness of the influence of technology on personal safety, relationships, and social- and emotional-health

*Please note that these are resources for use at home by parents/guardians and are not the adopted EGUSD elementary comprehensive sexual health curricula used in the classroom.

Additionally, teachers may provide activities in which caregivers and students engage in conversations or tasks related to the topic of classroom instruction.

Also, stay tuned for opportunities to attend community workshops on sexual health topics as part of the EGUSD Wellness Series.

Email questions to HealthEducation@egusd.net.