Health Education

On May 8, 2019, the California State Board of Education approved a new framework for health education, including recommendations for teaching sex education that aligns with the California Healthy Youth Act, the state’s comprehensive sexual health education law.

We hope the following information provides information about Assembly Bill (AB) 329 and what we teach in our district.    

The California Healthy Youth Act (which became law in 2016) requires schools to provide students with comprehensive sexual health education, including HIV and STD prevention education, at least once in middle school and once in high school.

The California Healthy Youth Act has five primary purposes:

• 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

The Framework: This document from the state includes new recommendations for teaching K-12 health and sex education. School districts ARE NOT required to implement the framework when developing student health education programs; it is a recommendation for teachers and administrators.  The California Department of Education has created a helpful guide to understanding the differences between the California Healthy Youth Act and the new framework.

Curriculum Used in OPUSD: 

7th Grade Health - Piloting materials during 2025-2026 school year

9th Grade Health - Health: Making Life Choices (McGraw Hill)

7th and 9th Grades Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention - Positive Prevention Plus

Positive Prevention Plus is a state-approved curriculum to teach comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention. This curriculum was piloted in the 9th-grade health class for many years at Oak Park High School and taught by our trained teachers in the regular and summer school classes. Positive Prevention Plus lessons was added to our 7th-grade Health class starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

Parent Preview of Positive Prevention Plus:

The law requires that instruction and materials encourage communication with parents, guardians, and trusted adults. Instruction must be medically accurate, age-appropriate, and equitable. Parents/guardians have the right to preview the curriculum. Families wanting to preview the curriculum may do so at any time by visiting their school’s front office.  Please see the linked parent resources provided by Positive Prevention Plus for additional information. 

Can families opt out of sexual health lessons? Yes. A parent or guardian of a pupil may request in writing that their child be excused from all or part of the Comprehensive Sexual Health Education, HIV/AIDS prevention instruction, and any assessments related to that education. Any student whose parent/guardian has opted out will be given an alternative learning assignment and placed in a different classroom during the instruction.

Board Policy/Administrative Regulation on Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV Prevention Education:

• BP 5145.6: Parental Notifications

• BP 6142.1: Sexual Health and HIV Prevention

• AR 6142.8: Comprehensive Health Education

• AR 6143: Course of Study

• BP 6146.1: High School Graduation Requirement

Notification to Parents/Guardians: As stated in Ed Code 51938, school districts are required at the beginning of each school year, or at the time of enrollment for a new student, to inform each parent about instruction in comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education planned for the coming year. This is done through the Annual Notice of Parents/Guardians Rights and Responsibilities located within the mandatory forms to be completed during annual re-enrollment/registration. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ellen Chevalier at echevalier@opusd.org.