Your one-page guide to health education in California (available in multiple languages)

Ian Hanigan

In 2019, the California Board of Education approved a framework to help teachers deliver lessons aligned with the state’s health education standards, which cover six content areas.

We’ve created this printable, one-page guide outlining the content areas with a grade-by-grade breakdown of when they’re taught, along with a few specific examples. As always, if you have any questions about what your child is learning, we encourage you to call or email your child’s teacher.

Understanding Health Education: Recognizing that healthy students are better learners, California has put in place health education standards for public schools and created a framework to provide instructional guidance for educators. The content standards: What students should know. Just as there are state-adopted standards for English, math, science and other subjects, content standards were approved in 2008 for health education, describing the knowledge and skills that all students should possess. These vary greatly by grade and cover six content areas: Nutrition and physical activity in grades K, 2, 4, and 5, plus middle and high school; Growth, development in grades K, 1, 3, 5, plus middle and high school; sexual health in grades, 5, plus middle and high school; injury prevention and safety in grades K, 1, 4, 6, plus middle and high school; alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in grades K, 2, 4, 6, plus middle and high school; mental, emotional and social health in grades K, 2, 3, 6, plus middle and high school; and personal and community health in grades K, 1, 3, 5, plus middle and high school. Examples in the classroom: The standards say first-graders should be able to explain why sleep and rest are important for growth and good health. Students in grades seven and eight should be able to analyze the nutritional value of different foods and identify ways to increase daily physical activity. High schoolers should be able to demonstrate assertive communication skills to resist alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. If you have questions about what your child is learning, contact their teacher. The framework: In May 2019, the California Board of Education approved a guide to help educators deliver lessons tied to the state’s health education standards. Recommendations in the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools cover physical, mental, emotional and social health. ... The California Department of Education appointed OCDE to facilitate a statewide committee that will develop professional learning opportunities and resources for teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals based on the Health Education Framework. You can access the health education standards by grade level here: www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/

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