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The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is accepting public comment on a significant overhaul of the state’s health standards, which include the state’s standards for sex education.
The standards haven’t been updated since 2007. Staff members with the state education department said during a presentation at the Michigan State Board of Education meeting that they needed to be refreshed to reflect more modern terminology and issues such as mental health. Health education topics include sexual health, substance abuse, mental and emotional health, personal health and community health. State academic standards are overarching guidelines for public schools in developing local curricula.
The refreshed draft of the framework for the standards, compared with the older high school standards, appear to be more in-depth and include discussion around sexual orientation, gender identity and online safety, topics not included in the older standards posted by the state online.
The proposal ensures students “will develop health literacy through engagement in comprehensive, well-rounded, inclusive, medically accurate, developmentally appropriate, and age-appropriate educational opportunities that include health education, and the development of social, emotional, and mental health practices.”
A group of Democratic state lawmakers in 2024 sponsored a bill that would have required schools opting to teach sex education to teach medically accurate and developmentally appropriate information, with lawmakers calling for comprehensive sex education, calling current law “outdated” in a news release. But the bill did not advance to consideration in any legislative committees.
Under state law, schools do not have to teach sex education, but are required to teach HIV/AIDS education. If schools do include sex education, parents have to be a part of the planning process. State law has long allowed parents to opt their children out of sex education, and parents also have to be notified ahead of any sex education programming so they have the time to opt out.
The new framework for the standards were adopted from Massachusetts’ framework for health and physical education, according to a draft posted online by MDE. Instead of going grade by grade, the standards span a few different grade groupings: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The draft of the new standards also includes discussion around assessing credible sources for information about health, sexual health and reproductive health, as well as discussion about online safety.
Sexual health topics by grade include:
- In grades 3-5 the draft standards address puberty-related and personal hygiene issues.
- In grades 6-8, the draft standards address gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, explaining that “they are distinct components of every individual’s identity.” The standards also guide educators to explain that emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to individuals of the same or different genders can change over time. The draft also recommends explaining the benefits of abstinence, decision-making that aligns with an individual’s family values and strategies for reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI).
- In grades 9-12, the draft includes standards for students to analyze outside influences on a person’s beliefs about sexual behavior and discussion over why it is illegal to coerce or trick someone into sexual activity, the importance of STI treatment and testing. They also include discussion over fostering empathy and respect around issues related to sexuality and gender.
Public comment will be accepted at this webpage through Oct. 10.
After public comment, the proposed updated standards will be considered by the Michigan State Board of Education.
(This story has been updated with additional information.)
Contact Lily Altavena: [email protected].
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