| (a) Introduction.
(1) The goal of health education is to provide instruction
that allows youth to develop and sustain health-promoting behaviors
throughout their lives. The understanding and application of these
standards will allow students the ability to gather, interpret, and
understand health information; achieve health literacy; and adapt
to the ever-evolving science of health. The health education knowledge
and skills should be presented to students in a positive manner to
support the development of a healthy self-concept and responsible
decision making. The standards will help students reinforce, foster,
and apply positive character traits.
(2) There are essential skills that repeat throughout
the six strands and embody the interconnection of health literacy.
These skills include decision making, problem solving, goal setting,
maintaining healthy relationships with self and others, seeking help
and support, and recognizing various influences on health such as
social, environmental, media, and genetic. These skills, developed
early on and reinforced throughout a student's education, will foster
mastery of health concepts. Health class educators are encouraged
to partner with school counselors where available to schedule time
for them to deliver classroom guidance lessons to help teach these
essential competencies.
(3) In Grade 4 and higher, students gain an understanding
of health information and skills through six strands: physical health
and hygiene; mental health and wellness; healthy eating and physical
activity; injury and violence prevention and safety; alcohol, tobacco,
and other drugs; and reproductive and sexual health.
(A) Physical health and hygiene education helps to
prepare students for improved lifelong health outcomes. Learning about
body systems will lay the foundation for personal health and hygiene.
Health literacy and preventative behaviors empower students to make
informed choices to support self, family, and community.
(B) The mental health and wellness strand recognizes
that the knowledge and skills necessary to manage emotions, reactions,
and relationships are essential to reaching one's full potential.
Students gain knowledge about social and emotional health, developing
a healthy self-concept, understanding risk and protective factors,
and identifying and managing mental health and wellness concerns.
In the early grades, students develop fluency around emotions and
self-regulation and understand the relationship between feelings,
thoughts, and behavior. In subsequent grades, students learn and practice
appropriate ways to solve interpersonal conflicts, work to develop
a positive self-image, and develop healthy self-management skills.
(C) The healthy eating and physical activity strand
addresses the importance of nutrition and physical activity to support
a healthy lifestyle. Students apply critical-thinking and decision-making
skills to make positive health choices. Students learn about essential
nutrients, food groups, portion control, government nutritional recommendations,
and the health benefits of being physically active. Students evaluate
the connection between physical activity and nutrition and the prevention
of chronic diseases.
(D) By focusing on injury and violence prevention and
safety, the standards promote student well-being and awareness of
dangerous situations. Supporting student well-being and providing
instruction in digital citizenship, bullying prevention, first aid,
and the identification of safe and unsafe situations creates empowered
and educated students able to make decisions that keep themselves
and others safe. Beginning in Kindergarten and continuing through
high school, students gain knowledge and skills to support safety
and wellness at school, at home, online, and in the community.
(E) The standards under the alcohol, tobacco, and other
drugs strand focus on a number of protective factors that develop
empowered students who are able to make better-informed decisions,
including understanding the impact of substance use on physical, mental,
and social health. Through this strand, students learn key concepts
about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, including the use, misuse,
and physiological effects; short- and long-term impacts on health;
treatment; risk and protective factors; and prevention. These concepts
introduce healthy alternatives and ways for students to ask for and
seek out help from parents and other trusted adults.
(F) Beginning in Grade 4, students learn about changes
associated with adolescent development in the reproductive and sexual
health strand. In subsequent grade levels, students identify the purpose
of these changes and their role in fertilization and reproduction.
Students learn the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships
and how to use communication and refusal skills to set personal boundaries
in dating/romantic relationships. Students also identify how to respond
to sexual harassment and abuse.
(4) An integral part of health education involves educators
being aware of state laws relevant to human sexuality instruction.
These laws include affirming:
(A) a local school district's control over the provision
of human sexuality instruction to ensure that local community values
are reflected in that instruction (Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.004(e)-(h));
(B) the right of a parent or legal guardian to be informed
of the provision of human sexuality instruction to their child and
review the content of that instruction (TEC, §28.004(i)-(j));
(C) the right of a parent or legal guardian to remove
their child from any portion of human sexuality instruction without
penalty to the child (TEC, §28.004(i));
(D) the centrality of abstinence education in any human
sexuality curriculum (TEC, §28.004(e)); and
(E) the right of a parent or legal guardian to be informed
of and consent to an abortion performed on their pregnant child (with
judicially authorized or medical emergency exceptions) (Texas Family
Code, Chapter 33).
(5) Educators also should be aware of and abide by
the statutory prohibition on taxpayer resource transactions between
state governmental entities, including public schools, and abortion
providers or an affiliate of an abortion provider (Texas Government
Code, Chapter 2272).
(6) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(7) Students should first seek guidance in the area
of health from a parent or legal guardian.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Physical health and hygiene--body systems. The
student examines the structure, function, and relationships of body
systems and their relevance to personal health. The student is expected
to describe the structure, functions, and interdependence of the major
body systems, including the reproductive, endocrine, and urinary systems.
(2) Physical health and hygiene--personal health and
hygiene. The student understands health literacy, preventative health
behaviors, and how to access and evaluate health care information
to make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
(A) explain how to manage common minor illnesses such
as colds and skin infections;
(B) identify how to distinguish between myth and fact
when accessing information about health;
(C) identify decision-making skills that promote individual,
family, and community health;
(D) describe the benefits of promoting health maintenance
for individuals and households;
(E) analyze how personal hygiene helps prevent the
spread of germs and communicable illnesses; and
(F) distinguish between treatments if infected by various
vectors, including ticks and mosquitos.
(3) Mental health and wellness--social and emotional
health. The student identifies and applies strategies to develop socio-emotional
health, self-regulation, and healthy relationships. The student is
expected to:
(A) analyze how thoughts and emotions influence behaviors;
(B) practice and apply strategies for calming and self-management;
(C) explain ways of maintaining healthy relationships
and resisting negative peer influence in social groups;
(D) analyze how to identify perspectives and respectful
ways to communicate disagreement with friends, family, teachers, and
others;
(E) define and differentiate between sympathy and empathy
toward others; and
(F) describe ways to engage in and promote positive
interactions when conflict arises.
(4) Mental health and wellness--developing a healthy
self-concept. The student develops the capacity for self-assessment
and evaluation, goal setting, and decision making in order to develop
a healthy self-concept. The student is expected to:
(A) identify and demonstrate strategies to help build
self-esteem for self, friends, and others;
Cont'd... |
