instead. The report also found the state’s guidelines lacking when it comes to education about STDs and health relationships.
What it would do: Healey’s office says their proposal provides an “LGBTQ+ inclusive, medically accurate and … age-appropriate framework” for health and physical education in pre-K-12 public schools. The guidelines are divided into four different grade spans . The guidelines instruct pre-K–2 teachers to include instruction about gender-role stereotypes and their impacts, while grades 3-5 would learn about the differences between biological sex and gender identity. Classes about sexual activity, abstinence, contraception and the dimensions of sexual orientation begin in grades 6-8, with more specific guidelines related to STI testing, condoms and birth control in high school.
What it doesn’t do: The draft document emphasizes it does not dictate how teachers teach. “School districts have discretion to determine how the standards will be implemented,” it reads.