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Policy 0602.40 Health Education

General Policy

It shall be the goal of West Ada School District to strive to meet the needs of students by providing instruction in the area of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection and sex education, while not infringing upon the individual beliefs of the students and parents.

In the area of teacher directed instruction, it shall be school district policy to adhere to the following:

  • Through the course description book, parents will be informed in advance of topics to be presented regarding: HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection and sex education. (e.g.: Health Education classes, units in Biology, Sociology, Personal Safety, etc.)
  • Offer parents an opportunity to preview materials and films at a minimum of two weeks prior to instruction. This could be in the form of a parent preview meeting, online preview access, or a central location at the building level where materials would be available for review.
  • At the middle school level, parents will sign a form during registration that gives their child permission to participate in a particular health class based on the course description.
  • A district Opt-Out letter will be available during the parent preview and online for the following areas of instruction: HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection and sex education.
  • The district will offer two levels of health instruction at the middle school level. These levels will be Philosophy 1 (P1) and Philosophy 2 (P2). (See district curriculum documents for specific details). At our smaller schools, where the schedule does not permit two levels, the schools will continue to provide the opportunity to opt-out of the following areas of instruction: HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection and sex education.
  • Instruction will include current adoption practices and resources in the United States, including Idaho, and information pertaining to the Idaho Safe Haven Act.

All planned instruction in the area of Health Education will be approved by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation by the curriculum department.

Student Initiated Discussions

In the areas of current events, student questions or student presented topics where it is difficult to give advance notice to parents, it shall be school district policy to:

  • Have the teacher make only brief statements in answering questions or discussion of a student report, and encourage students to discuss these topics at home with their parents.