Issues and Action

An Act to Provide Health Education in Schools – H. 1641/S.102
Elizabeth Dunn, LWVM Equal Rights/Reproductive Rights Specialist

Urge your legislators to support An Act to Provide Health Education in Schools, H. 1641/S.102, which would insert health education, as defined by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks and as required by the Supreme Judicial Court, into the core curriculum for public schools. School districts would be required to teach age-appropriate and science-based health education in grades K-12.

Background
Some school districts have excellent health education programs. Other school districts have little or no health education as part of their curriculum.

In 1993, the Supreme Judicial Court required that the Commonwealth provide an adequate education for those enrolled in the public schools. It further defined “adequacy” by requiring that students possess specific capabilities including, “sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness.”[1]

The Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) created a science-based health education framework in response to the Supreme Judicial Court decision. However, the DOE has no mechanism to enforce the compliance of school districts unless health education is part of the core curriculum. If health education were part of the core curriculum, the DOE would have the authority to ensure compliance with the framework and supervise the quality of what is taught.

Lead Sponsors
Representative Wolf, Senator Menard, Representative Haddad, Chair of Education Committee, Representative Harkins, Representative Rushing, and 10 Senators, 33 Representatives

Talking Points

• Adding health education to the core curriculum affords students the opportunity to learn about a wide range of important topics such as nutrition, physical activity, mental health, safety and injury prevention, reproduction and sexuality, substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, consumer health, growth and development, family life, interpersonal relationships, disease prevention, ecological health and community health.

• Results of the 2003 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey[2] demonstrate that young people in the Commonwealth are very much in need of health education. Among Massachusetts youth:

• 53% had tried smoking cigarettes at least once in their lifetime

• 26% engaged in a least one episode of binge drinking in the month prior to the survey.

• 16% had seriously considered suicide.

• Among sexually active students, only 57% used a condom the last time they had sex.

• 30% were in a physical fight in the 12 months before the survey.

• 41% have had sexual intercourse in their lifetimes.

• 24% are overweight or at risk for being overweight.

• The survey also found that risky behaviors are associated with lower academic achievement, and that health education can raise school attendance, graduation rates, and increase cognitive development and decision-making skills.