Massachusetts students will now obtain a much more inclusive sex and overall health education, following a unanimous vote by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. These updated curriculum frameworks aim to cover a variety of subjects which includes LGBTQ+ difficulties, bodily autonomy, mental and emotional overall health, dating security, nutrition, sexually transmitted infections, and consent. This is the initially update to the recommendations given that 1999.

The new requirements are categorized into 4 age groups: pre-K via second grade, grades three-five, grades six-eight, and grades 9-12. For the youngest students, the concentrate is on healthful consuming, strain management, hygiene habits, emergency response, advertising respect, bullying prevention, and the value of taking medication when prescribed.

As students progress via their education, the recommendations consist of modules on sex education, healthful relationships, gender identity, substance abuse, human and sex trafficking awareness, and proof-primarily based physical education solutions.

This choice by the Board of Education follows a public comment period more than the summer season, through which the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education received practically five,400 comments. The proposal to update the state’s sex education recommendations was initially announced by Governor Maura Healey in June, aligning with prior legislation attempts that had failed in the Massachusetts Property.

Though the Senate has previously passed the “Healthy Youth Act” aimed at updating sex education, extensive bills addressing human anatomy, sexually transmitted ailments, HIV and AIDS, contraception, dating violence, and gender and sexual identity repeatedly failed to pass in the Property.