Leland High
California Healthy Youth Act
In January 2016, the state approved the California Healthy Youth Act. This law requires that all school districts provide comprehensive sexual health education and disease prevention to students at least once in middle school and at least once in high school. The SJUSD School Board approved that this curriculum be delivered in grades 8 and 9.
We are pleased to inform you that your student will have the opportunity to participate in Teen Talk High School, an 8–10 hour comprehensive sexuality education course developed by Health Connected. Lessons were developed in accordance with the California Health Education Content Standards for “Growth, Development and Sexual Health” and the California Healthy Youth Act (CA Education Code 51930–519395)
This education program is meant to encourage students to communicate with their parents, guardians, or other trusted adults about human sexuality and healthy relationships. The information provided will be medically accurate, age-appropriate, inclusive of all students, and cover the following topics:
• Personal values reflection
• Family communication
• Sexual and reproductive anatomy
• Gender and sexual identities
• Abstinence, consent, and decision-making
• Birth control, including condom steps
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Sexual safety and the law
• Healthy relationships
• Body image and media
Please note that this instruction will be delivered by Health Connected at Leland High School September 15th-September 26th in order to guarantee that students receive accurate information from Health Educators in the field.
If you want to learn more about the program, please plan to attend one of the scheduled virtual parent information nights.
If you have any questions about the topics that will be covered during the course, or wish to review course materials, please contact Health Connected at parents@health-connected.org, or make an appointment by contacting your child’s school. A copy of
the curriculum is available to preview by appointment at your child’s school. You can also find a copy of the California Healthy Youth Act (California Education Code Sections 51930-51939) online at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/home.xhtml.
State law allows a parent/guardian to remove (opt-out) their student from this instruction. Parents/guardians may opt-out of selected lessons or the entire program by writing a letter to the school principal. Please note that because of the comprehensive nature of the curriculum, if a parent/guardian opts their child out of selected lessons, there is a chance that topic may surface again during one of the following lessons through student or classroom discussions. Also, as stated in California Education Code 51932b, the opt out provision does not apply to instruction or materials outside the context of comprehensive sexual health education, including those that may reference gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, discrimination, bullying, relationships, or family.