New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter G - Health And Physical Education › Part 135 - Health, Physical Education And Recreation › Section 135.3 - Health education

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
				  Provision for health education. It shall be the duty of the trustees and boards
				  of education to provide a satisfactory program in health education in
				  accordance with the needs of pupils in all grades. Such program shall include
				  the several dimensions of health, including mental health and the relation of
				  physical and mental health, and shall be designed to enhance student
				  understanding, attitudes and behaviors that promote health, well-being and
				  human dignity. This program shall include, but shall not be limited to
				  instruction concerning the misuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and the
				  prevention and detection of certain cancers.
(b) Health education in the elementary
				  schools.
(1) The elementary school curriculum
				  shall include a sequential health education program for all pupils, grades K-6.
				  In the kindergarten and primary grades, the teacher shall provide for pupil
				  participation in planned activities for developing attitudes knowledge that
				  contribute to their own sense of self-worth, respect for their bodies and
				  ability to make constructive decisions regarding their social and emotional
				  health, physical health and mental health. Personal health guidance shall also
				  be provided according to the individual needs of pupils. This guidance shall
				  include the development of specific habits necessary to maintain good
				  individual and community health. In addition to continued health guidance,
				  provision shall be made in the school program of grades 4-6 for planned units
				  of teaching which shall include health instruction through which pupils may
				  become increasingly self-reliant in solving their own health problems and those
				  of the group. Health education in the elementary school grades shall be taught
				  by the regular classroom teachers.
(2) All elementary schools shall provide
				  appropriate instruction concerning the acquired immune deficiency syndrome
				  (AIDS) as part of the sequential health education program for all pupils,
				  grades K-6. Such instruction shall be designed to provide accurate information
				  to pupils concerning the nature of the disease, methods of transmission, and
				  methods of prevention; shall stress abstinence as the most appropriate and
				  effective premarital protection against AIDS, and shall be age appropriate and
				  consistent with community values. No pupil shall be required to receive
				  instruction concerning the methods of prevention of AIDS if the parent or legal
				  guardian of such pupil has filed with the principal of the school which the
				  pupil attends a written request that the pupil not participate in such
				  instruction, with an assurance that the pupil will receive such instruction at
				  home. In public schools, such instruction shall be given during an existing
				  class period using existing instructional personnel, and the board of education
				  or trustees shall provide appropriate training and curriculum materials for the
				  instructional staff who provide such instruction and instructional materials to
				  the parents who request such materials. In public schools, the board of
				  education or trustees shall establish an advisory council which shall be
				  responsible for making recommendations concerning the content, implementation,
				  and evaluation of an AIDS instruction program. The advisory council shall
				  consist of parents, school board members, appropriate school personnel, and
				  community representatives, including representatives from religious
				  organizations. Each board of education or trustees shall determine the content
				  of the curriculum and approve its implementation, and shall be responsible for
				  the evaluation of the district's AIDS instruction program.