Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 115 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR HEALTH EDUCATION › Subchapter A - ELEMENTARY › Section 115.16 - Health Education, Grade 4, Adopted 2020

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Introduction.
(1) The goal of health
				  education is to provide instruction that allows youth to develop and sustain
				  health-promoting behaviors throughout their lives. The understanding and
				  application of these standards will allow students the ability to gather,
				  interpret, and understand health information; achieve health literacy; and
				  adapt to the ever-evolving science of health. The health education knowledge
				  and skills should be presented to students in a positive manner to support the
				  development of a healthy self-concept and responsible decision making. The
				  standards will help students reinforce, foster, and apply positive character
				  traits.
(2) There are essential
				  skills that repeat throughout the six strands and embody the interconnection of
				  health literacy. These skills include decision making, problem solving, goal
				  setting, maintaining healthy relationships with self and others, seeking help
				  and support, and recognizing various influences on health such as social,
				  environmental, media, and genetic. These skills, developed early on and
				  reinforced throughout a student's education, will foster mastery of health
				  concepts. Health class educators are encouraged to partner with school
				  counselors where available to schedule time for them to deliver classroom
				  guidance lessons to help teach these essential competencies.
(3) In Grade 4 and higher, students gain an
				  understanding of health information and skills through six strands: physical
				  health and hygiene; mental health and wellness; healthy eating and physical
				  activity; injury and violence prevention and safety; alcohol, tobacco, and
				  other drugs; and reproductive and sexual health.
(A) Physical health and hygiene education
				  helps to prepare students for improved lifelong health outcomes. Learning about
				  body systems will lay the foundation for personal health and hygiene. Health
				  literacy and preventative behaviors empower students to make informed choices
				  to support self, family, and community.
(B) The mental health and wellness strand
				  recognizes that the knowledge and skills necessary to manage emotions,
				  reactions, and relationships are essential to reaching one's full potential.
				  Students gain knowledge about social and emotional health, developing a healthy
				  self-concept, understanding risk and protective factors, and identifying and
				  managing mental health and wellness concerns. In the early grades, students
				  develop fluency around emotions and self-regulation and understand the
				  relationship between feelings, thoughts, and behavior. In subsequent grades,
				  students learn and practice appropriate ways to solve interpersonal conflicts,
				  work to develop a positive self-image, and develop healthy self-management
				  skills.
(C) The healthy eating and
				  physical activity strand addresses the importance of nutrition and physical
				  activity to support a healthy lifestyle. Students apply critical-thinking and
				  decision-making skills to make positive health choices. Students learn about
				  essential nutrients, food groups, portion control, government nutritional
				  recommendations, and the health benefits of being physically active. Students
				  evaluate the connection between physical activity and nutrition and the
				  prevention of chronic diseases.
(D)
				  By focusing on injury and violence prevention and safety, the standards promote
				  student well-being and awareness of dangerous situations. Supporting student
				  well-being and providing instruction in digital citizenship, bullying
				  prevention, first aid, and the identification of safe and unsafe situations
				  creates empowered and educated students able to make decisions that keep
				  themselves and others safe. Beginning in Kindergarten and continuing through
				  high school, students gain knowledge and skills to support safety and wellness
				  at school, at home, online, and in the community.
(E) The standards under the alcohol, tobacco,
				  and other drugs strand focus on a number of protective factors that develop
				  empowered students who are able to make better-informed decisions, including
				  understanding the impact of substance use on physical, mental, and social
				  health. Through this strand, students learn key concepts about alcohol,
				  tobacco, and other drugs, including the use, misuse, and physiological effects;
				  short- and long-term impacts on health; treatment; risk and protective factors;
				  and prevention. These concepts introduce healthy alternatives and ways for
				  students to ask for and seek out help from parents and other trusted
				  adults.
(F) Beginning in Grade 4,
				  students learn about changes associated with adolescent development in the
				  reproductive and sexual health strand. In subsequent grade levels, students
				  identify the purpose of these changes and their role in fertilization and
				  reproduction. Students learn the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy
				  relationships and how to use communication and refusal skills to set personal
				  boundaries in dating/romantic relationships. Students also identify how to
				  respond to sexual harassment and abuse.
(4) An integral part of health education
				  involves educators being aware of state laws relevant to human sexuality
				  instruction. These laws include affirming:
(A) a local school district's control over
				  the provision of human sexuality instruction to ensure that local community
				  values are reflected in that instruction (Texas Education Code (TEC),
				  §28.004(e)-(h));
(B) the right
				  of a parent or legal guardian to be informed of the provision of human
				  sexuality instruction to their child and review the content of that instruction
				  (TEC, §
												28.004(i)-(j)
				  );
(C) the right of a parent or
				  legal guardian to remove their child from any portion of human sexuality
				  instruction without penalty to the child (TEC, §
												28.004(i)
				  );
(D) the centrality of abstinence
				  education in any human sexuality curriculum (TEC, §
												28.004(e)
				  ); and
(E) the right of a parent or
				  legal guardian to be informed of and consent to an abortion performed on their
				  pregnant child (with judicially authorized or medical emergency exceptions)
				  (Texas Family Code, Chapter 33).
(5) Educators also should be aware of and
				  abide by the statutory prohibition on taxpayer resource transactions between
				  state governmental entities, including public schools, and abortion providers
				  or an affiliate of an abortion provider (Texas Government Code, Chapter
				  2272).
(6) Statements containing
				  the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those
				  containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative
				  examples.
(7) Students should first
				  seek guidance in the area of health from a parent or legal guardian.