Comprehensive Health Education
Comprehensive Health Education
Health Education provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to be healthy throughout their lifetime. The intent of a comprehensive health education program is to motivate students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and avoid or reduce health related risk behaviors.
Comprehensive health education addresses 14 component areas under Florida State Statute 1003.42 (2)(n) - Required Instruction
Grades K-12
- Community health
- Consumer health
- Environmental health
- Family life
- Mental and emotional health
- Injury prevention and safety
- Internet safety
- Nutrition
- Personal health
- Prevention and control of disease
- Substance use and abuse
- Prevention of child sexual abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking
Grades 6-12
- Awareness of the benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy
Grades 7-12
- Teen dating violence
Health Education Related Rule Information
In November 2020, the State Board of Education updated the Required Instruction Rule (6A-1.094124) to include the three rules related to health education. The new reporting procedure includes a requirement to use the online Florida Required Instruction Reporting Portal available at https://flrequiredinstruction.org. By December 1, 2020, district plans for the three health topics of 1) mental and emotional health, 2) substance use and abuse and 3) child trafficking prevention must be submitted using the portal. Use of the portal does not affect the content districts are required to submit, only the method. Plans are still required to be posted on district webpages, but the requirement to submit to the department via email has been removed and replaced by the portal. The memorandum regarding this update sent from Chancellor Jacob Oliva on November 20, 2020 is linked here.
Florida Standards for Health Education
The Florida Standards for Health Education are based upon established health behavior theories, models, and evidence-based research, as well as best practices. Florida’s Health Education standards include the following:
- Core Concepts
- Internal and External Influence
- Accessing Information
- Interpersonal Communication
- Decision Making
- Goal Setting
- Self-Management
- Advocacy
- Character Education
- Substance Use and Abuse
The standards are structured by Standards and Benchmarks. The Standard is a general statement that identifies what the student is expected to achieve. The Benchmark identifies what the student will know and be able to do by the end of each of the grade.
School Health Profiles Report
Legislation
- Florida State Statute 1003.41 - Sunshine State Standards
- Florida State Statute 1003.42 (2)(n) - Required Instruction
- Florida State Statute 1003.4282 - General Requirements for High School Graduation; Revised
- Florida State Statute 1003.453 – School Wellness and Physical Education Policies; Nutrition Guidelines
- Florida State Statute 1003.46 - Health Education; Instruction in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- Florida State Statute 787.06 - Human trafficking
Professional Development and Training Opportunities
Human Trafficking Awareness
Human trafficking is defined under Florida law as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjugation to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery, or a commercial sex act. Human trafficking is modern slavery.
If you suspect a child is a victim, please call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE or 911.
For more information and resources, please visit the FDOE Human Trafficking webpage: http://www.fldoe.org/schools/healthy-schools/human-trafficking.stml