During the most recent Londonderry School Board meeting, one of the policies presented to the School Board for a final policy reading was in regards to Health Education and Exemption from Instruction.
Assistant Superintendent, Jason Parent, in a memo to the School Board, noted that its required by law.
“This policy discusses various topics within the Health curriculum and that instruction must be grade level appropriate. Parents/guardians shall be notified no less that two weeks in advance of use of curriculum course material to be used for instruction of human sexuality or human sexual education, and those materials should be available for review,” Parent wrote in the memo. “Opt-Out forms are available for parents/guardians who do not want their child to participate in a particular unit of health and those exempted by request may be given an alternative assignment that is mutually agreed upon.”
As part of the updated policy, it states that “Consistent with state law and Department of Education requirements, health, and physical education, including, instruction about parts of the body, reproduction, sexuality education, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and related topics, will be included in the instructional program. Sexuality education shall include instruction relative to abstinence and sexually transmitted infections.”
“Instruction must be appropriate to grade level, course of study, and development of students and must occur in a systematic manner. The Superintendent will require that faculty members who present this instruction receive continuing in-service training, which includes appropriate teaching strategies and techniques,” the policy states.
The policy goes on to state that “Parents and legal guardians shall be notified by e-mail, other written means, website/ social media postings or phone call, not less than two weeks in advance of use of the curriculum course material to be used for instruction of human sexuality or human sexual education. Such notice will be delivered via email, other direct written means, website/ social media posting, or phone call. To the extent practicable, a school district shall make curriculum course materials available to parents or legal guardians for review upon request.”
“Accordingly, the notice will identify and provide contact information for the Principal or other staff member a parent or guardian should contact to arrange an opportunity to inspect the curriculum course material,” the policy states.
For the opt out procedure and form portion of the policy, it states that “Parents/guardians, or students over eighteen years of age, who do not want their child to participate in a particular unit of health or sex education instruction for religious reasons or religious objections, are allowed to have their child opt-out of such instruction. (Note: Per RSA 186:11, IX-c, Parents/guardians have additional opt-out rights under Board policy IGE.”
“Parents/guardians who do not want their child to participate in a particular unit of health or for religious reasons must complete a Health and Sex Education Exemption/Objectionable Course Material: Opt-Out Form. Opt-Out Forms are available from either the health education teacher or the Principal. Opt-out requests must be submitted annually and are valid only for the school year in which they are submitted,” the policy states.
It also states as part of the policy that any student “who is exempted by request of the parent/guardian under this policy may be given an alternative assignment sufficient to meet state requirements for health education. The alternative assignment may be provided by the health or physical education teacher in conjunction with the Principal, or through a mutually agreed upon alternative assignment proposed by the parent/guardian.”
The School Board unanimously approved the updated policy during the meeting.