The school district is committed to a sound, comprehensive health education program that is an integral part of each student's general education.
The district will fulfill its responsibility for meeting the health needs of children and youth through a comprehensive program of health education in grades kindergarten through twelve.
Comprehensive health education includes instruction that maintains, reinforces, or enhances the health, health-related skills, and health attitudes and practices of children and youth that are conducive to their good health. Instruction will promote skills, practices, and attitudes which promote wellness, health maintenance, and disease prevention as well as teach students how to advocate for personal, family, and community health. Instruction must include reproductive health education, pregnancy prevention education, and family life education, in accordance with the state Comprehensive Health Education Act.
The administration will develop a method whereby principals notify parents/legal guardians of students in the relevant grades of the content of the instructional materials concerning reproductive health, family life, sexually transmitted diseases and infections (if this is a separate component), and pregnancy prevention. The notice will inform parents/legal guardians of their option to exempt their child from this instruction.
Teachers who provide instruction in family life and sex education will have professional preparation in the subject area, either at the pre-service or in-service level.
All schools in the district will teach the nature of alcohol and narcotics and their effects upon the human system. Schools should help students develop an awareness of the consequences of the use and abuse of alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, and drugs. Instruction will emphasize problems related to their use, pharmacological effects, and the impact upon the total community. Information on smoking cessation opportunities will also be included. Schools will present alcohol, tobacco product, and other drug education.
The district will teach students about the life-threatening dangers and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) based on legitimate medical research. The curriculum will be designed to teach students which behaviors place a person dangerously at risk of infection and methods to avoid such risk.
The program of STI prevention will stress the physical, emotional, and social consequence of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. It will emphasize that abstinence (a person's calculated decision and deliberate action to refrain from sexual activities, including but not limited to sexual intercourse) from sexual activity and risky sexual behaviors is the most effective method for the prevention of the spread of STIs through sexual contact. Other agency presentations approved by the South Carolina Healthy Schools and the district's comprehensive health advisory committee may be added to assist in teaching the information.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Comprehensive Wellness Act of 1988 requires all South Carolina school districts to have a 13 member Comprehensive Health Education Advisory Committee. The purpose of the committee is to review and recommend health education curricular material used to teach specific health topics (reproductive health education, family life education, and pregnancy prevention education). The committee must be comprised of the follow members: two parents, three clergy, two health professionals, two teachers, two students, and two persons not employed by the local school district. Committee members would be asked to review and recommend new curricular material such as videos, articles, and activities. The committee is not required to meet face-to-face. New materials can be reviewed virtually. Meetings could be scheduled at the committee members’ request. The school board would use the committee recommendations to approve additions to the current district health curriculum.
If you would be willing to serve, please complete the included form at this link and mail or fax to the contact information on the form. District policy requires that members of the committee must be approved by the Lexington One school board which meets monthly. Please call or email if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for serving the students of Lexington County School District One.
If you have any questions or comments about the health curriculum in Lexington County School District One, please contact:
Coordinator of Science, Health, and PE