Waitsburg School District approves CSHE curriculum

WAITSBURG—A committee consisting of parents and teachers has spent the past few months exploring comprehensive health education after Washington voters passed Senate Bill 5395 in 2020.

The bill, which went into effect on December 3, 2020, requires that Washington public schools provide comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE) by the 2022-2023 school year. Early requirements, including consultations with parents and guardians, local communities, and the Washington State School Directors Association about CSHE, went into effect in 2021.

The bill was initially met with pushback by groups of concerned parents on social media, with fears of students being taught inappropriate topics while at school. To help ease parent concerns and proceed with the consultation process, Waitsburg School District formed a guidance committee, led by K-12 PE teacher Shelby Gould, secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak, school counselor Rosy Nechodom and parents Ann Miller, Abby Grende, and Stephanie Cole.

Before passing SB 5395, Washington State only required HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention instruction.

While the curriculum has been adjusted slightly to meet the new requirements, Waitsburg School District has offered age-appropriate sexual health education for students in years past. Parents have had the option to opt-out of the class and will continue to have the ability to opt-out of future courses. A letter will be sent home with students at least two weeks before instruction. SB5395 requires districts to honor requests to opt-out.

K-3 students will continue to use the “Second Steps” curriculum. Under SB 5395, no sexual health content is required in these grades. Instead, they will receive instruction on social-emotional learning (SEL), led by counselor Rosy Nechodom. SEL is provided throughout the school year and teaches students how to regulate emotions, set goals, and get along with others.

Students in grades 4-6 will follow the “Always Changing and Growing Up” curriculum, led by Stacy Schwarz, RN, Educational Service District (ESD) 123.

The bill states CSHE must be taught once between grades four and five. Gould said that the committee decided to implement the curriculum in grade five. Schwarz will be teaching anatomy and physiology, growth and development, reproduction, and HIV prevention. Due to the nature of the topics, the classes will be split by gender, and a male nurse will teach the male students. Students in grade six will begin to learn about anatomy, reproduction, pregnancy, puberty and development, and HIV prevention.

Gould said the middle school recently purchased “Comprehensive Health Skills for Middle School,” an eight-unit curriculum that helps students understand their physical and mental health and wellness. Subjects include alcohol, tobacco, and drug use prevention and safety and an introduction to sexuality, human development, and sexually transmitted infections and diseases.

The committee selected the “Essential Health Skills” curriculum for high school students, with Gould explaining that this curriculum expands from the current middle school curriculum. SB 5395 requires a curriculum for 9-12 grades that helps students understand boundaries, develop healthy friendships and dating relationships. It also helps students understand human development, develop skills to support healthy behaviors, access proper healthcare, and understand the influence of society and family on healthy sexual relationships. The school board approved the purchase and implementation of the suggested curriculum.

“I really enjoyed (the process),” Gould said. “I think it went really well. We were all on the same page. The nice thing about this bill is that districts can curate it to be appropriate for their needs. We are different from a district in Seattle, for example, based on our needs.”

Gould said that it was nice working with the committee to hear and understand members’ opinions and feedback. During the school board meeting, committee members expressed that the process was a great learning experience and that the bill was different than what they initially interpreted it to be.

“I found it very informational because I was under the impression that the guidelines would be more invasive,” said one committee member, unidentified due to the Zoom/ in-person hybrid model. “I thought that younger kids would be taught things I did not want my kids to be taught, but that was not the case. I also learned that the material doesn’t have to be taught every year.”

One concern presented at the meeting revolved around teaching sexual identity. Still, the parent did acknowledge that the information given to the students is nothing that they aren’t already exposed to and will be taught in a safe environment, where students can ask questions and gain an understanding based on facts.

The selected curriculums are available to view online, as well as at the school. For further questions or concerns, contact Superintendent Mark Pickel at mpickel@waitsburgsd.org.