Austin ISD

Human Sexuality and

Responsibility
Elementary and
Middle School
Curricula
Tonight’s Goals
● Inform about national and local human sexuality
education curriculum standards, policies and
research
● Share roll out plan for elementary and middle school
curricular changes
● Invite and collect feedback from the group to
deliver to the SHAC subcommittee
Agenda and Expectations
Agenda: Engagement Guidelines:

● Welcome and Guest Speakers ● Take Care of Your Needs

● Background (Policy and Data) ● Use the post-its to write down
● Curriculum Scope and questions and place on the
“Parking Lot” chart
Sequence (Review and ● Provide explicit information in
Feedback Collection) your feedback
● Curriculum Update Rollout
Plan
● Gallery Walk (Feedback
Collection on Various Topics)
Policies regarding Human
Sexuality
● The District believes Education
that a valuable element of education is the
development of respect for all individuals, regardless of race, color, creed,
national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other personal
attributes (FN Local)
● School Board of Trustees determine the content parameters of human
sexuality (EHAA Legal & Local)
● A school health advisory council (SHAC) assists the district in ensuring
that local community values are reflected in the district’s health education
○ Includes recommendations regarding human sexuality
Legal and Local Policy:
Curriculum Parameters
● Curriculum must be abstinence-focused
● Curriculum parameters include:
○ Physical, emotional and sexual abuse
○ Communication, goal setting, decision making, assertiveness, limit setting and
refusal skills
○ Evaluation of multimedia/pop culture messages related to sexual behavior
○ Rights to the privacy of their bodies
○ Rights to feel safe from unwanted touches
○ How to talk to a trusted adult
Selection Criteria for Human Sexuality and
Responsibility Resources
● Aligns with local policy, national standards, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
(TEKS) as applicable
● Abstinence Plus: focus is abstinence, medically and scientifically accurate and age
appropriate
● Evidence-based or evidence-informed
● Inclusive
● Focus on social and emotional learning
● Provides activities through various teaching methods
● Parent component
Option to Opt Out
● Parents/guardians can elect to opt-
out their student from some or all
human sexuality and responsibility
classes.
● During those class times, your
student will receive instruction about
Social and Emotional Learning
topics.
Our focus is on safety
and equity.
Risk of Sexual Abuse
• About one in seven girls and one in 25 boys will be sexually abused before
they turn 18 (Kenny et al, 2008).
• Younger children are most likely to be targeted (Boyle & Lutzker, 2005).
• It is more difficult for children to disclose and clarify sexual abuse if
they don’t know the words for the specific parts of their body being
touched, meaning that they are less likely to tell a trusted adult or to get help
(Boyle & Lutzker, 2005).
• According to the US Department of Justice, people with intellectual
disabilities are abused at a rate seven times higher than the rate for other
people (Shapiro, 2018).
Incidences of Sexual
Harassment and Bullying

Austin ISD - School Safety and Substance Use Survey (2016-17) Sexual Abuse Report
Austin ISD Health Needs Related to Human
Sexuality and Responsibility

Vida Clinic and Austin ISD VOCA

Project Results, January - March,
2018
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer
(LGBTQ) Experiences
● LGBTQ students were 140% more likely to not go to school at least one day (during the
30 days prior to the survey) because of safety concerns compared to heterosexual students
(Austin ISD 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
● Students who are transgender:
○ perceived schools as not safe or welcoming places
○ missed more school compared to non-transgender peers possibly due to safety
concerns
○ 78% reported feeling safe at school compared to 91% of students who identified as
“boy” and “girl”
○ frequently hear biased remarks about gender identity at their schools, from students,
teachers, and other adults in school (AISD 2016-17 Student Climate Survey)
Impact of
Developm
entally
Appropriat
e Content
Let’s walk through
the
Scope and
Sequence lesson
plans for
elementary and
middle school
students.
 The Human
Sexuality and
Responsibility
Rollout Plan
School Year 2018-19
Timeline
●
●
July: Training for principals
July - October: Support staff training
● August: Notify parents
● September 2018 - April 2019: Lessons housed at elementary and middle school
libraries for public review
● September 2018 - March 2019: Teacher training
● March - April 2019: Orientation invitation distributed by principal to
parents/guardians
● April: Parents must receive the opt-out notice
● May: Teach lessons and collect feedback
Instructional Delivery
• Staff will teach the curriculum unit in May

○ 5 per elementary grade level

○ 10 per middle school grade level

Training Plan
• Provided to principals, administrators and support staff including Social and
Emotional Learning (SEL) staff, counselors, librarians and parent support
specialists

• Provided to elementary and middle school teachers identified by principals

• Training shall cover: course content; resources; national, state and federal
policies; inclusivity
Review and Feedback
Process
1. Visit the posters that are most meaningful to you.
2. Use the markers to write your comments or
concerns directly onto the posters.
3. Review detailed lesson plan(s) if you are
considering opting out of the respective lesson(s).
4. Turn in your feedback before you leave.