History

Illinois legislation has required that schools teach health education since the 1970’s, when the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act was passed. This Act required schools to provide a Comprehensive Health Education Program and has been revised several times since the original act, most recently in 2015. District 211 has followed the requirements of this legislation, which include teaching the following topics: 

“Human ecology and health; human growth and development; the emotional, psychological, physiological, hygienic, and social responsibilities of family life, including sexual abstinence until marriage; the prevention and control of disease, including instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the prevention, transmission, and spread of AIDS; age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in grades pre-kindergarten through 12; public and environmental health; consumer health; safety education and disaster survival; mental health and illness; personal health habits; alcohol and drug use and abuse, including the medical and legal ramifications of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use; abuse during pregnancy; evidence-based and medically accurate information regarding sexual abstinence; tobacco and e-cigarettes and other vapor devices; nutrition; and dental health. The instruction on mental health and illness must evaluate the multiple dimensions of health by reviewing the relationship between physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors that promote health, well-being, and human dignity. The program shall also provide course materials and instruction to advise pupils of the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. The program shall include information about cancer, including, without limitation, types of cancer, signs and symptoms, risk factors, the importance of early prevention and detection, and information on where to go for help” (ILCS 110/3). 

The original requirements for sex education included a focus on abstinence, contraception, disease prevention, consequences of unwanted pregnancy, AIDS prevention, and the negative effects of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. These requirements have changed over the years, most notably in 2013, when verbiage was added to require additional “instruction on abstinence and contraception” (P.A. 098-0441), in 2018 when additions included a “discussion on what constitutes sexual consent and what may be considered sexual harassment or sexual assault” (P.A. 100-0684) and additional information regarding consent (P.A. 101-0579). 

In 2020, P.A. 102-0412 updated the legislation to include a requirement to address sexting and internet safety in the curriculum. By this time, District 211 had transitioned from a standalone Health course and integrated physical education and health together into our current Freshman and Sophomore Wellness courses. During this transition, all required components of both the health and sex education legislation were preserved. 

District 211 Wellness Courses 

Since the implementation of the Wellness courses, District 211 has continued to refine the integration of the curriculum. Currently, the freshman and sophomore wellness curriculum is organized into four critical learning standards: fitness, decision-making, nutrition and social-emotional learning. These four standards include all the required curricular components for health and physical education, and students receive instruction over the course of two years. The fitness critical learning standard includes health and skill-related physical components, as well as a focus on target heart rate, functional movement and group dynamics. The decision-making critical learning standard includes teaching the DECIDE framework (define the problem, examine the alternatives, consider the consequences, identify one’s values, decide and act, evaluate the outcome), as well as information on alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and vaping. This critical learning standard also includes components of sex education required by health legislation and curricular mandates. The nutrition critical learning standard includes information on the relationship between foods and human performance, while the social-emotional critical learning standard includes the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and effective communication. 

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Illinois Legislation and Legislative Requirements

Public Act 102-0522 

Senate Bill 818 (P.A. 102-0522) became effective on August 20, 2021. The legislation modified the requirements for districts who teach sex education, and also required the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to adopt sex education standards no later than August 1, 2022. The ISBE did adopt these standards in July 2022, ultimately choosing to adopt the National Sex Education Standards. Since sex education is currently taught in our freshman and sophomore wellness courses, our curricular analysis has focused on the comprehensive sexual health education standards for grades 9 and 10 (the national standards include several different grade bands, including K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12).

Within each grade band, there are seven general topic areas that must be taught, including: 

• consent and healthy relationships,
• anatomy and physiology,
• puberty and adolescent sexual development,
• gender identity and expression,
• sexual orientation and identity,
• sexual health,
• interpersonal violence.  
  
  

Of these seven general topic areas, only two represent additional information outside of the current health education requirements. These include the general topic areas of gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation and identity. While these are new to Illinois sexual education legislation, these topics are not new to District 211. District 211 Board of Education policy JAA: Equal Educational Opportunities includes providing equal educational and extracurricular opportunities for all students, including supporting students in a manner consistent with their gender identity.

The general topic area titled “Gender Identity & Expression” by the end of 10th grade includes: “differentiate between sex assigned at birth, gender identity and gender expression,” and “analyze how media, society, culture, and a person’s intersecting identities can influence attitudes, beliefs, and expectations about gender, gender identity, gender roles, and gender expression. The general topic area titled “Sexual Orientation & Identity” by the end of 10th grade includes: “differentiate between sexual orientation, sexual behavior and sexual identity,” “analyze how peers, media, family, society, culture, and a person’s intersecting identities can influence attitudes, beliefs, and expectations about sexual orientation and sexual identity,” and “access credible sources of information about sexual orientation.”

Like all District 211 educators, our wellness teachers work collaboratively to develop lessons to implement these topics. Since P.A. 102-0522 (SB 818) was passed in August 2021, we have engaged District 211 teachers and administrators to analyze the National Sex Education Standards and compare the standards to both existing freshman and sophomore wellness curriculum and the separate mandated health education requirements. These standards were subsequently adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education in July 2022.

It is important to note that these seven standards do not define how to teach the topics, what specific instructional activities to use, nor what specific curricular scope and sequence to use. This is the reason that our teachers and administrators have been involved in curriculum development and alignment to the new standards.

The seven standards of comprehensive sexual health education are:

1. Consent and Health Relationships: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills students need to successfully navigate changing relationships among family, peers, and partners. Special emphasis is given to personal boundaries, bodily autonomy, sexual agency and consent, and the increasing use and impact of technology within relationships.
2. Anatomy and Physiology: outlines the functional knowledge students need to understand basic human functioning.
3. Puberty and Adolescent Sexual Development: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills students need to understand pivotal milestones for every person that impact physical, social, and emotional development, and that sexual development is normal and healthy.
4. Gender Identity and Expression: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills a student needs to address fundamental aspects of people’s understanding of who they are as it relates to gender, gender identity, gender roles and gender expression as well as how peers, media, family, society, culture and a person’s intersecting identities can influence attitudes, beliefs, and expectations, and the importance of advocating for safety and equity.
5. Sexual Orientation and Identity: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills that students need to address fundamental aspects of people’s understanding of who they are as it relates to sexual orientation and identity as well as how peers, media, family, society, culture, and a person’s intersecting identities can influence attitudes, beliefs, and expectations and the importance of advocating for safety and equity.
6. Sexual Health: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills students need to understand STDs and HIV, including how they are prevented and transmitted, their signs and symptoms, and testing and treatment; how pregnancy happens, decision-making to avoid a pregnancy, and pregnancy prevention and options; and the personal and societal factors that influence sexual health decision-making and outcomes. Interpersonal Violence: outlines the functional knowledge and essential skills students need to understand interpersonal and sexual violence, including prevention, intervention, resources and local services; emphasizes the need for a growing awareness, creation, and maintenance of safe school and community environments for all students.
   
   

The analysis of the current curriculum and the possible changes to the wellness critical learning standards has been completed. In addition to the seven general topic areas mentioned specifically in Senate Bill 818 (P.A. 102-0522), there are separate curricular mandates that also have to be taught. These include the aforementioned health requirements (in italics), sexual abuse education (required through P.A. 102-0610), and teen dating violence (required through P.A. 102-1102). These topics are covered under the decision-making critical learning standard and implemented throughout the course of the freshman and sophomore wellness courses. There is often confusion regarding some of the topics that are required separately from the new comprehensive sexual health education standards. These topics include “family life, including sexual abstinence until marriage,” “prevention and control of disease, including instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the prevention, transmission, and spread of AIDS,” “age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness prevention education,” and “evidence-based and medically accurate information regarding sexual abstinence.” These topics areas are often incorporated into units related to sex education, however, are also required separate from those standards. Additionally, “sexual abuse education” is also required per 105 ILCS 5/10-23.13, and information on “teen dating violence” is required per 105 ILCS 110/3.10.

In addition to these areas, there are other curricular mandates that have been passed that we are required to follow that pertain to the areas of health and physical education. These include:

• Physical Education (105 ILCS 5/27-5,6,7)
• Driver Education (105 ILCS 5/27-24.2)
• Anabolic Steroid Abuse Prevention (105 ILCS 5/27-13.2)
• Violence Prevention & Conflict Resolution (105 ILCS 5/27-23.4)
• Internet Safety Education (105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)  
  
  

Except driver education, the aforementioned curricular topics are all included in the wellness curriculum.

These changes include stronger alignment with National and State Standards, including the National Sex Education Standards/Illinois Sexual Health Education Standards, the Illinois Physical Development and Health Standards, and the Illinois Social and Emotional Learning Standards. This analysis has resulted in modification of the critical learning standards for freshman and sophomore wellness. These new critical learning standards demonstrate what students should know and be able to do by the end of both freshman wellness and sophomore wellness. They also include the grade 9 -10 topics from the Illinois Sexual Health Education Standards.