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6-28-2023 1:28pm
DESE Invites Public Comments on MA's Proposed Guidelines for School Health and Phys-Ed Standards
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on June 28 2023 has announced that the public has an opportunity to comment on the state's first update since 1999 to public school guidelines drafted by the Healey-Driscoll administration regarding what a comprehensive health and physical education should include. The administrations' draft guidelines, called the Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework, are open for comment through August 28, 2023 and include proposed standards on:
- gender, sexual orientation and sexual health;
- healthy relationships, including safety from dating violence;
- mental and emotional health;
- nutrition and balanced eating;
- personal safety, including safety from gun violence;
- physical activity and fitness;
- physical health and hygiene;
- public, community, and environmental health; and
- substance use and misuse
Standards of education for the above topics are interspersed throughout the draft document, which is organized by grade level groupings and "practice" categories. Specifically, standards are grouped by grades Pre-K to 2nd; 3rd to 5th; 6th to 8th; and 9th to 12th. Practice categories are Decision-making and Problem Solving; Self-management and Goal Setting; Social Awareness, Relationship, and Communication Skill; Movement Skills; Self-awareness and Analyzing Influences; Information and Resource Seeking; and Self-Advocacy and Health Promotion.
Source: Press Release, Draft Health and Physical Education Framework Goes Out for Public Comment (chart viewable from link to "Board memo") [June 28, 2023].In a June 21st memo to the DESE board, Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley notes that school districts have discretion on how to implement the framework and standards at the local level. He stated that the guidelines encourage schools to implement programming and strategies that enhance students’ mental, emotional, and physical health.
“Updating frameworks is a process that incorporates the knowledge of educators, content experts, and the community, and I’m glad to see this draft move forward,” said Mr. Riley. “As we do with other content area frameworks, we will gather feedback during this public comment period and will review the draft before bringing it back to the Board for a vote," he said.
Parents, students, educators, and members of the public can review the proposed Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework and then provide comments in one of three ways. Comments can be submitted:
(1) on an online form;
(2) emailed to chpef@mass.gov; or
(3) mailed to Kristen McKinnon, Assistant Director, Office of Student and Family Support, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 75 Pleasant St., Malden 02148.
The 60-day public comment period will end on Monday, August 28, 2023.
