Do parents/guardians need to be informed about comprehensive sexual health education?

Do parents/guardians need to be informed about comprehensive sexual health education?
Yes.  Education Code section 51938 provides that at the beginning of each school year or at the time of the pupil’s enrollment, each school district shall notify the parent or guardian of each pupil about instruction in comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education and research on pupil health behaviors and risks planned for the coming year.  Districts must provide parents with the opportunity to view the curriculum and other instructional materials. Districts must also allow parents to remove their student from instruction if they so choose, using a passive consent (“opt-out”) process in which parents must request in writing that their student not receive this instruction. Districts may not require active consent (“opt-in”) by requiring that students return a permission slip in order to receive the instruction.  The Fullerton School District recognizes this is a sensitive topic for parents and provides multiple notices to our families through flyers, letters, phone messages, and emails.

To view the curriculum, parents may contact the school office, the sexual health educator at the school site, or trang_lai@myfsd.org at the district.