E ola pono. E mālama i nā piko.
Live pono. Nurture thriving connections.
Health literacy is essential to students’ social, emotional, mental, physical and cognitive development. Health literate individuals are able to find, understand and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. This not only contributes to resilience, well-being, healthy relationships and a positive quality of life, but also helps to prevent and reduce the risk of disease, injury and death.
educational Standards
Today’s health education reflects the growing body of research that emphasizes:
- Supporting the health, resilience and total well-being of the whole child (e.g., students’ social, emotional, mental, physical and cognitive development).
- Developing health literacy skills aligned to National Health Education Standards.
- Building functional knowledge with relevant and functional information aligned to Priority Risk Topics.
- Strengthening connections with family and community.
- Addressing students’ needs and interests through interactive and social learning experiences.
- Nurturing attitudes, values and beliefs that support positive health behaviors through safe, inclusive and caring messages and learning environments.
The National Health Education Standards in Hawaiʻi (PDF) are focused on developing students’ health literacy skills to proficiency within and across grade levels:
- Standard 1: Comprehending Concepts — Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
- Standard 2: Analyzing Influences — Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and other factors on health behavior.
- Standard 3: Accessing Information, Products, and Services — Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products and services.
- Standard 4: Interpersonal Communication — Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
- Standard 5: Decision-Making — Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
- Standard 6: Goal-Setting — Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
- Standard 7: Self-Management — Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.
- Standard 8: Advocacy — Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family and community health.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Health Education Program
Phone: 808-784-6423
Email
While the primary focus of health education is the development of health skills, these skills must be addressed in conjunction with functional information in the context of priority risk topics. Standards-based health education must be age and developmentally appropriate, medically accurate and provide factual information in all priority risk topics:
- Mental and emotional health
- Healthy eating and physical activity
- Personal health and wellness
- Safety (unintentional injury prevention)
- Violence prevention
- Tobacco use prevention
- Alcohol and other drug use prevention
- Sexual health and responsibility
Note: Health education in prekindergarten is aligned to the Hawaiʻi Early Learning and Development Standards (HELDS).
Course Requirements
- Health education is required in all elementary grades.
- Middle/intermediate schools must offer courses that allow all students to meet Hawaiʻi՚s health education standards and performance indicators for grades 6-8. One semester (0.5 credits; 60 hours) of health education in each middle/intermediate school grade is strongly recommended but not required.
- In high school, a one semester course (0.5 credits; 60 hours) in health education is required for graduation.
- A variety of health specialized elective courses (e.g., peer education) are available at the secondary school level.
- For middle school promotion and high school graduation requirements, refer to Board Policy 105-1 Academic Program (PDF), Board Policy 102-9 Middle Level Education Promotion Policy (PDF), and Board Policy 102-15 High School Graduation Requirements and Commencement (PDF).
wellness guidelines for Health Education
Comprehensive health education provides the instructional foundation that prepares students to build healthy relationships and make lifelong healthy decisions. The wellness guidelines support quality health education grounded in Hawaiʻi.
The wellness guidelines for health education are organized around three key components that address instructional minutes, include nutrition education, and emphasize culturally relevant and ʻāina-based approaches:
- Instructional content of health education classes includes a focus on knowledge and skills that support healthy eating and is aligned with the HIDOE standards for health education.
- Health education is provided to students in elementary grades at least 45 minutes per week and secondary grades at least 200 minutes per week.
- Nutrition education includes culturally relevant activities that are ʻāina-based and hands-on, such as food preparation, taste-testing, farm visits and school gardens.
Sexual Health Education
Several state laws and policies help prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections through comprehensive sexual health education.
- State law (Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) §321-11.1) establishes requirements for any state-funded sexual health education program.
- Board Policy 103-5 Sexual Health Education (PDF) requires the Department to implement comprehensive sexual health education.
- A description of the curriculum utilized by the school shall be made available to parents/legal guardians and shall be posted on the school’s website prior to the start of any instruction.
- A student shall be excused from sexual health instruction only upon the prior written request of the student’s parent or legal guardian.
- A student may not be subject to disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other sanction if the student’s parent or legal guardian makes such a written request.
Parents or legal guardians can also opt-out of having their children participate in instruction related to controversial issues.
Parents or legal guardians may write a letter to the school administrators or a teacher to have their child excluded from a specific lesson or activity. If such a letter is received, the student must be provided with an alternative learning activity. The parents or legal guardians have an obligation to notify the school administrator or teacher prior to the lesson or activity.
Resources
- Why Health Education Matters (Google Doc)
- Health Education Standards and Topics Overview (Google Doc)
- Learning Design for Health
- Health Education Printables (Google Drive)
- Wellness Guidelines
- You Matter! Health Resources
- Using School Gardens in Health Education
- Sexual Health Education in the HIDOE (PDF)
- Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Schools
- Reviewing Instructional Materials for Health Education (PDF)
- 2022 Hawaiʻi School Health Profiles – Highlights Report (PDF)
USDA NON DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or - fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or - email:
[email protected]
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.