he quality criteria shall consist of the following quality measures, which shall be required to be in place at each school: (9) programs and services to support student learning and growth at both the elementary and secondary levels, including the following: (G) physical education, which shall include instruction in health and human sexuality;

The Kansas Health Education Standard are divided into four sections: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. They were created using the national Standard as a template (available at www.shapeamerica.org) , but the benchmarks were edited to make the Standard more user friendly for Kansas teachers. Research shows that elementary students who are given nutrition, physical activity, and substance abuse resistance skills education, eat a healthier diet, exercise more, and resist substance abuse. Students in grades 5-12 who receive health education focused on the CDC’s adolescent risk behaviors also eat healthier, exercise more, resist substance abuse, avoid intentional and unintentional injury, and also delay sexual activity. The Kansas Health Education Standard Revision Committee feels strongly that health education for Kansas students should be implemented throughout grades K-12 and we encourage teachers to dialogue with their administration regarding ways to strengthen health education in Kansas schools. While the Kansas State Department of Education does not endorse any particular curricula, there are a number of affordable, researched based, K-12 health education curricula currently available to school districts at reasonable costs.