Beginning July 1, 2012, each school district and nonpublic school shall ensure that the portion of its health curriculum which is related to sexual health includes instruction pertaining to the risks associated with adolescent sexual activity and the social, psychological, and physical health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity before and outside of marriage.

The Standard in this document provide guidance for teachers delivering instruction in Health Education. The Standard and accompanying benchmarks are presented in five grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6, 7-8, 9-12). Grade banding provides flexibility to those delivering instruction while recognizing the diversity present within school structure. It is the expectation of this document that students meet the designated benchmarks by the end of each grade band. In addition to the eight content Standard and correlating benchmarks, this document also provides annotations for each grade band with possible content, resources or assessment ideas that can be utilized in a school district's health curriculum.