The board shall establish a set of statewide educational goals for all public elementary and secondary schools in the commonwealth.

The board shall direct the commissioner to institute a process to develop academic Standard for the core subjects of mathematics, science and technology, history and social science, English, foreign languages and the arts. The Standard shall cover grades kindergarten through twelve and shall clearly set forth the skills, competencies and knowledge expected to be possessed by all students at the conclusion of individual grades or clusters of grades. The Standard shall be formulated so as to set high expectations of student performance and to provide clear and specific examples that embody and reflect these high expectations, and shall be constructed with due regard to the work and recommendations of national organizations, to the best of similar efforts in other states, and to the level of skills, competencies and knowledge possessed by typical students in the most educationally advanced nations. The skills, competencies and knowledge set forth in the Standard shall be expressed in terms which lend themselves to objective measurement, define the performance outcomes expected of both students directly entering the workforce and of students pursuing higher education, and facilitate comparisons with students of other states and other nations.

The Standard shall provide for instruction in at least the major principles of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. They shall be designed to inculcate respect for the cultural, ethnic and racial diversity of the commonwealth and for the contributions made by diverse cultural, ethnic and racial groups to the life of the commonwealth. The Standard may provide for instruction in the fundamentals of the history of the commonwealth as well as the history of working people and the labor movement in the United States. The Standard shall provide for instruction in the issues of nutrition and exercise. The Standard may provide for instruction in the issues of physical education, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome education, violence prevention, including teen dating violence, bullying prevention, conflict resolution and drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse prevention. The board may also include the teaching of family life skills, financial management and consumer skills, and basic career exploration and employability skills. The board may also include in the Standard a fundamental knowledge of technology education and computer science and keyboarding skills; the major principles of environmental science and environmental protection; and an awareness of global education and geography.

Such schools shall be taught by teachers of competent ability and good morals, and shall give instruction and training in orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, the history and constitution of the United States, the duties of citizenship, health education, physical education and good behavior.

Section 3. Physical education shall be taught as a required subject in all grades for all students in the public schools for the purpose of promoting the physical well–being of such students. Instruction in physical education may include calisthenics, gymnastics and military drill; but no pupil shall be required to take part in any military exercise if his parent or guardian is of any religious denomination conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, or is himself so opposed, and the school committee is so notified in writing; and no pupil shall be required to take part in physical education exercises if a licensed physician certifies in writing that in his opinion such physical education exercises would be injurious to the pupil.

Comprehensive guide with components on physical activity