California

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that address all of the following in a required course taught during grades 6, 7, or 8:

• The differences between HIV and AIDS.
• How HIV and other STDs are transmitted.
• How HIV and other STDs are diagnosed and treated.
• Health consequences of HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy.
• The benefits of being sexually abstinent.
• How to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy.
• How to access valid and reliable health information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy.
• The influences of media, family, and social and cultural norms on sexual behavior.
• Communication and negotiation skills related to eliminating or reducing risk for HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy.
• Goal setting and decision making skills related to eliminating or reducing risk for HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy.
• Compassion for persons living with HIV or AIDS.

Activities

• Provide professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nurses, and administrators in three of the five priority counties on the California Education Code and reaching California’s priority populations for HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy prevention.
• Collaborate with the California Healthy Kids Resource Center HIV Materials Review Board to review, evaluate, and make recommendations for procurement of HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy prevention curricula.
• Develop a Web document of the most commonly used HIV curricula and determine whether these curricula meet specific tenets of the California Education Code.
• Monitor a percentage of eligible middle and high schools, based upon STD and teen birth rate selection criteria, to determine whether health education curricula and instruction are being implementing in accordance with the California Education Code.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that address all of the following in a required course taught during grades 9, 10, 11, or 12:

• Efficacy of condoms, that is, how well condoms work and do not work.
• The importance of using condoms consistently and correctly.
• How to correctly use a condom.

Activities

• Maintain the California Department of Education (CDE) Web site with information related to effective policies, programs, and practices to prevent and reduce HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy.
• Disseminate information electronically at least three times per month on the CDE HIV listserv.
• Provide professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nurses, and administrators in three of the five priority counties on the California Education Code and reaching California’s priority populations for HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy prevention.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools in which the lead health education teacher received professional development during the past 2 years on all of the following:

• Describing how widespread HIV and other STD infections are and the consequences of these infections.
• Understanding the modes of transmission and effective prevention strategies for HIV and other STDs.
• Identifying populations of youth who are at high risk of being infected with HIV and other STDs.
• Implementing health education strategies using prevention messages that are likely to be effective in reaching youth.

Activities

• Provide professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nurses, and administrators in three of the five priority counties on the California Education Code and reaching California’s priority populations for HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy prevention.
• Collaborate with the Center for Health Training to conduct the Western Region Institute for Teachers and Community Health Education, a 5-day skills-based residential training for educators working in sexuality, HIV/STD prevention, and family planning.
• Participate in annual statewide and regional professional meetings to build local capacity by sharing research in best practices and current statewide initiatives related to HIV, STD, and unintended pregnancy prevention.

Physical Activity

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that offer intramural activities or physical activity clubs for all students, including those with disabilities.

Activities

• Present at state and regional professional meetings to build local capacity by sharing research in best practices related to physical activity and education.
• Provide professional development and technical assistance to schools to increase local capacity around physical education and activity.
• Disseminate information to stakeholders and partners on offering intramural activities and/or physical activity clubs for all students.

Nutrition

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that use at least three of the following strategies anywhere in the school to promote healthy eating:

• Price nutritious food and beverage choices at a lower cost while increasing the price of less nutritious foods and beverages.
• Collect suggestions from students, families, and school staff on nutritious food preferences and strategies to promote healthy eating.
• Provide information on the nutrition and caloric content of foods available.
• Conduct taste tests to determine food preferences for nutritious items.
• Provide opportunities for students to visit the cafeteria to learn about food safety, food preparation, or other nutrition-related topics.

Activities

• Present at state and regional professional meetings to build local capacity by sharing research in best practices related to nutrition.
• Assist in planning of one statewide school health-related conference, such as the School Wellness Conference.
• Disseminate information to stakeholders and partners on strategies to promote healthy eating.

Tobacco

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that coordinate their tobacco prevention messages and programs with community and mass-media tobacco prevention efforts in the following ways:

• Gathering and sharing information about mass-media messages or community-based tobacco-use prevention efforts with students and families.
• Working with local agencies and organizations to plan and implement events or programs intended to reduce tobacco use.

Activities

• Identity programs, alliances, and projects whose missions support coordinated school health and physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco prevention, with a focus on youth at high risk for health disparities.
• Provide technical assistance to these identified partners to assist them in integrating tobacco prevention messages into their infrastructure.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that have a group (e.g., school health team) that helps plan and implement school health programs, with representation from 10 or more of the following:

• School administrators.
• Health education teachers.
• Physical education teachers.
• Mental health or social services staff.
• Nutrition or food service staff.
• Health services staff (e.g., school nurse).
• Maintenance and transportation staff.
• Student body.
• Parents or families of students.
• Community.
• Local health departments, agencies, or organizations.
• Faith-based organizations.
• Businesses.
• Local government.

Activities

• Partner with the American Cancer Society and other key stakeholders to provide technical assistance and support to a minimum of one Coordinated School Health (CSH) Leadership Institute to build capacity for systems change that supports CSH within school districts.
• Provide technical assistance to local planning committees that have completed a CSH Leadership Institute.
• Provide technical assistance to school and district staff to help them include youth and local community and regional leaders as active members in their assessment and planning process.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that have ever assessed their policies, activities, and programs by using the School Health Index or a similar self-assessment tool in any of the following areas:  

• Physical activity.
• Nutrition.
• Tobacco-use prevention.

Activities

• Continue partnerships with county contacts in priority counties (Sacramento, Fresno, and San Bernardino) to design and deliver professional development events to meet district needs.
• Provide technical assistance to school and district staff and public health leaders to help them include youth as active members in their assessment and planning procedures with input from local community and regional leaders.
• In collaboration with local districts, provide technical assistance on implementation of school health policies.
• Conduct trainings on the School Health Index during CSH Leadership Institutes to promote assessment of school policies, activities, and programs in physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that follow a written health education curriculum that addresses all the following:  

• Comprehending concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
• Analyzing the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
• Accessing valid information and products and services to enhance health.
• Using interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
• Using decision-making skills to enhance health.
• Using goal-setting skills to enhance health.
• Practicing health-enhancing behaviors to avoid or reduce risks.
• Advocating for personal, family, and community health.

Activities

• Provide professional development and follow-up support on implementation of California’s physical and health education standards and related assessment strategies to a minimum of 25 districts.
• Develop a guidance document on health and physical education standards.
• Conduct one training on the Council of Chief State School Officers’ State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards Health Education Assessment Project in each priority county.

California is seeking to increase the percentage of schools that provide parents and families health information to increase parent and family knowledge of any of the following health issues:  

• Tobacco-use prevention.
• Physical activity.
• Nutrition and healthy eating.

Activities

• Update Web sites to provide accurate data and current resources related to coordinated school health.
• Communicate via listservs and other means.
• Present at meetings of parent-teacher associations.
• Create and disseminate a guidance document to local education and health agencies to include strategies to reach parents with health information.