Board approves human growth and development curriculum updates to meet new Indiana code requirements

The board voted 5-0 to adopt the district's human growth and development instructional materials and to publish required resources on the district website to comply with changes in Indiana law.

Director of curriculum Dr. Scott Shipley and district staff explained the changes to state law that took effect July 1 and described the district's compliance plan. The district is working with partners HealthLed Pros and the high-school program "I Decide For Me"; staff showed sample parent letters, course descriptions and sample lesson links for fourth- through sixth-grade instruction and for high-school health courses. Shipley said the largest new requirement is that the instructional resources be available on the district website at all times.

Staff noted minor changes to permission forms required by state law, including indicating whether an instructor will be male or female and whether boys and girls will be taught together or separately; staff also reaffirmed their notification schedule: the first notification 31 days before instruction and a follow-up 10 days later. Shipley said the district's process uses implied consent under current Indiana code (if a parent does not respond to the notification, the child is considered to have implied consent to participate), and the district will include website links in future notifications and on permission forms.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about website links and notification language. After discussion the board approved the curriculum adoption and posting plan by a 5-0 vote.