Teachers and parents urge MVLA board to pair ethnic studies with in-seat health; teachers say online health course is noncompliant

Teachers, parents and students pressed the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High (MVLA) board on Oct. 13 to reconfigure course schedules so all ninth-graders can take in-seat health instruction while still meeting an ethnic studies requirement.

The request followed two years of schedule changes that several speakers said have pushed many students into an out-of-district online health course that teachers say is medically inaccurate and not up to current state standards.

Why it matters: Speakers told the board that removing a semester-length in-seat health option for ninth-graders has shifted staffing and course loads across departments and left some students taking an online course that, they said, does not meet state legal requirements for health education. Board members asked staff for a formal report on health instruction at the next meeting.

Several teachers and parents spoke during the public-comment period about schedule pressure and curriculum compliance. “I'm here to speak in favor of ethnic studies to be a semester course paired with health, so option C1 as you guys decided earlier this afternoon,” said Tammy Kittle, who identified herself as a teacher at Mountain View High School. Kittle said the district’s move to a year-long social studies requirement has forced some students to take health online and that the staffing shifts were not FTE neutral: “As soon as students were required to do 4 years of social studies, health lost 0.4 FTE.”

Heather Boyle, who identified herself as a health teacher at MDHS, told the board that the district’s online health course “is not compliant with any of the 4 laws I just listed above.” Boyle listed statutory and policy requirements she said have been added over recent years: updated comprehensive sexual-health education (2016), hands-only CPR (2018), expanded mental-health education including suicide prevention (2024), and fentanyl-specific drug education (2025). She said the district’s online course has been reviewed poorly by state reviewers and cited specific content problems, including a claim in the course that condoms are ineffective and an incorrect listing of hysterectomy as a contraceptive method. “The course quotes Heritage Foundation studies to argue that condoms are ineffective,” Boyle said.

Speakers urged the board to preserve a one-semester in-seat health course paired with ethnic studies in ninth grade so all students receive medically accurate, up-to-date instruction. Several presenters suggested the district could train social-studies teachers to deliver an in-seat health course and described models in which health sits administratively within social studies.

Board response and next steps: Board members said they wanted more information before making curriculum changes. At the end of the meeting trustees directed staff to prepare a written report on health instruction, including whether the district’s online offering meets state requirements, for the next board meeting. The board did not take a formal vote on curriculum changes at this meeting.

What the speakers said (selected): - Tammy Kittle, Mountain View High teacher: “Please pair [ethnic studies] with health and not another social studies elective.” - Heather Boyle, health teacher: “The online course is not compliant with any of the 4 laws I just listed above.” - Trish Gilbert, parent: “I think having a 1‑semester ethnic studies class and a 1‑semester health class that was part of the ninth grade curriculum would benefit all of our students.”

Clarifying context: Public commenters referenced “Option C1” — a schedule option discussed by the district staff — as the preferred configuration (one semester of ethnic studies paired with one semester of in-seat health in ninth grade). Commenters and presenters tied schedule shifts to staffing adjustments across departments and gave a specific figure that health instruction lost 0.4 full‑time equivalent (FTE) after adoption of the year‑long social‑studies configuration. Teachers described state reviews and audits of health curricula and urged the district to ensure compliance with recent statutory updates.

Ending: Trustees asked staff to return a written report on health instruction and curriculum compliance at the next board meeting so the board can consider whether to require in-seat health for ninth graders while implementing the ethnic studies requirement.