Dear 5th Parent/Guardian:
Cupertino Union School District will be providing Human Growth and Development (puberty) education to our 5th grade students using the Positive Prevention Plus program. Your student’s classroom teacher will teach these lessons.
Save the Date: Parent Information Session
Prior to classroom lessons, you are invited to attend an online parent information session on February 11th from 6:00-7:00 pm (this will be recorded for those who can not attend). This session will help you:
- Learn what your child will be taught in the classroom
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Understand how lessons connect to the California Healthy Youth Act
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Learn tools for supporting your child’s learning at home
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Understand procedures for indicating “opt-out” for your child
CUSD’s puberty curriculum is Positive Prevention Plus. Lessons will be taught by 5th grade teachers who will be trained before instruction begins. Per the California Healthy Youth Act, instruction must be medically accurate, age‐appropriate and inclusive of all students, and must encourage students to communicate with parents, guardians, or other trusted adults about human sexuality. Lessons will include information regarding:
- Puberty, anatomy and human reproduction
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Healthy hygiene practices to take care of growing bodies
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Sexual orientation and gender, including the harm of negative gender stereotypes
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Healthy relationships/friendships and avoiding unhealthy behaviors and situations
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How to talk to a trusted adult (such as a parent/guardian) about these topics
You will receive a syllabus describing each of the lessons and the days we anticipate they will be taught at each school site, as well as information about how to opt-out if you do not want your child to participate.
State law allows a parent/guardian to remove (opt-out) their student from this instruction. Parents/guardians may opt-out of select lessons or the entire program. You will receive more information about this process from your principal following the parent information event. Please note that if a parent/guardian opts their child out of selected lessons, there is a chance that these topics may come up again during one of the following lessons through student or classroom discussions. Students will also have a workbook that contains worksheets for all lessons. Students who are not participating in lesson(s) will complete an alternate set of lessons aligned to the California Health Standards for Grade 5.
Resources
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Parents/guardians have the right to request copies of Education Code 51930-51939, and may do so by sending an email to Miko Pennington ( pennington_miko@cusdk8.org) in the Educational Services Department.
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Visit the California Department of Education website: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/
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If you have additional questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher or your school site principal.
Sincerely,
Nick Prychodko, HGD/CSE Lead
prychodko_nick@cusdk8.org
Allison Liner, Deputy Superintendent
liner_allison@cusdk8.org
