2011-2012 Student Handbook - McKinney Independent School District

Granting Permission to Receive Parenting and Paternity Awareness InstructionAs a parent, if your child is under the age of 14, you must grant permission for your child to receiveinstruction in the district’s parenting and paternity awareness program or your child will not be allowed toparticipate in the instruction. This program, developed by the Office of the Texas Attorney General andthe State Board of Education (SBOE), is incorporated into the district’s health education classes.Removing a Student Temporarily from the ClassroomYou may remove your child temporarily from the classroom if an instructional activity in which yourchild is scheduled to participate, conflicts with your religious or moral beliefs. The removal cannot be forthe purpose of avoiding a test and may not extend for an entire semester. Further, your child must satisfygrade-level and graduation requirements as determined by the school and by the Texas EducationAgency.Removing a Student from Human Sexuality InstructionAs a part of the district’s curriculum, students receive instruction related to human sexuality. The SchoolHealth Advisory Council (SHAC) is involved with the selection of course materials for such instruction.State law requires that any instruction related to human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or humanimmunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome must:• Present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexualactivity for unmarried persons of school age;• Devote more attention to abstinence from sexual activity than to any other behavior;• Emphasize that abstinence is the only method that is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy,sexually transmitted diseases, and the emotional trauma associated with adolescent sexual activity.• Direct adolescents to a standard of behavior in which abstinence from sexual activity before marriageis the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and;• If include in the content of the curriculum, teach contraception and condom use in terms of humanuse reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates.• In accordance with state law, below is a summary of the district’s curriculum regarding humansexuality instruction:• MISD has developed a scope and sequence of growth and development and related bodychanges which begins in 4 th grade during the month of May. The 4 th grade science curriculumwill include a hygiene segment and a video shown by the nurse. The focus in fourth grade willbe body changes that occur during puberty/growth and development and their related hygieneissues. The video will include facts specific to male and female anatomical changes. The scopeand sequence will continue in 5 th grade with emphasis on the endocrine and reproductive bodysystems. The 5 th grade will cover the endocrine body system in science followed by a videofocused on puberty and the reproductive system. Grades 6-12 utilize information from the healthtextbooks and Choosing the Best, abstinence- based sex education program, incorporated intothe health/PE curriculum.• As a parent, you are entitled to review the curriculum materials. You may choose to becomemore involved wi th the development of curriculum used f or this purpose by becoming a memberof the district’s SHAC. Please see the campus principal for additional information.• Parent information letters will be sent home to parents in 4 th and 5 th grade prior to any instruction andhave an opt in parent permission slip. Removal of a student under the “opt out” provision will behandled in accordance with “Removing a Student Temporarily from the Classroom” above. A parentmust sign an opt out permission slip in grades 6-12. All of the parent permission/information sheets- 5 -