Healthy Youth Act 101
Presented by:
Jen Estroff
Community Health Educator
Planned Parenthood of Central Washington
estroffj@ppcentwa.org

Teen Pregnancy Touches Us All
750,000

Common Myths about STI/HIV
 One fifth of young adults say they “know” when
someone has an STI
 One sixth believe that transmission can occur
only when obvious symptoms are present
(asymptomatic)
 One in five young adults believe that BC pills are
an effective way to prevent STI/HIV
 One in five young people are unaware that oral
sex can lead to STI/HIV transmission
 Source – Kaiser Family Foundation - 2003
 One in four people will have an STI at some point
in their life

According to the CDC, 2008
 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD right now.
 This includes those that have never been
sexually active.

Enduring Understanding
 I understand what the Healthy Youth Act
entails and why the Washington State
Legislature made it law in the Spring of
2007.

Essential Questions
2. What is the Healthy Youth Act?
3. Why did the state legislature pass this law?
4. What are the DOH / OSPI guidelines?
5. What does the research say about what works?
6. What is age appropriate?
7. What is medically accurate?
8. What is the difference between abstinence-only
programs and comprehensive sexuality
education?
9. What resources exist to help you?

Group Agreements
 And… best practices

Essential Question #1
 What is the Healthy Youth Act?

The Goal of Comprehensive
Sexuality Education:
 Safe and Healthy People =
 Safe and Healthy Families =
Safe
and Healthy
Communities

Engrossed Senate Bill 5297
RCW 28A.300.475
 Comprehension Activity:
 Divide into 5 groups.
 With your group, identify the key points
from your section of the HYA.
 Be ready to share the key points with the
class.
 You have 4 minutes.
 Go!

What the Healthy Youth Act does:
 The HYA does:
 Requires schools that choose to teach sexuality
education; to teach comprehensive sexuality
education
 Ensure that all students, regardless of their
home situation, will receive sexuality education
 Meet best practices according to science-based
approaches when attempting to prevent
unintended pregnancy, STDs and HIV

What the Healthy Youth Act
does NOT do:
 The Healthy Youth Act does not:
 Require schools to purchase new curricula
 Require schools to teach sexuality education
 Require schools to build transgender
bathrooms
 Require Planned Parenthood to be the primary
source of sex education in school
 Allow abstinence-only-until-marriage programs
to be the only message that students hear

Essential Question # 2
 Why did the State Legislature pass this
law?

Average Age of First Intercourse
18 17.7
17.5
17 16.8
16.5 16.2
15.8
16
15.5
15
14.5
14
Netherlands France Germany United States

Teen Birth Rate per 1000
France
Germany
Netherlands
United States Series1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
United
Netherlands Germany France
States
Series1 52 4 4 9

Teen Abortion Rate
Number of abortions per 1,000 females aged 15 - 19
Teen Abortion Rate per 1000
39.1
40
26.8
30
20
8.9
10 4.2 3.1
0
1
United States Washington State Netherlands Germany France

Aids Rate per 100,000
United States Netherlands Germany France
4.8, 16%
1.7, 6%
2.2, 7%
21.7, 71%

Table 16. Total
Pregnancies1 by
Woman's Age and
County of
Residence, 2006
Of the 31
counties •Yakima ranks 4th
listed half •Benton ranks 9th
are located •Grant ranks 11th
on the east •Franklin ranks 13th
•Chelan ranks 15th
side of the •Adams ranks 24th
state •Kittitas ranks 26th (up
from 32nd in 04)

Figure 4.
Chlamydia
Incidence
Rates* by
County, (95%
CI)**
Washington
State, 2006
Ranked from
Highest to
Lowest
Of the 25 Counties listed here – half
are in Central and Eastern
Washington.

Yakima County STD profile
 2006 compared to 2005:
 Chlamydia had a 15% increase in reported cases (1,120 vs.
973).
 Gonorrhea had a 19% increase in reported cases (166 vs.
139).
 Early syphilis had a 33% increase in reported cases (4 vs. 3).
 Late/late latent syphilis had a 200% increase in reported cases
(9 vs. 3).
 Initial infection herpes had a 29% decrease in reported cases
(70 vs. 99).

Kittitas County STD profile
 2006 compared to 2005:
 Chlamydia had a 34% decrease in reported cases (102 vs.
155).
 Gonorrhea had a 50% decrease in reported cases (4 vs. 8).
 Initial infection herpes had a 61% increase in reported cases
(29 vs. 18).
 2005 compared to 2004:
 Chlamydia had a 65% increase in reported cases (155 vs. 94).
 Gonorrhea had a 167% increase in reported cases (8 vs. 3).
 Initial infection herpes had a 125% increase in reported cases (18
vs. 8).

Essential Question #3
 What are the DOH / OSPI guidelines?

DOH & OSPI Guidelines
 WHY? Request by legislators concerned
about
 Costs of teen pregnancy
 Dropout rates
 High rates of HIV & other STDs
 Bullying, harassment & dating violence
 WHAT? Framework for medically and
scientifically accurate sex education for
Washington youth

PURPOSE OF THE GUIDELINES:
• To describe effective sex education and its
outcomes;
• To provide a tool for educators, policy-makers
and others to evaluate existing or new
programs, curricula or policies;
• To enhance and strengthen sex education
programs;
• To educate schools and school districts,
community organizations, communities of
faith, the public, the media, policymakers and
others involved in educating youth.

The guidelines say that the most effective
programs are:
1. Are age and culturally appropriate.
 Materials reflect the community they are serving
2. Use information and materials that are medically and scientifically
accurate and objective.
3. Encourage and improve communication, especially around growth
and development, with parents/guardians and other trusted
adults. (The quality of parent-child communications about sex and
sexuality appears to be a strong determinant of adolescents’
sexual behavior).
 A survey or interview with parents or trusted adults reflecting
themes and topics being covered in class
4. Identify resources to address individual needs, for present and
future concerns and questions.
5. Enlighten young people to develop and apply health-promoting
behaviors, including disease prevention and detection and
accessing accurate health information that is age appropriate.

The guidelines say that the most
effective programs:
6. Provide information about sexual anatomy and physiology and the
stages, patterns, and responsibilities associated with growth and
development.
7. Stress that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way
to avoid pregnancy and to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), including HIV.
8. Acknowledge that people may choose to abstain from sexual
activity at various points in their lives.
9. Address the health needs of all youth who are sexually active,
including how to access health services.
10. Provide accurate information about STDs including how STDs are
and are not transmitted and the effectiveness of all FDA-approved
methods of reducing the risk of contracting STDs.

effective programs:
11. Provide accurate information about the effectiveness and safety
of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods in preventing
pregnancy.
12. Provide information on local resources for testing and medical
care for STDs and pregnancy.
13. Promote the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal
skills including a sense of dignity and self-worth and the
communication, decision-making, assertiveness and refusal skills
necessary to reduce health risks and choose healthy behaviors.
 Use of role play as a best practice - a scenario such as being asked to
drink at a party
14. Recognize and respect people with differing personal and family
values.
15. Encourage young people to develop and maintain healthy,
respectful and meaningful relationships and avoid exploitative or
manipulative relationships.
 Specifically addressing teen dating violence or sexual coercion within
relationships with large age-differentials

The guidelines say that the most
effective programs:
16. Address the impact of media and peer messages on
thoughts, feelings, cultural norms and behaviors related to
sexuality as well as address social pressures related to
sexual behaviors.
 Jamie Lynn Spears, Matthew McConaughey, Halle Barry, Nicole Richey,
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Lisa Kudrow
17. Promote healthy self-esteem, positive body image, good
self-care, respect for others, caring for family and friends
and a responsibility to community.
18. Teach youth that learning about their sexuality will be a
lifelong process as their needs and circumstances change.
19. Encourage community support and reinforcement of key
messages by other adults and information sources.

Putting It Into Practice in a Practical
Way….
 Let’s look at 5th, 8th, and High School
standards for sexuality education
 These are just examples from the Health
and Fitness Standards available on the
OSPI website.

EALR 2
 The student acquires the know ledge and skills
necessary to m aintain a healthy life:
Recognizes dim ensions of health, recognizes
stages of grow and developm
th ent, reduces
health risks, and lives safely.

He alth and Fitne s s
Grade 5:
 Co mpo ne nt 2.2: Unde rs tands s tag e s o f g ro wth and
de ve lo pme nt.
 GLE
 2.2.1 Unde rs tands the s truc ture and func tio n o f bo dy
s ys te ms .
 CBA: Co nc e pts o f He alth and Fitne s s
 Explains s tag e s and c harac te ris tic s o f human g ro wth and
de ve lo pme nt.
 Example: Explains that height/weight change during puberty.
 2.2.2 Unde rs tands c hang e s o c c urring during pube rty .
 Unde rs tands ho rmo nal and phys ic al c hang e s o c c urring during
pube rty .
 Example: Understands hair grow under arm pits.
s
 De s c ribe s be ne fits o f daily hyg ie ne prac tic e s during pube rty .
 Exam ple: Discusses benefits of washing arm pits and using
deodorant.
*Essential Academic Learning Requirements

Health and Fitness
Grade 8 Exam ple:

High School: Example

EALRs + GLEs + CBAs
 This combination of guidelines and standards will
guide your school district’s curriculum choice, and
even your selection of activities.
 The comprehensive, updated guidelines are
available at
http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/healthfitne
 http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/healthfitne
 This 64 page document, has a GREAT introduction that
explains the system effectively.

Essential Question #4
 What does the research say about what
works?

The Research
 Impact of Sex and HIV Education Programs on
Sexual Behaviors of Youth in Developing and
Developed Countries, Douglas Kirby, B. A. Laris,
Lori Rolleri, 2005
 Summarizes evaluations of 83 rigorously
evaluated programs
 Approximately 20 US programs found to be
effective at delaying sex, decreasing risky
behavior, increasing protective behavior
 New research is adding a few more programs to
the list of effective programs

Conclusions about Impact of Comprehensive
Sex/HIV Education Programs
 Do not increase sexual activity
 Some sex/HIV education programs:
 Delay initiation of intercourse,
 Reduce number of sexual partners, or
 Increase use of condoms/contraception
 Some do all three
 Emphases upon abstinence, fewer
partners and condoms / contraception
are compatible, not conflicting

Essential Question #5
 What is age appropriate?

Level 1 Level 2
middle childhood, preadolescence,
ages 5 through 8; ages 9 through 12;
early elementary school upper elementary school
Level 3 Level 4
early adolescence, Adolescence,
ages 12 through 15; ages 15 through 18;
middle school/ high school
junior high school
Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education 3rd Edition -
SIECUS

Puberty – Level 1 – Ages 5-8
• Each body part has a correct name and a specific function.
• A person’s genitals, reproductive organs, and genes
determine whether the person is male or female.
• A boy/man has nipples, a penis, a scrotum, and testicles.
• A girl/woman has breasts, nipples, a vulva, a clitoris, a
vagina, a uterus, and ovaries.
• Some sexual or reproductive organs, such as penises and
vulvas, are external or on the outside of the body while
others, such as ovaries and testicles, are internal or inside
the body.

Puberty – Level 2 – Ages 9-12
• During puberty, internal and external sexual and
reproductive organs mature in preparation for
adulthood.
• A young man’s ability to reproduce starts when he
begins to produce sperm.
• A young woman’s ability to reproduce starts when
she begins to menstruate.

Puberty – Level 3 – Ages 12-15
• The sexual response system differs from
the reproductive system.
• Some sexual and reproductive organs
provide pleasure.

Puberty – Level 4 – Ages 15-18
• Sexual differentiation, whether a fetus will be male or female, is
determined largely by chromosomes and occurs early in prenatal
development.
• Some babies are born intersexed which means that they may have
ambiguous genitals that are not clearly male or female and/or that
their chromosomes do not match their genitals.
• Hormones influence growth and development as well as sexual and
reproductive functions.
• A woman’s ability to reproduce ceases after menopause; after
puberty, a man can usually reproduce for the rest of his life.
• Individuals may want to use a mirror to look closely at their
external organs so they can note any changes that may indicate
health problems.

Essential Question #6
 What is medically accurate?

What does medically accurate mean?
 Does the curriculum use accurate and appropriate
terminology?
 Are data, information, and sources of information
up to date?
 Does the curriculum provide references for data
and statements of fact?
 If the curriculum does not provide a reference for
data and statements of fact, did the reviewer find
a reference?

What does medically accurate mean?
 Does the curriculum use evidence-based biological
information that can be referenced?
 Is information exaggerated or distorted?
 Are the references from a credible source, such as one of
the following? :
 Peer-reviewed journals
 Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 Washington State Department of Health
 The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists
 Society for Adolescent Medicine
 American Academy of Pediatrics
 Other _________________________
 Reviewed Curricula Handout
 Guidelines Alignment Tool is available online at:
http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/healthfitness/pubdocs
 Search on the OSPI Website: HYA, Click on Health and Fitness

Let’s practice medical accuracy!
 If used correctly and consistently condoms are
up to 98% effective at preventing unintended
pregnancy and STI/HIV.
 Using a condom is like using a basketball net
to prevent spreading HIV.

Let’s practice medical accuracy.
 Chlamydia and Gonorrhea lead to
infertility, and the only way to be safe is to
abstain from sex outside of marriage.
 Chlamydia and Gonorrhea can be treated
with antibiotics, and are best prevented by
abstinence or use of barriers.

Let’s practice medical accuracy.
 NOTE: Emergency contraceptives contain
a high dose of the hormone commonly
found in birth control pills, and will not
harm an established fetus.
 Emergency contraceptive or Plan B, is an
abortion pill.
 Emergency contraceptive or Plan B, is not
an abortion pill.

Essential Question # 7
 What is the difference between
abstinence-only programs and
comprehensive sexuality education?

Holistic Sexuality
Physiological and psychological pleasure
from one’s own body and/or the bodies of others.
The experience of emotional
The use of sexuality to Sensuality closeness to another human being
influence, manipulate, or and having the feeling returned.
control others.
Sexualization Intimacy
The biology of the body and the Sexual Health Sexual The sense of who one is as
sexual and reproductive systems.
Includes the care of the organs, & Reproduction Identity
a sexual person, including a
sense of maleness and
the health consequences of sexual femaleness, and to whom
behaviors, and the biology of
one is erotically and
producing children.
emotionally attracted.
Adapted from “Sexual Beingness” by Dennis Dailey and “Our Whole Lives” by Pamela Wilson

How Do People Learn About Sexuality?
Toys
Families an d
o ols Video
h G am e
Sc s
Television
Friends Movies
And Internet
s
A d v er s hip
tising io n Books
elat
R

School based sexuality education programs
conducted by trained educators can…
• Correct misinformation.
• Support the family’s education regarding
individual family beliefs and values.
• Encourage family discussions.
• Facilitate skills students need to be healthy
youth and adults.

The Big Myth…
Either Or
Protect
Abstain yourself
Abstinence “Comprehensive”
Only Approach
Approach

The Reality…
Both
Abstain
+
Protect
Abstain Yourself
Abstinence Comprehensive
Only Approach
Approach

Comprehensive Programs
Media
L o ve
t
en
Re
pm
Gender r
la
oles
lo
tio
ve
ns
De
hi
sureSexual
p
&
es
Sk
r health Pro
th
er p
il
Pe
ow
tect
ls
io n
Gr
Abstinence
Abstinence is the foundation

Evaluation
 On a 3x5 card rank yourself from 1-10
(1= low and 10= high)
In regard to the Enduring Understanding:
“I understand what the Healthy Youth Act
entails; and why the Washington State
Legislature made it law in the Spring of
2007.”

Evaluation
 List the three most applicable pieces of
material that you learned today.
2. .
3. .
4. .

The Question Box
and other best practices:
 Understanding by design - UbD
 Audience introductions
 Group Agreements
 Identify what group already knows
 Identify what group wants to know
 Putting terms into own words
 Role Play
 Values continuum
 Use of multiple intelligences
 Personal application – local data
 Identifying growth through assessment
 Question Box
 Parking Lot

Contact Information
 Jennifer Estroff:
 estroffj@ppcentwa.org
 Amy Claussen:
claussena@ppcentwa.org