The Health and Physical Education Department of Duval County Public Schools promotes parental involvement with not only every child's educational experience, but also in their level of health both inside and outside of the home. We encourage students and parents to work together striving for an optimal level of health including positive nutrition habits, exercise habits, and overall wellness habits.
Action for Healthy Kids and National PTA have teamed up to launch a new website, Healthy Kids and National PTA New Website , designed to educate, empower and engage parents and caregivers in becoming change agents for healthier schools and support them in reinforcing healthy habits at home. Parents can learn how to get involved and make a difference in school health, engage school leaders and decision makers, explore a variety of school health topics, connect with other parents in a community forum, get tips for being healthy at home and much more.
Among other things, Health Education helps adolescents acquire functional health knowledge, and strengthens attitudes, beliefs, and skills needed to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors throughout their lives. Florida law requires the teaching of comprehensive health education addressing 12 components in grades K-12 as outlined in numerous Florida State Statutes. The intent of a comprehensive health education program is to motivate students to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, and avoid or reduce health related risk behaviors.
Parental/guardian involvement is a very important factor when covering health-related topics. Such involvement can help make the information, skills, and strategies more personal and meaningful to the child. All lessons encourage parent/guardian-child dialogue to provide an opportunity for discussion of the family’s values and beliefs. The dialogue can be a catalyst to enhance overall parent/guardian-child communication. Additionally, parents have the option to exempt their student(s) from instruction related to Reproductive Health and Disease Prevention. Should you desire to opt your student(s) out of this specific content, you can find information in your DCPS FOCUS parent account. More information on Focus Opt-Out Procedures can be found here.
Additional information about required Health Education instruction, State Board of Education rulings, district policy, curriculum overviews, instructions on how to access resources related to comprehensive Health Education, and parental opt-out procedures can be found on the district’s Health Education webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher, school principal, or district health specialist at hepe@duvalschools.org. We value your partnership in developing the health literacy of our students to empower and motivate healthy decision-making, enhance communication skills, and encourage lifelong wellness.