ODE Sexuality Education Newsletter
November 23, 2021
In this newsletter, we will share with you some announcements, research, resources, and opportunities for training by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), as well as other offerings by statewide and national colleagues that may be of interest to you.
Header photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash, Newberg, OR
ODE Sexuality Education Updates
Announcing: Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit
The Oregon Department of Education is pleased to share the Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit which outlines requirements and recommendations for districts as they implement the Menstrual Dignity Act of 2021 in a way that centers student equity and menstrual dignity.
The Toolkit, which was released last week, will be a companion to schools as they begin to provide menstrual products in all student bathrooms, providing best practices aligned with the core considerations of privacy, access, inclusivity, and education.
While the new law and the Toolkit create the opportunity to increase student attendance and engagement with school, now it’s up to all of us, including local districts, staff, students, and community partners, to work together towards menstrual dignity.
Questions? Reach out to ode.menstrual-dignity@state.or.us.
Cover image by Oregon Department of Education.
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Sex Ed Spotlight: Supporting Transgender Students
November’s Transgender Awareness Week and the Transgender Day of Remembrance invites all Oregonians to uplift and affirm Oregon’s transgender, non-binary, gender-expansive, and two-spirit students. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) acknowledges the need for education equity that affirms transgender students, and dismantles Oregon school climates that have shown to perpetuate identity-based bullying[1], suicidal ideation[1], increased sexual violence[2], and fear-based absences[2] for LGBTQ2SIA+ students.
LGBTQ2SIA+ students in Oregon have been generous with their feedback in a number of statewide spaces, which we want to honor by centering and celebrating Oregon students’ own words—and examining how we can use these as call-to-actions as adults who support them:
- “The complexity of my humanity cannot be defined in polar terms.” [3]
- “When the teachers seem like they want to get to know me, that made me feel valued.” [4]
- “When my health teacher said a homophobic joke, I tuned out.” [4]
- When they were asked what their best day or best moment at school was, one student said, “The first day of school because I could give my chosen name and come out [as transgender].” [4]
- “Spaces set aside for diverse students (Latino club, LGBTQ+ clubs) are the safest spaces, but feeling safe should not be limited to a meeting or room.” [4]
- “[Even if a teacher] messes up my pronouns, I can tell they’re trying because they acknowledge it and apologize.” [4]
Please see below for relevant K-12 resources to strengthen support for students of trans experience:
ODE Gender-Affirming Resources
Gender-Affirming Resources for Students
Gender-Affirming Resources for Education Providers
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Creating Safer Spaces Toolkit for LGBTQ Youth: A Toolkit for Education, Healthcare, and Community-Based Organizations, Advocates for Youth, 2020
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Principles for Gender Inclusive Puberty and Health Education, Gender Spectrum, 2019
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Schools In Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools, Gender Spectrum, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Human Rights Campaign, ACLU, & National Education Association, 2015
Gender-Affirming Resources for Families
Sources
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Oregon Healthy Teens Survey, 2019, OHA
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Oregon Safe Schools & Communities Coalition, 2020 Oregon Safe Schools Report, OSSCC
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Oregon Student Health Survey, 2020 Statewide Report, OHA
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LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan, June 2020, ODE
A feature by ODE staff and partners that shines a spotlight on one aspect of K-12 comprehensive sexuality education. If you have a topic request for a future Spotlight, let us know at ode.sexed@state.or.us.
Photo by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash
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Grants, Job Openings, and Youth Opportunities
Youth Opportunity: Virtual After School Sex Ed Programs (K-8 Youth)
Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon is offering virtual, paid, after school programming as part of their Sex Ed Starts at Home series, December 6-16, 2021. This year, they will be offering monthly 4-lesson programs at two age bands, one for 7-8th grade students, and one for 5-6th grade students. Learn more and register now.
Oregon Open Learning Workshop
Do you want to learn more about open educational resources (OER) and the Oregon Open Learning Hub? This Oregon Open Learning Workshop will be an interactive virtual professional learning event that will provide participants an opportunity to learn about open educational resources (OER) and the Oregon Open Learning Hub, Oregon’s K-12 repository for OER.
Join the Oregon Open Learning team for this engaging, hands-on OER Workshop on Tuesday, February 15 from 4:00pm-5:30pm (PST). Register today!
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How do you like our new look?
You may notice in the next month that we are sending out our Sex Ed Newsletter in shorter sections, more often. We’d love to know how our newsletters are working for you! Please feel free to fill out this survey.
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Newsletter Submission Process
We welcome your submissions to ODE's Sexuality Education Newsletter and ListServ! If you have announcements, job postings, or general questions for your colleagues, you can submit them to ode.sexed@state.or.us.
In an effort to streamline our newsletter, we are now planning to send out our newsletter twice a month, during the first week and again mid-month. To accommodate this change and to ensure that we can equitably share announcements from everyone, we're now asking that you submit your Listserv posts no later than the 25th of each month, for inclusion and consideration in the following month (e.g. submit October 25 for November newsletters).
Questions? Connections?
Please reach out to us at ode.sexed@state.or.us.
Did someone forward you this newsletter? Want to stay connected with sexuality education at the Oregon Department of Education? Visit our website or subscribe to the ODE Sexuality Education ListServ today!
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