 ODE Sexuality Education Newsletter
June 9, 2022
Dearest colleagues,
June is an exciting time– school is out and it’s PRIDE month! There are events happening all over Oregon, from Medford to Eugene to Eastern Oregon, with celebrations all month long.
Pride month, of course, gives chances to celebrate, learn, and reflect on ways to better support students. By exploring LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming books, teacher trainings, art, history, age-appropriate videos and TV shows, we can all join in honoring various ways that communities identify, love each other, and form family!
When planning for next school year now and throughout the summer, consider how to integrate LGBTQ2SIA+ inclusive content into health and sexuality education lessons– and into whole school approaches and policies. When students see themselves and their families in their lessons, they’re able to feel connected to school and engaged in learning. When a whole school community learns together and celebrates families, people, and communities–children can feel a sense of belonging and appreciation for others.
Let’s use Pride Month to both celebrate right now and to look ahead to next year. We hope the resources included in this newsletter will help you do both things, as well as provide you with some announcements, research, resources, and opportunities for training by ODE, and additional offerings by statewide and national colleagues that may be of interest to you.
Header photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash, Newberg, OR
Section photo by Carlos de Toro @carlosdetoro on Unsplash
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ODE Sexuality Education Updates
New ODE LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Newsletter
The LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Newsletter has arrived! Its first issue, published this month, is full of great resources for Pride month, research, training opportunities, and more. Please subscribe to the listserv for more updates about the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Program, or visit the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success webpage.
A Webinar: Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harrassment with Title IX and Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Connecting Response and Prevention of Sexual Harassment is a new ODE recorded webinar that outlines ways to prevent sexual harassment from happening and is a critical part of meeting our Title IX responsibilities. The webinar highlights and expands on how comprehensive sexuality education is a cornerstone to prevention.
Feedback requested: Health Education Standards
As a group of statewide educators work on revising the Health Education Standards, ODE is seeking your feedback. We hope to gather input from individuals with diverse identities and experiences. Please note that the personal information requested in this survey is optional and will only be used to ensure representation of diverse voices. It will not be used or shared for any other purpose.
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Menstrual Dignity Grants now available on EGMS: Submit your Reimbursement Forms
Menstrual Dignity Grants are now available to be claimed on EGMS. As a reminder, you will have to submit a reimbursement form, to claim your funds on EGMS. Grants will only be approved if they match your submitted reimbursement form.
Reimbursement forms and EGMS claims (for expenses incurred between July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022) are due by September 1, 2022.
For more information on how the distribution process works, see page 21 of the Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit. If you have any other questions, please contact the Menstrual Dignity team at ode.menstrual-dignity@ode.oregon.gov.
Sex Ed News & Resources
ODE is committed to supporting school districts with implementing Oregon Human Sexuality Education (OAR 581-022-2050), which requires the use of "inclusive materials, language, and strategies that recognizes different sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expression" that must also be "culturally inclusive." Our collective goal is for all students to feel safe, seen, heard, and valued.
Please see below for related news and relevant resources as you consider how to implement K-12 comprehensive sexuality education.
News Stories
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How Menstrual Leave and Period Poverty Awareness Can Boost Reproductive Health, Today, June 3, 2022
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Sex Education Isn't Controversial, It's a Necessity, Teen Vogue, May 31, 2022
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Gender Identity Lessons, Banned in Some Schools, are Rising in Others, Washington Post, June 3, 2022
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Texas got a sex ed update, but students and educators say there's still a lot missing, NPR, April 30, 2022
Resources
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The Rational Enquirer, a publication on sexual heath, identity, love and life for high school aged and older youth. Pre order physical copies here. Oregon Health Authority, 2022
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Loving the You that You Are, a new book for kids on building positive self image and family connection by local educator Kristin Blomberg, May 31, 2022
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The Power of the Anonymous Question Box, Healthy Teen Network, May 12, 2022
(More) Pride Month Resources
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GLSEN maps provide information on experiences of students and resources for schools and communities to support LGBTQ2SIA+ students in K-12 learning communities.
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Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month, instructional materials by Learning for Justice
Sex Ed Data & Research
Schools have an important responsibility to health and sexuality education by reflecting the lived experiences of students, staff and school communities in Oregon and in the United States. Below, please find some local and national research and data that tell the stories of young people, especially as it pertains to experiences within educational environments.
Upcoming Events, Training & Conference Opportunities
All trainings are listed in Pacific Time zone unless otherwise noted.
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June 9-10, Latino Health Equity Conference by Familias en Acción
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June 23, 11am, Reproductive Justice in Sex Education, the Future of Sex Ed and the Sex Ed Collaborative. Register here.
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June 22, 4pm, Reach of the Stars K-12, Comprehensive Sex Ed, Dr. Karen Rayne, Sex Ed Lecture Series
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July 9 and August 6, Growing Into You! A Puberty Workshop by Sex Positive Families
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Multiple dates, Eating Disorder Treatment Training. CEUS available. Oregon Health Authority
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Multiple dates, Parenting Safe Children Virtual Workshops, live sessions for educators and caregivers on how to talk to kids about healthy boundaries, body safety, unsafe touch, Parenting Safe Children
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July 18-22, Sex Ed. Boot Camp, a virtual conference for youth-serving professionals to learn new methods to provide inclusive, accurate, and empowering sexuality education in a variety of school and community settings, Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.
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September 19-22, CDC National STD Prevention Conference
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October 17-18, Oregon Public Health Association Conference, Early Bird Registration now open.
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October 17-19 Healthy Teen Network Conference, Early Bird Registration now open
Note: Unless hosted or facilitated by The Oregon Department of Education (ODE), these training opportunities have not been endorsed by ODE, but are being shared as relevant opportunities for sexuality education professionals to consider.
Grants, Job Openings, and Youth Opportunities
Youth Opportunity: Volunteer for the Oregon Public Health Association
OPHA is seeking student volunteers to help with the 78th OPHA Annual Conference & Meeting. Volunteers receive complimentary registration. Contact Dana Merrill for more information.
Newsletter Submission Process
We welcome your submissions to ODE's Sexuality Education ListServ! If you have announcements, job postings, or general questions for your colleagues, you can submit them to ode.sexed@ode.oregon.gov.
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@ode.oregon.gov.
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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