 ODE Sexuality Education Newsletter
October 10, 2024
Dear Colleagues,
We hope this newsletter reaches you with warm and heartfelt thoughts as we roll into Fall. This month, we center culture and identity and highlight their importance in sexuality education, health, and well-being.
October invites celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, National Coming Out Day (October 11th), and International Pronouns Day (October 16th), reaffirming the clear messaging around inclusivity and belonging that educators provide everyday. Integrating the Transformative Social Emotional Standards with the 2023 Health and Sexuality Education Standards supports this shared purpose.
Monday, October 14, is Indigenous Peoples Day, giving educators a powerful opportunity to connect culture, history, current affairs, and identities of indigenous peoples into sexuality education and health classrooms. By using the Tribal History/Shared History Health lessons, educators can attend to important conversations around the influence of culture, identity, and public health policies on sexual and reproductive health.
This month’s newsletter includes several ODE statewide updates and many resources for providing health and sexuality education in local classrooms.
Header photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash, Newberg, OR
Section photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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ODE Updates & Opportunities
Registration still open: K-12 Comprehensive Sexuality Education Full-Day In-Person Workshop
The Oregon Teacher Training Institute (OTTI) is offering an in-person K-12 professional development course for educators and administrators to deliver comprehensive sexuality education as part of health instruction, focusing on healthy relationships, transformative social and emotional learning, child abuse prevention education, and healthy sexuality throughout the lifespan.
The free course will introduce participants to the new Health Education Standards and instructional practices for teaching comprehensive and inclusive K-12 sexuality education. OTTI workshops are delivered in partnership with ODHS, OHA, and other local partners. This event is reserved for classroom educators and school administrators only.
Please note that this opportunity is hosted by Columbia Gorge ESD (CGESD) in The Dalles, Oregon. Sub cost reimbursements may be available for school staff from CGESD member school districts. Priority will be given to registrants from CGESD member school districts.
October 18, 2024 in The Dalles, Oregon
Please register by Wednesday, October 16th.
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2023 Health Education Standards K-12 Learning Progressions
The Oregon Department of Education created a new K-12 Learning Progressions document to demonstrate how Health Education subtopics vertically align to ensure that students gain age-appropriate knowledge and skills over the years. This document intends to support school leaders, educators, parents, and caregivers to follow the skills and concepts that students should be learning from one grade level to the next. Health Education, when consistently taught and scaffolded across the grades, works to foster student healthy behaviors, empowered decision-making and an understanding of their role in promoting individual and community safety and well-being.
Update: Menstrual Dignity Grants 2024-25
The Menstrual Dignity program budget has been released for the 2024-25 school year. Grant amendments will be going out in the coming weeks with the new amount. The 2024-2025 funding calculator reflects the maximum funding ceiling designated for your district, charter school, or ESD and can be used for planning purposes.
For more information on how the distribution process works, see page 21 of the Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit.
Photo by Natracare on Unsplash
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Upcoming this Month: Health Education Instructional Materials
This month, the State Board of Education will move to adopt new Instructional Materials for Health Education. These resources will be shared on the Instructional Materials website after October 17.
Upcoming this Fall: K-5 Sexuality Education Instructional Materials
Over fifty new lessons will be released in the Sexuality Education Open Learning collection on the Oregon Open Learning Hub this Fall. The 7-13 lessons per grade will be free, openly licensed, and will cover Oregon's 2023 Health Education Standards in K-5, including:
- Healthy Relationships and Violence/Abuse Prevention, including Erin's Law
- Growth and Development
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
A Teacher's Guide, scope and sequence, and professional learning webinars will be released alongside the instructional materials in the coming months.
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Sex Ed News & Resources for Educators
ODE is committed to supporting school districts with implementing Oregon Human Sexuality Education (OAR 581-022-2050). Please see below for related news and resources for K-12 educators.
Research & News for Educators
Resources for Educators
Upcoming Events, Training & Conference Opportunities for Educators
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 education professionals to consider.
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October 10, 1-2pm PST, Saliendo Del Clóset: LGBTQ+ Experiences of Latiné Youth, Project THRIVE monthly webinar series.
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October 28-30, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Conference and the Gender Justice Summit Sunriver, Oregon.
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November 18-20, National Conference: Rise, Reimagine, and Reinvent, Healthy Teen Network. Phoenix, Arizona.
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December 10-13, National Sex Ed Conference, Center for Sex Education. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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March 23-22, 2025, True Colors SOGIEcon 2025, University of Connecticut. Storrs, Connecticut. Call for proposals due Oct 18, 2024 at 8:59pm PST.
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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