Welcome to Health Education
Overview
Health education, integral to the success of students in Utah's educational setting, provides opportunities for students to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for life-long, health-enhancing behaviors. Schools can better achieve their basic educational mission if students are healthy and fit physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. Habits that young people establish will affect their future health status in a positive or negative manner. Schools share the responsibility with parents and communities to help prevent unnecessary injury, disease, and chronic health conditions that lead to a low quality of life, disability, or early death.
The Utah Health Education Core Curriculum emphasizes developing positive, life-long, health-related attitudes and behaviors. Although these attitudes and behaviors begin in the home, the school, in partnership with local school boards and community agencies, can provide support and reinforcement for parents and families. The primary goal of health education in the state of Utah is to develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviors essential to become health-literate. A health-literate person understands the medically accurate principles of health promotion, and disease prevention and is able to apply the knowledge to personal attitudes and behaviors that support healthy living.
Teacher Spotlight
Please nominate a teacher, or yourself, who is using innovative and exciting methods to engage students in health and physical education. Each month a teacher will be chosen as the Spotlight and be featured in the monthly Health and Physical Education Newsletter. Fill in the Teacher Spotlight for Health or Physical Education (P.E.) Google Form to complete the nomination.
Utah Core Standards
The Utah School Board of Education approved new Health Education Core Standards on April 4, 2019. The new standards are now available to use for the pilot year 2019-2020 and will be fully implemented in 2020-2021. Local Education Agencies (LEA's) may continue using the 1997 Elementary and 2009 Secondary Standards during the pilot year. Please note, the old standards do contain outdated law and policy information.
Utah State Board of Education Utah Core State Standards for Health Education
Adopted April 2019
Health Terms and Law and Policy for Health Education
This document contains definitions and Utah Code relevant to the Utah Core Standards
for Health Education.
Health Education Core
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Health Education Hub
UEN eMedia Hubs
Core Guides
The Core Guides for Health Education were created by teachers, community partners and Utah State Board of Education staff to support teachers in each grade.
Skill-Based Guides
Health I
Health II
Educator Endorsements
Current applications and specs pages are housed in the Educator Endorsement page.
Teacher Endorsement Courses
Health Education Course Options
List of current course options at local universities and microcredentials for demonstrating competencies
Resources
Health Resources
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Health Resources page contains a selection
of reliable resources vetted by USBE staff and community content experts. These resources
are meant to support current Health Education content knowledge for teachers and not
intended to be curriculum or instructional materials for students.
First Response
Each day over a 1000 people in the United States suffer a heart attack. Sadly, only 12% of those individuals are likely to survive. Immediate Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use can triple the rate of survival but not enough people know how to perform effective CPR or use an AED.
With support from the Utah State Legislature and the American Heart Association (AHA), the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) will provide a reimbursement of $6.00 per student specifically for hands-on, high-quality CPR training and the use of an AED. These funds are available annually.
These funds support high school Health classes and follow the requirements outlined below:
- R277-465: CPR in Schools
Utah State Board of Education Administrative Rules - Title 53G-10-408: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Instruction - Grant Program
Utah State Legislature
Districts and charter schools must apply through the State of Utah Utah Grants to utilize the grant. Funds are allocated based on Health II student enrollment.
Sex Education Law and Policy
Parent/Guardian Consent Form Maturation Instruction
Parent/Guardian Consent Form Maturation Instruction |Formulario de consentimiento del padre / tutor Instrucción de maduración
Parent/Guardian Consent Form Sex Education Instruction
Parent/Guardian Consent Form Sex Education Instruction
Online Classes
Enroll in 2024-2025 Sex Education Law and Policy Training USBE Canvas
Resources
Utah Sex Education Instruction: Frequently Asked Questions
Policy Requirements - Teaching Sex Education Topics
Utah Code for Health Education
Best Practices for Recess
As part of the Utah State Board of Education's Strategic Plan: Safe and Healthy Schools Strategy B - "Increase adoption of evidence-based student health and wellness practices" the Utah State Board of Education has created a document for recess best practices. Recess guidelines are beneficial for informing physical activity and recess components of local wellness policies. These policies are required to include specific goals for physical activity especially those that promote student wellness. Recess is a key component for a preventative policy.
Email List
Subscribe to be on our Health Education Team using the Utah Education Network (UEN) Mailing List! The team with receive email notification about what is going on in Utah's Health and Physical Education world with information about professional development opportunities, interesting articles, pertinent information, and curriculum resources.