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HomeEducation CodeCh. 5.5Art. 2§ 51890 School Health Education Requirements

§ 51890 School Health Education Requirements

Education Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 51890 School Health Education Requirements

Key Takeaways

  • •Schools must teach kids about health from kindergarten to 12th grade, covering topics like mental health, drugs, nutrition, and safety.
  • •Health classes should include real-life health professionals from the community to help teach.
  • •Kids learn that taking care of their health is important for their whole life.
  • •Health companies helping with school programs can't advertise their stuff to kids.

Example

A nurse visits a 5th-grade class to teach about healthy eating and exercise.

The nurse talks about how eating fruits and veggies helps kids grow strong and avoid getting sick. She also explains why running and playing outside is good for their bodies. The school can invite her, but she can't hand out flyers for her clinic.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 51890 School Health Education Requirements

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, “comprehensive health education programs” are defined as all educational programs offered in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the public school system, including in-class and out-of-class activities designed to ensure that: (1) Pupils will receive instruction to aid them in making decisions in matters of personal, family, and community health, to include the following subjects: (A) The use of health care services and products. (B) Mental and emotional health and development. (C) Drug use and misuse, including the misuse of tobacco and alcohol. (D) Family health and child development, including the legal and financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. (E) Oral health, vision, and hearing. (F) Nutrition, which may include related topics such as obesity and diabetes. (G) Exercise, rest, and posture. (H) Diseases and disorders, including sickle cell anemia and related genetic diseases and disorders. (I) Environmental health and safety. (J) Community health. (2) To the maximum extent possible, the instruction in health is structured to provide comprehensive education in health that includes all the subjects in paragraph (1). (3) The community actively participates in the teaching of health including classroom participation by practicing professional health and safety personnel in the community. (4) Pupils gain appreciation for the importance and value of lifelong health and the need for each individual to take responsibility for his or her own health. (5) School districts may voluntarily provide pupils with instruction on preventative health care, including obesity and diabetes prevention through nutrition education. (b) Health care professionals, health care service plans, health care providers, and other entities participating in a voluntary initiative with a school district may not market their services when undertaking activities related to the initiative. For purposes of this subdivision, “marketing” is defined as making a communication about a product or service that is intended to encourage recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service. Health care or health education information provided in a brochure or pamphlet that contains the logo or name of a health care service plan or health care organization is not considered marketing if provided in coordination with the voluntary initiative. The marketing prohibitions contained in this subdivision do not apply to outreach, application assistance, and enrollment activities relating to federal, state, or county sponsored health care insurance programs that are conducted by health care professionals, health care service plans, health care providers, and other entities if the activities are conducted in compliance with the statutory, regulatory, and programmatic guidelines applicable to those programs. (Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 550, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

educationcommunityenvironmentalschoolmotionmarriagehealthoffer

Related Statutes

  • § 51913 School Health Education Plans
  • § 51925 Mental Health Education Requirements
  • § 8850.5 Family And Parenting Education
  • § 48326 Chronic Absenteeism Reduction Methods
  • § 49424 School Psychologist Services

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Education Code. Section 51890.
View Official Source