La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § LIX-107

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024

Section LIX-107 - Need and Context for Reform [Formerly Section 109]

A. Education reform is driven by concerns of government and business leaders for the future of the country in a technological world economy. Parents and community members concur that calling for reform will enable students to become responsible members of their families and communities. It is agreed that essential preparation for success in work and family and community settings includes acquisition of the foundation skills. Future workers and members of society need the ability to apply knowledge from multiple sources and to work cooperatively.

B. Twenty-First Century Skills

1. The elements described in this Section as "twenty-first century student outcomes" are the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the twenty-first century (Framework for 21st Century Learning).

2. Health literacy:

a. obtaining, interpreting, and understanding basic health information and services and using such information and services in ways that are health enhancing;

b. understanding preventive physical and mental health measures, including proper diet, exercise, risk avoidance and stress reduction;

c. using available information to make appropriate health-related decisions;

d. establishing and monitoring personal and family health goals;

e. understanding national and international public health and safety issues.

3. Learning and Innovation Skills. Learning and innovation skills are increasingly being recognized as the skills that separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the twenty-first century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future:

a. creativity and innovation;

b. critical thinking and problem solving;

c. communication and collaboration;

d. information, media, and technology skills.

i. People in the twenty-first century live in a technology and media-suffused environment, marked by various characteristics, including:

(a). access to an abundance of information;

(b). rapid changes in technology tools; and

(c). the ability to collaborate and make individual contributions on an unprecedented scale.

ii. To be effective in the twenty-first century, citizens and workers must be able to exhibit a range of functional and critical thinking skills related to information, media and technology.

4. Life and Career Skills. Today's life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge. The ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills:

a. flexibility and adaptability;

b. initiative and self-direction;

c. social and cross-cultural skills;

d. whenever possible, instructors are encouraged to integrate twenty-first century skills into classroom instruction. In reviewing these skills, you will see that many of them are aligned with health education standards and the foundations skills.

C. Health-A Key Component

1. Educational excellence in traditional content areas may not be sufficient to secure the future competitiveness of the country. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use as well as low levels of physical activity, poor nutrition, injuries, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and stress contribute to a lower health status and result in loss of work and school time.

2. Health education in schools is essential to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to practice good health. Implementation of planned, sequential health curricula has been linked to changes in students' attitudes and behaviors. Poor health habits often carry over into adulthood. Students who follow good health habits are more alert, perform at a higher level, are absent less, and have greater self-esteem. These traits carry over into adulthood. Healthy adults will be prepared to contribute to the nation's economic competitiveness by working more effectively and decreasing employee absenteeism. Due to an increase in disease prevention, fewer medical services should be required, thereby reducing health insurance costs.

3. Decreased business costs will increase productivity as a result of a workforce of healthy individuals. In addition, health knowledge and skills, when applied, ensure a better quality of life.

D. The Recognized Need

1. The major health problems facing the United States today are largely preventable, and attributable to a few types of behaviors. Such behaviors include those that lead to injury through violence or accidents, drug and alcohol abuse, poor nutrition, suicide, pregnancy and insufficient physical activity (Surgeon General's Report, 1996). Additionally, recent studies suggest that adolescent depression may approach 8 percent of the population, and approximately 15-20 percent of adolescents will exhibit depression during their teen years (Schlozman, 2001). It is important that we address these behaviors early in a child's education through school programs.

2. More children are developing habits that lead to unhealthy lifestyles. Findings from the Surgeon General's Report and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that as students age, they participate in fewer forms of physical activity. This finding, coupled with additional risk factors (e.g., tobacco and drug use, poor eating habits, and an increase in sedentary activities) leads to an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, obesity, and Type II diabetes. According to the 2008 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), only 27.8 percent of Louisiana residents categorize themselves as being in good health.

3. The cost of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the United States in 2009 was estimated at $475.3 billion (Circulation, 2009). This figure includes both direct cost health expenditures (the cost of physicians and other professionals, hospitals and nursing home services, medications, home health, and other medical durables) and indirect cost health expenditures (loss of productivity resulting from morbidity and mortality). In 2005, over 30% of the deaths in Louisiana were due to cardiovascular diseases. Many of these lives could be saved if bystanders promptly phone 911, begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and if trained rescuers provide defibrillation within minutes.

4. Louisiana has alarming rates of obesity. In a recent report from the CDC, Louisiana had the eighth highest rate of adult obesity and the seventh highest rate of overweight and obese youths (ages 10-17). In a similar report, New Orleans was found to be the most obese city in America. In 2008, according to the BRFSS, 34.7 percent of adults in Louisiana reported being overweight and 28.9 percent reported being obese. There is evidence to conclude that obesity-related diseases account for approximately 80 percent of the national health care budget, or about $100 billion. Health-risk behaviors claim a high proportion of Louisiana's Medicaid dollars (48 percent).

5. In addition, suicide has become a significant cause of death in the United States. Based on facts published by CDC and the Louisiana Adolescent Suicide Prevention Task Force:

a. for people from 15-25 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death;

b. more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, AIDS, heart disease, birth defects, strokes, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined; and

c. in 1996, medical treatment for youth suicide in Louisiana for ages 0 to 20 years was $364 million.

6. According to the 2008, Louisiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 14.5 percent of high school students have considered suicide, 6.9 percent have attempted suicide and another 2.0 percent have attempted suicide that resulted in an injury requiring treatment by a doctor or nurse. The Louisiana 2008 YRBS results show that in a class of 30 students, 2.8 students have attempted suicide in the past twelve months.

7. Suicide prevention, along with other health education issues can be easily integrated into the health education curriculum that is based on health education content standards. Today, the goals of health education focus more on the development of the whole person. Greater emphasis is placed on health and wellness of the human being. Promoting personal well-being includes attention to mental health as well as physical health.

8. Additionally, the 2008 Louisiana YRBS reports that 17.6 percent of Louisiana high school students surveyed smoked cigarettes and 45.1 percent drank alcohol during the past 30 days prior to survey administration.

E. Looking Forward

1. Traditionally, the health education curriculum has been organized around health content topic areas. Today, greater emphasis is placed on health and wellness. The Health Education Content Standards are an ideal means for providing guidelines for curriculum addressing high-risk behaviors and healthy lifestyles.

2. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified six risk behaviors that are incorporated in the organization of the new health content standards. The six risk behaviors include:

a. tobacco use;

b. sedentary lifestyle/poor physical activity patterns;

c. alcohol and drug abuse;

d. unhealthy dietary behaviors;

e. behaviors that result in accidents and injuries; and

f. sexual behaviors that result in sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy.

3. In collaboration with health and education partners (Association for the Advancement of Health Education of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, American School Health Association, American Public Health Association, and American Cancer Society), the CDC assists in providing states with information and skills needed to avoid such risk behaviors. The eight components of a coordinated school health program systemically address these risk behaviors and the development of healthy lifestyles. They include:

a. health education;

b. physical education;

c. health services;

d. nutrition services;

e. counseling, psychological, and social services;

f. healthy school environment;

g. health promotion for staff; and

h. family and community involvement.

4. Coordinated school health programs offer the opportunity to provide the services and knowledge necessary to enable children to be productive learners and to develop skills to make health decisions for the rest of their lives.

F. Purpose

1. This framework document organizes and integrates the content and process of health education. It serves as a bridge between classroom practice and national standards established by the health education community. The standards define what a health-educated person should know, understand, and be able to do. Although the standards provide a framework for curriculum development, local education agencies may choose topics to meet the needs of children and youth in their communities.

2. The Louisiana Health Education Content Standards framework is designed to guide the process of reforming health education in this state. It provides the following:

a. a framework for developing a comprehensive K-12 health education curriculum;

b. a catalyst for insightful discussion of the fundamental nature of health education;

c. a guide for evaluating progress and achieving health education benchmarks among the students of Louisiana;

d. a vision of health education for the state; and

e. a tool to enable local districts, schools, and educators to grasp the nature, purpose, and role of health education.

G. Intended Audiences. This document is intended for use mainly by kindergarten through grade 12 teachers of health education and curriculum developers.

H. Intended Use. Intended uses for this framework include the following:

1. a guide for planning curriculum, instruction and assessment;

2. a means for parents to gain information regarding the effectiveness of their children's health education program;

3. a vision for administrators and school board members for health education and a basis for planning resource allocations, material purchases, local curriculum development and teachers' professional development;

4. a basis for policymakers and state education staffs to develop laws, policies and funding priorities to support local reforms;

5. a basis for staff developers to create professional development materials and strategies designed to increase teachers' knowledge of health education content, teaching methodologies and assessment strategies;

6. a guide for assessment specialists and test developers in the development of an assessment framework to assess students' health education understanding and ability more effectively;

7. a guide for colleges and university faculties for content and design of teacher preparation programs; and

8. a basis for business and industry leaders and government agencies to develop effective partnerships and local reforms for funding instructional materials and professional development.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § LIX-107

Promulgated by the Department of Education, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Student and School Performance, LR 28:1941 (September 2002), amended by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 37:2095 (July 2011).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:24.4 et seq.