School Year 2020-2021

Dear Parent of a Middle School Student:

Dr. Terry O. Oatts	Board of Education
Superintendent		Mandy M. North – Chair Pamela J. Brown – Vice Chair
Wales F. Barksdale
Santana Flanigan	Tony Dowdy
General Counsel		Heather Duncan Sandra Jackson-Lett
Jim McBrayer

Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) continues to encourage students stay physically and emotionally healthy during remote/virtual learning. As required by the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Mandate for Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention Education, RCPS health teachers will instruct students in the areas of human growth and development, adolescent sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation prevention. The above curriculum will be developmentally appropriate for each grade level. It will teach students that abstaining from sex until marriage is the only sure way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The program will assist students in coping with social and peer pressures they face today. It will help students develop skills to say “no” to behaviors in which they do not wish to engage. If appropriate, RCPS encourages parents/guardians to take appropriate steps to ensure that younger children in the home are sheltered from the lessons because of the sexual nature of the topics being taught. RCPS also encourages parents/guardians to talk with their students before each lesson in hopes of minimize disruptions.

The growth and development of young people are important, and it is essential to give careful consideration in providing meaningful experiences for them. In our curriculum, all pertinent concepts are presented in a logical, sequential manner beginning in kindergarten. As of August 2018, the Georgia Mandate for Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention Education requires students enrolled in grades K-9 to annually receive age appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education. Kindergartners are taught that creatures of the same kind produce others of the same kind, middle school students are introduced to the correct anatomical terminology while identifying the physical and emotional differences between males and females, and high school students receive training that will prepare them for parenting.

What follows is a summary of the objectives to be addressed in the middle school growth and development unit of the Health Curriculum.

1.	Through an introduction of correct terminology, students will be able to ask questions and discuss sexuality accurately.
2.	Through group activities, students will be able to identify the physical and emotional changes that occur during adolescence.
3.	Through discussions and digital video discs, students will identify differences between males and females.
4.	Through discussions and digital video discs, students will learn behaviors appropriate for interacting with persons of the opposite sex.
5.	Students will understand some of the problems related to pre-marital sexual activity and how to effectively avoid them.
6.	Students will explore how sex is used by the media to sell products.
7.	Students will study about the transmission of HIV, the effects of AIDS, and cause/effects of STDs.
8.	Students will learn the positive consequences of choosing abstinence.

A parent training component and video explaining the instructional materials are available at your child’s school. You may review the materials used in the unit before your son or daughter receives instruction by contacting your child’s teacher or counselor. Information is also available online at www.choosingthebest.org; our sixth graders use Choosing the Best Way curriculum, our seventh graders use Choosing the Best Path curriculum, and our eighth graders use Choosing the Best Life curriculum. Additional information regarding Senate Bill 401 is also available at: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20172018/SB/401. The above curricula are aligned with the Georgia

Rockdale County Public Schools Page 2
Performance Standards, which can be viewed at https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Pages/BrowseStandards/HealthEd.aspx

All staff members presenting the information have received proper training through the Choosing the Best organization. More Than Conquerors, Inc. (http://www.mtciga.com/) is also a valuable resource to our school system as they provide certified abstinence educators upon request. Please be assured the information is presented in a prudent and tasteful fashion. Students will have the opportunity to complete a course evaluation on the unit and materials used. For details about our school system’s human sexuality program, contact Denise Richardson in Curriculum Services at 770-860- 4271.

In addition, each middle school will incorporate short video clips regarding sexual assault prevention and awareness into their morning newscasts. This material was created by Teen Lures Prevention. For more information, please visit http://www.teenluresprevention.com/index.htm

I encourage your support in meeting the needs of all our students.  For your own child, I ask that you provide your consent for his/her participation in the growth and development unit.  Please indicate your preference for your child’s participation in this class on the form below, sign the form, and return it to your child’s teacher. If you choose not to consent to participation, please contact your child’s teacher to develop an alternate plan of instruction that he/she can receive at school or home. 
 
Thank you for your interest in your child’s education and your support of the Rockdale County Public Schools. 

 Sincerely, 
 

Dr. Terry O. Oatts Superintendent 
  
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Detach along this line - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 	 
PARENTAL AND STUDENT CONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION
I understand my student will receive remote/virtual instruction in the areas of human growth and development, adolescent sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation prevention. By signing below, I acknowledge these remote/virtual lectures will contain topics that are sexual in nature, and I agree to release and waive any claims I may have against the Rockdale county board of education, Rockdale county public schools and its employees, agents, and REPRESENTATIVES (“Releasees”) related to the teaching of these materials. I further agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and reimburse the releasees from and against any claim which I, any other parent or guardian, any sibling, the student, or any other person, firm, or corporation may have or claim to have, known or unknown, directly or indirectly, from any losses, damages, or injuries arising out of, during, or in connection with the student’s participation in a remote/virtual Lesson.

 	I DO give consent for my child to participate in the growth and development unit and complete a course evaluation of the unit and instructional materials.   
 
 	I DO NOT give consent for my child to participate in the growth and development unit. 
 
       	 	 	
(Parent/Guardian’s Signature)	(Date)
 
 

        (Student’s Name)