Adopted January 1998 – Reviewed and deemed relevant November 2022 – Health & Community Concerns Commission
California State PTA believes parents/guardians should take primary responsibility for teaching life skills that contribute to adolescent well-being: goal setting, decision-making, responsibility, assertiveness and recognizing the consequences of choices. Today, the health of young people is critically linked to the health-related behaviors they choose to adopt. School health programs can play a crucial role in promoting healthy behaviors while enhancing academic performance.
California State PTA supports Coordinated School Health Programs that address the needs of young people in a systematic, integrated way. Coordinated School Health Programs include abstinence and pregnancy/disease prevention, education related to information about social, emotional, and physical development, family life education and communication, critical thinking, and decision-making skills.
Studies show that parenthood during adolescence usually results in interrupted education, inadequate job skills, limited employment opportunities, and inadequate parenting skills. Further research has proven that adolescents who receive an appropriate and adequate family life education become sexually active at later ages than those who are deprived of this curriculum.
California State PTA urges its units, councils and districts to work for developmentally appropriate family life education within the context of a comprehensive health education curriculum which shall include but is not limited to:
- Components on sexual abstinence, pregnancy prevention and personal responsibility;
- The risks and consequences associated with sexual activity; and
- The increased health and emotional risks of adolescent pregnancy for mothers, fathers and babies.
