Division on Visual Impairments

DVI Quarterly Volume 59(2)

A quarterly newsletter from the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Visual Impairments containing practitioner tips for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and other professionals.

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Sex Education: Standards, Topics, Obstacles, and Ways of Overcoming Them Mollie V. Blackburn, Ph.D. The Ohio State University blackburn.99@osu.edu The National Sexuality Education Standards (Future of Sex Education (FOSE), 2011) include eight standards across seven broad topics to be addressed in distinctively age appropriate ways in kindergarten through twelfth grade (with grades clustered like this: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). The standards are, essentially, about (1) core concepts, (2) analyzing influences, (3) accessing information, (4) interpersonal communication, (5) decision-making, (6) goal-setting, (7) self-management, and (8) advocacy. All of the standards articulate enhancing health and avoiding or reducing health risks as their goals. The topics through which to achieve these standards are those typically included in sex edu- cation curricula, like anatomy and physiology, pu- berty and adolescent development, pregnancy and reproduction, and sexually transmitted dis- eases (STDs), including human immunodefi- ciency virus (HIV). Less common topics, like iden- tity, healthy relationships, and personal safety are also included. as well as those less often included like identity, healthy relationships, and personal safety. Importantly, these standards and related topics are inclusive of diverse sexualities and gender identities. These are, I think, comprehen- sive and defensible standards and topics. But 52

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