Background
Health and physical education are an important part of school. Strong health and physical education standards provide a clear, skills-based and age-appropriate approach to essential health topics that impact District students. The DC Health Education Standards and DC Physical Education Standardswere last updated in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In March 2023, following the passage of the Expanding Student Access to Period Products Act of 2022 (DC Official Code § 38-531.03), the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) added supplemental DC state learning standards for menstrual health education.
2024-25 Standards Revision Process
In the 2024-25 school year, OSSE is engaging the DC community to revise the DC Health Education Standards and the DC Physical Education Standards following the release of updated national health education standards and national physical education standards by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, or SHAPE America. As part of the standards revision process, OSSE is reviewing other states’ health and physical education standards and conducting extensive stakeholder engagement with educators, community members, parents/caregivers, students and subject matter experts. Information gathered from these activities will inform OSSE’s standards revision process. OSSE anticipates implementing the new standards beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
Public Comment
Public comment allows the community to provide input on the draft health education standards and physical education standards. OSSE will use input from the public comment period to consider changes to the draft standards before submitting the standards to the State Board of Education for approval.
If you have any questions about the standards revision process or opportunities for feedback, please contact [email protected].