School Board addressing intervention support service and sex-ed requirements

DAYTON-The Dayton School Board discussed intervention support services for behavioral and academic growth, and the process of implementing State sexual health requirements for kindergarten through twelfth grade at the meeting on February 2.

The District offered a community forum presenting the sex-education requirements to the community on February 9, and will be establishing one or more committees to review curriculum and make recommendations to the Board for adoption to be used beginning next school year.

The intervention support services are specifically Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Board member Aneesha Deiu said, “MTSS is about engaging teachers earlier in the students’ education to fully understand their needs, so that each student has their own individual plan throughout school. Help with academics, specialization, emotionally. Dayton schools already participate in many of the activities to do this, but not all, and do not have a procedure to follow, so that’s what we will be working on.”

MTSS also includes data-based problem solving and decision-making to assess what is needed for academic success and growth through social-emotional learning (SEL) and this support helps districts fill the gaps of what is missing like limited resources and difficulty in collaborating. RTI is focused on early intervention by screening all students for learning and behavioral needs and to provide individualized instruction based on the student’s positive response to instruction.

PBIS focuses on prevention not punishment by teaching students about behavior expectations. The goal is school safety and good behavior.

Senate Bill 5395 passed in 2020 requiring all public schools to teach comprehensive sexual health by the 2022-23 school year. The website for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) states, “Instruction must be consistent with Health Education K-12 Learning Standards, which provide a framework for comprehensive instruction and the provisions of the law. Instruction must also be age-appropriate, medically and scientifically accurate, and inclusive of all students, using language and strategies that recognize all members of protected classes.”

Superintendent Guy Strot told the Board that the local school boards are given the ability to select the curriculum for their district and only report to OSPI the choice of curriculum and how it meets the requirements. Chairman Jeffrey McCowen said that he viewed the Board’s role as a “big deal to have the opportunity to control the narrative” to teach children about what’s appropriate. He pointed out that there is a fine line between introducing material too early and too late because of possible exposure.

Strot held an in-person community forum on the implementation of sexual education law on February 8. Approximately two dozen attended including school board members Zac Fabian and Korinda Wallace, Elementary Principal Amy Cox and elementary teacher Ginger Bryan.

One or more committees will be forming and meeting over the next couple of months comprised of the superintendent, both principals, teachers and parents of students at elementary and secondary levels and community members. It was suggested a person with a psychology degree be availed to the committee to help determine appropriate material. Strot affirmed the idea and thought that one of the behavioral health professionals would participate. The committees will review and choose curriculum to recommend to the Board for adoption in May to be used the following school year.

The Board, staff, parents and community members will be given the opportunity to review the proposed curriculum in advance of the Board convening to vote.

Strot said the district has already been providing notice to families of when their students will be receiving sexual education where the parents have to sign a form allowing their participation. He said this will continue.

For those participating in grades kindergarten through third, the focus will be on social and emotional learning (SEL) with no sexual content. From Strot’s presentation, he said that SEL “is a process of building awareness and skills in managing emotions, setting goals, establishing relationships, and making responsible decisions that support success in school and in life.”

For fourth and fifth grades, sexual health will be taught at least once per year and “focuses on helping students understand and respect personal boundaries, develop healthy friendships, and gain a basic understanding of human growth and development (puberty).”

Sixth through eighth grades will be taught at least twice with a “focus on helping students understand and respect personal boundaries, develop healthy friendships and dating relationships, gain a deeper understanding of human growth and development, and develop skills to support choosing healthy behaviors and reduce health risks, including understanding the influence of family and society on healthy sexual relationships.”

Those in high school will also be taught at least twice per year “helping students understand and respect personal boundaries, develop healthy friendships and dating relationships, gain a deeper understanding of human growth and development, and develop skills to support choosing healthy behaviors and reduce health risks, including how to access valid health care and prevention resources and understanding the influence of family and society on healthy sexual relationships.”