The Health Education Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade twelve, provide guidance on the essential skills and knowledge that students should have at each grade level across six health education content areas, one of which is Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. This content area overlaps considerably with TUPE program efforts.
California students learn skills identified in the Standards to increase their Health Literacy, defined by the World Health Organization as the cognitive and social skills that determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health.
The newly adopted Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, provides an update to curricular resources that support high-quality health education instruction. The Framework is designed to help teachers and administrators create a curriculum that is standards-based and therefore, anchored in skill development. In addition to the guidance for teachers and administrators on standards implementation, the Framework includes new chapters on assessment, access and equity, instructional strategies, and professional learning—all designed to assist teachers and administrators in furthering the collective goal of creating healthy students throughout the state of California.
Standards-based Educator Resources that reference Framework guidance, include Health Education Standard Guides and Skill Posters. These tools can support educators in ensuring their tobacco-use prevention education is skills-based to ensure efforts advance the health literacy of all students. Additional information and resources are available on the CaliforniaHealthEducation.org website.
The California Healthy Kids Resources Center provides access to educational resources that can be borrowed at no cost. TUPE-related material subject areas: Alcohol and Other Drugs, Health, Mental Emotional Social Health, and Tobacco.
TECC is a statewide technical assistance provider that supports the development and distribution of effective educational materials for the California Department of Public Health and tobacco control projects.