The sex education recommendations are part of the state's overall health education framework approved by the board and have generated fierce opposition from conservative religious groups.
With the State Board of Education set to vote on new teaching guidelines, groups have launched an aggressive effort to remove recommendations focused on LGBTQ inclusiveness and others they deem too explicit for young students.
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician who Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed in January, is recognized as a pioneer in the study of how adverse childhood experiences affect brain development and life-long health.
As needs far outpace resources, districts are increasingly turning to outside partnerships to provide services that they see as crucial to a student's success.
The Trump administration proposes to deny people green cards for using Medi-Cal or food stamps. Benefits received by U.S. citizen children cannot be taken into account, under the draft regulations. But experts say parents could pull hundreds of thousands of California children out of health and nutrition programs out of fear.
The state ranks at or near the bottom nationwide in student access to health and counseling services. But all schools could offer basic care for $90 in added annual spending per student, report finds.
The vast majority of large urban districts statewide have implemented the 2015 California Healthy Youth Act. Yet uproar over the landmark law has garnered headlines in a few places, most notably Orange County.
Though still angry over the deal Sacramento lawmakers made with the sweetened beverage industry, children's health advocates are busy plotting a new course.
Olenka Villarreal is the founder and executive director of Magical Bridge Foundation, which creates inclusive playgrounds that everyone can use, including young people with disabilities.
Some LGBT students find themselves accepted by their peers, but not by teachers and administrators at school, said Vinnie Pompei of the Human Rights Campaign, who will speak at the EdSource Symposium in October.
