The California Health Education Content Standards, approved by the State Board of Education in March 2008, integrate health education to promote healthy relationships and prevent dating violence throughout the K-12 standards in an age-appropriate manner.

Below, the Partnership highlights the portions of the document that specifically reference healthy dating relationships and dating abuse prevention, which appear in the standards for Grades 7 and 8, and grades 9-12. See the link on the right to access the entire document.

Grades 7 and 8, Injury Prevention and Safety

Standard 5, Decision-making

• 5.1.S: Use a decision-making process to examine risky social and dating situations.
• 5.2.S: Apply a decision-making process to avoid potentially dangerous situations such as gang activities, violence in dating, and other social situations.

Standard 7, Practicing health enhancing behaviors

• 7.5.M: Demonstrate skills to avoid or escape from potentially violence situations, including dating.

Grades 9-12, Growth, Development and Sexual Health

Standard 1, Essential concepts

• 1.3.G: Discuss the characteristics of healthy relationships, dating, committed relationships and marriage (See Education Code Sections 51933b7, b11 and 51934b7. Education Code Section 51933 and 51934 define the content and standards for sexual health education and HIV prevention education. Also, Education Code Sections 51937-51939 outline requirements for parental notice and parental excuse for sexual health education and HIV prevention education.)

Standard 4, Interpersonal communication

• 4.3.G: Demonstrate effective communications skills within healthy dating relationships.

Grades 9-12, Injury Prevention and Safety

Standard 1, Essential Concepts

• 1.2.S: Recognize potentially harmful or abusive relationships, including dangerous dating situations.

Dating abuse prevention is also referenced in two additional places in the California Education Code:

Sections 32260-32270, the Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act of 1985, states, “It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to encourage school districts, county offices of education, law enforcement agencies, and agencies serving youth to develop and implement interagency strategies, in-service training programs, and activities that will improve school attendance and reduce school crime and violence, including vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, gang membership, gang violence, hate crimes, bullying, including bullying committed personally or by means of an electronic act, teen relationship violence, and discrimination and harassment, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment.”

Section 32228, the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act established a funding program for schools to accomplish a range of goals, including, “provide age-appropriate instruction in domestic violence prevention, dating violence prevention, and interpersonal violence prevention.”