Carmel Unified adopts Health Connected curriculum for grades 5, 7 and 9 amid parent concerns about sex‑ed content

Carmel Unified School District trustees on Wednesday voted to adopt the Health Connected supplemental health curriculum for fifth, seventh and ninth grades, a program the district says aligns with the California Healthy Youth Act and includes six hours of instruction at each grade level.

The presentation by Andrew Rodriguez, curriculum, instruction and assessment coordinator, and Deputy Superintendent Mary Petty described a five‑phase committee review process that evaluated multiple curricula and recommended Health Connected for districtwide implementation in grades 5, 7 and 9. Rodriguez said the program includes training, lesson modeling for fifth‑grade teachers in year one, and two virtual parent workshops to allow families to review lesson content and ask questions.

"The California Healthy Youth Act requires comprehensive health instruction to be age appropriate, medically accurate, and inclusive," Rodriguez said as he described the committee’s process and the planned supports for staff and families. The district also said parent opt‑out forms will be available through standard parent data confirmation processes and at school sites.

During public comment, Shelly Ritter urged the board to delay adoption, arguing the proposal "is not about general health curriculum. This curriculum is only about sex ed and puberty," and contending that parents had limited access to the committee's materials and that the district’s opt‑out procedure had been flawed in the past. Ritter said the proposed fifth‑grade curriculum includes lessons on gender and sexual identities and HIV and expressed concern that links in referenced materials were not vetted.

Board members and staff responded by outlining the planned parent workshops and multiple communication channels, saying the workshops will be offered virtually to allow anonymous questions and that staff will arrange in‑person review appointments as needed. Petty emphasized the district delayed an earlier recommendation to ensure committee members and site administrators felt comfortable with implementation and training.

After discussion, the board moved to adopt Health Connected as a supplemental program for elementary, middle and high school and approved the motion in a roll‑call vote with Board President Matt Glazier, Board Clerk Sarah Hines and Board member Jason Rammenzy voting yes.

The district said the curriculum will be implemented with a full day of in‑person training for staff in the first year, modeling of lessons for teachers who will deliver the fifth‑grade content, and parent workshops intended to increase transparency and allow families to make opt‑out decisions.

The decision follows a multi‑month committee review the district described as including site administrators, teachers, counselors, nurses and parents. The district framed the adoption as aligning instruction with state requirements while expanding access to puberty education at all elementary sites and shifting middle school instruction to seventh grade to align with state standards.