Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations – APO029

Reviewed/Revised: April 2024

PURPOSE

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is deeply committed to supporting the mandate, values, traditions, and distinctiveness of Catholic Education while delivering the Ontario Curriculum Expectations. The WCDSB achieves the goals of teaching students about human development and sexual health through a faith-based family life program that teaches the content of our faith, the value of persons, human relationships, commitment, and social responsibility.

The purpose of the Religion and Family Life Curriculum ,as developed by the Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) under the guidance and in the name of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, is to foster and enhance the integrity, values, traditions, and distinctiveness of Catholic Education.

As per Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 162 (August 21, 2019), this policy allows for students to be exempted on an individual basis at the request of their parents, from instruction related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations found in strand D of the Ontario Curriculum: Health and Physical Education Grades 1-8, 2019 in tandem with the related unit in the Fully Alive or Blessed and Beloved Catholic Family Life program.