Article 1. General of California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 28. >> Chapter 5.5. >> Article 1.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1977.

The Legislature finds and declares that although many of the communicable diseases and environmental hazards which plagued earlier generations have been controlled, major health problems and hazards are prevalent among today's school-age children and youth including the abuse of alcohol, narcotics, and tobacco; emotional instability; forced marriage; self-medication; dental caries; nutritional disorders; suicide; and accidents. The Legislature finds and declares that an adequate health education program in the public schools is essential to continued progress and improvement in the quality of public health in this state, and the Legislature further believes that comprehensive health education, taught by properly trained persons, is effective in the prevention of disease and disability. It is further the intent of the Legislature that, to the maximum extent possible, the present state-funded projects in the school health unit of the Department of Education shall be redirected to carrying out the provisions of this chapter and maximum use shall be made of existing state and federal funds in the implementation of comprehensive health education.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that hazardous substances, as defined in Section 25316 of the Health and Safety Code, are an integral part of daily life, and that some substances, which are routinely found in and around homes, present potential hazards to the public and to the environment because of the lack of public awareness and education on the hazards of these substances and because of the lack of safe disposal options for hazardous substances from households.
  (b) The Legislature, therefore, finds that hazardous substances education programs in the public schools would serve a beneficial purpose by fostering in students an understanding of their role in protecting the environment, and in safeguarding themselves from other health and safety dangers which may be posed by hazardous substances.
  (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department provide school districts with information concerning the availability of educational materials and curricula on hazardous substances.