The following statement is from the Cherry Hill Public School district on Monday, May 23.
The Cherry Hill Public School District’s mission statement reads, “We shall provide all children with an education that develops open-minded thinkers with the strong academic and interpersonal skills to thrive in an ever-changing world and make it a better place for all.”
Among the District’s Belief Statements that support this mission is the following: “All learning must be standards-based, challenging, relevant, and developmentally appropriate.” Our District Administration and Board of Education take seriously the process and materials through which our students are educated.
We also take seriously public misrepresentations of our curriculum and how it is being taught. The unfounded attacks aimed at our staff members are inappropriate and unwarranted.
The state of New Jersey requires that all public school districts include family life education in their curriculum, following the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The Cherry Hill Public School District develops the family life curriculum within those standards.
Our schools inform parents of the family life education curriculum annually prior to being taught. Parents are given the opportunity to review the curriculum, which is available on the district website, under the Curriculum tab. Parents have the right to opt their children out of the lessons.
To opt out of the lessons, parents must submit a signed statement to the school indicating that the instruction in health, family life, or sex education conflicts with their moral or religious beliefs and that their student should be excused from that portion of the course. The newly revised Health & Physical Education standards, which go into effect in September 2022, are not reflected in the current district curriculum.
Updates to the curriculum related to the revised standards are currently underway and will continue to reflect lessons, materials, and resources that are developmentally and age appropriate. The revised curriculum will be shared in late August 2022. Continuing in the 2022-2023 school year, parents will have the opportunity to review the curriculum and to decide whether they want their children to participate.
The district continues to respect parents’ discretion in opting their children out of these lessons.
