Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: During the 2020 Virginia General Assembly session, legislation passed requiring individualized education program teams to consider the need for certain age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction. House Bill 134 required the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to establish guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP teams consider the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others. The legislation also requires each local school board, in developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board, to ensure that IEP teams consider such guidelines. The purpose of this document is to provide school divisions a framework for the development of operating guidelines tailored to local resources and service delivery models. This document does not replace any federal or state regulations. Additionally, this information is provided to assist IEP teams in considerations for instructional planning and implementation in these critical areas.
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5/8/21  4:41 pm
Commenter: Marie Dagenais-Lewis

Sexual Education in IEP is essential
 

I believe it is essential that sexual education is taught in IEP; we need to teach the disabled things like understanding their own boundaries, consent, and sex. For one, not teaching sexual education dehumanizes the disabled—disabled adults are humans who are sexual beings, so disabled children need to learn the same types of things the abled bodied children are taught, like it’s okay to say no, and how to have safe sex. Secondly, and maybe most importantly, the current statistics of crime against the disabled are staggering. According to The Autism Society, the disabled are at the highest risk of sexual violence, and are victimized ten times as often as someone without a disability. Could sexual education in IEP lower those statistics? Let’s find out.

CommentID: 98024