Information on Michigan academic standards and instructional resources.
Responsible for providing final decisions in administrative appeals to MDE.
Learn more about the MDE office responsible for providing leadership in curriculum and instruction that provides students with greater choices to prepare for success.
Resources for educator certification, recognition programs, evaluation, and workforce research.
The Equitable Services Ombudsman helps ensure equitable services for private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel.
Resources related to financial and pupil accounting and auditing.
Options available for Michigan students that provide unique learning opportunities.
Food & Nutrition Programs
This MDE office provides resources and technical assistance in physical education, sex education, health education, behavioral, emotional, mental, and social education as well as safety, discipline, and transportation.
Resources for programs and initiatives that support school improvement efforts.
Resources for supporting special education in Michigan.
Michigan has an innovative and comprehensive system of assessments to measure student achievement in learning our state content standards.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
September 09, 2025
LANSING – Michigan is updating health education standards for public schools for the first time since 2007.
Following a presentation at today’s State Board of Education meeting, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) will accept public comments on the proposed Michigan Health Education Standards Framework.
Public comment will be accepted on the MDE Health and Safety webpage through Oct. 10. Staff will review public comment and will then recommend health education standards to the board at a future meeting.
“It is important to update our health education standards to better reflect current trends, terminology, and best practices, and to be more culturally responsive, especially around the topics of nutrition, safety, and social emotional and mental health,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “These standards support Goal 3 of Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, to improve the health, safety and wellness of all learners.”
While MDE adopts standards, local districts—with input from parents on sex education standards—can determine how to implement the standards to meet the needs of their communities. Districts are encouraged to use student and community data, parent input, and community values to determine what content will best support the health and well-being of students in their district.
Topics in the standards include mental and emotional health, safety, healthy relationships, balanced eating and physical activity, substance use and misuse, sexual health, personal health and wellness, and community and environmental health.
During the board meeting, Mrs. Kristalyn Musselman, a high school health teacher in Tecumseh Public Schools, shared parent rights related to sex education should a district choose to teach it.
“Parents are to be notified of sex education instruction prior to lessons being taught,” she said. “Parents have the right to review sex education curricula prior to instruction. Parents can exclude their child without penalty from some or all sex education instruction.”
Districts determine what content within sexual health instruction they will include in their health education program with the assistance of their Sex Education Advisory Board.
Michigan’s requirements for parental input on sex education instruction are some of the most comprehensive in the country. Sex Education Advisory Boards must consist of at least 50% parent membership. The advisory boards review student data and curricula, and make recommendations to the local district’s board of education for review and approval.
“The goal of health education is to develop young people who are health-literate and engage in practices that lead to an overall healthy lifestyle throughout their lives,” said Dr. Diane Golzynski, MDE deputy superintendent for business, health, and library services. “This updated version of Michigan’s standards is more robust and adds details and attention to the critical skills of comprehensive health education and makes links among students’ well-being, school performance and family involvement.”
# # #
Media Contact:
