In accordance with the Governor’s Proclamation 20-25, “Stay Home, Stay Healthy,” and to protect the health and safety of Washingtonians and our employees, at this time, there is restricted public access to the OSPI building. OSPI will continue serving the public via phone, email, and the website.
See OSPI’s COVID-19 guidance and resources for educators, students, and families.
The Washington State Legislature requires districts, when providing comprehensive sexual health education, to use "speakers, curriculum and materials" that are medically and scientifically accurate and otherwise in compliance with the provisions of the law (RCW 28A.300.475). The AIDS Omnibus Act requires that HIV materials be medically accurate, as determined by the Office on AIDS, which is housed at the Washington Department of Health (DOH).
NOTE: As with all school district curricula, sexual health education, including HIV/AIDS prevention instructional materials, must also be reviewed by the school district instructional materials committee for bias as provided in the Basic Education Law (RCW 28A.150.240), the Instructional Materials Law (RCW 28A.320.230), and the Sex Equity Law (RCW 28A.640.010).
In partnership with DOH, OSPI conducts regular reviews of instructional materials to support districts in meeting state requirements for the delivery of sexual health education, including HIV prevention education. For information about why and how instructional materials reviews are conducted, see About the State-Level Sexual Health Education Curriculum Reviews.
OSPI does not "approve" or recommend curricula or other instructional materials. Districts are encouraged to review all instructional materials before adoption/use to ensure their suitability for use in the district.
Inclusion of a title in a review does not constitute "approval" for district use. Please see comments and scores to determine consistency with requirements. Exclusion of a title in a review does not constitute lack of consistency with state requirements.
The following list includes titles reviewed in 2015, 2017, and 2019 – titles reviewed earlier may have been revised since those reviews were conducted or may no longer be medically or scientifically accurate. Districts that are using or who want to use these titles will want to review materials carefully to assess current suitability for use in their district. Medical accuracy reviews should be conducted by the Washington Department of Health or a local health department content expert, in accordance with state law. Results from the 2021 review will be posted in July 2021.
2015-19 Reviewed SHE Instructional Materials List (updated 05/06/2021)
Beginning in December 2020, districts conducting their own reviews of sexual health education materials (rather than using OSPI-reviewed materials) must use OSPI-developed instructional materials review tools.
For general guidance on selecting instructional materials, please visit OSPI's Instructional Material Reviews and Supports page and our Sexual Health Education Resources page.
Erin’s Law charged OSPI with reviewing curricula related to sexual abuse/sexual violence prevention. With the assistance of a panel of expert reviewers representing school districts and community-based sexual abuse prevention specialists, the Erin’s Law Curriculum Review was completed in 2018.