Health Education

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) supports educating the whole child and advocates for every Delaware student to build positive mental, emotional and physical health skills. DDOE considers health education any combination of learning experiences designed to help students improve their overall health and wellness, such as learning how to:  

• Avoid or reduce health risks
• Understand the importance of decision-making skills
• Apply goal-setting skill to their lives
• Advocate for themselves, their families and communities

Delaware public schools provide health education to students from kindergarten through grade 12. Current legislation requires students to earn the following number of health hours per grade: 

• Grades K-4 - A minimum of 30 hours in each grade with at least 10 hours in drug and alcohol education.
• Grades 5-6 - A minimum of 35 hours in each grade with at least 15 hours in drug and alcohol education.
• Grades 7-8 - A minimum of 60 hours of health education separate from other subject areas. At least 15 hours must address drug and alcohol education. (If all 60 hours are provided in one grade, an additional 15 hours of drug and alcohol education must be provided in the other grade.)
• Grades 9-12 - Delaware students must earn 0.5 credit in health education in order to graduate high school.

Additional resources

• Delaware Health Education Standards – Lists current state standards for health education coursework in all Delaware public schools.
• Delaware Reg. 851 K-12 Comprehensive Health Education Program – Details required health education concepts, hours and graduation requirements for each grade level.
• 2021 Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education Survey Report - Lists current substance abuse prevention curricula used in Delaware schools. Outlines the review process for assessing program effectiveness.
• SHAPE Delaware – Links to the professional organization for Delaware health and physical educators. Includes family and community resources, lesson plans, national COVID-related guidance and more.
• Healthy Delaware – Provides resources for educators, families and communities on treating and preventing chronic diseases and behaviors.

Educator resources

• 2020-21 Classroom Ready Plan – Provides resources and guidance for health education teachers to transition to remote and hybrid learning for the start of the 2020-21 school year.
• Hours requirement rubric – Provides a planning and implementation rubric for educators to use while planning and implementing health education hours at all grade levels.
• Health curriculum analysis - Analyzes 17 school health and behavioral health curricula based on criteria outlined in Delaware Regulation 851 (Del. Code, Title 14). 
• Alcohol, drug and tobacco resources – Reviews current educational resources available for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Resources are continually updated.
• Anti-vaping toolkit – Provides anti-vaping resources for schools as part of a statewide initiative to combat vaping and e-cigarette use. Includes teacher resources, social media posts and family/community resources. Developed by the Delaware Division of Public Health and Delaware Health and Social Services.
• Additional health educator resources (access required) – Lists in-classroom resources, professional learning opportunities and more for Delaware health educators. For access, email your current title and school name to Sabra Collins.