By Jennifer Pignolet, MediaNews Group

School districts that want to teach sex education along with other health topics like vaping, consent, social media and healthy relationships now officially have guidelines from the state, despite concern from some board members and parents about instruction in gender identity and sexual orientation.

The State Board of Education on Thursday passed the first major update to its health education standards since 2007, significantly broadening their scope to match the issues facing today’s youth. The standards are not requirements for Michigan schools, but are guidelines for districts to use when choosing a health education curriculum on best practices that align with science, said officials from the Michigan Department of Education.

The standards help

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