Health education curriculum in the United States is undergoing radical revisions as a consequence of the adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). While there is a long history of school health education being influenced by various moral or ideological crisis' (see Gard & Pluim, 2014), in this paper we suggest that the new CCSS policy imperative will have a significant impact on the ways in which schools regard health education in terms of understanding its role, influence and content, in addition to the jurisdiction/authority that local, state and federal governing bodies may have (now and in the future) on curricular decisions of this nature. Currently all but four of the 51 states have adopted the CCSS. While this curricular shift has been primarily aimed at increasing academic proficiency in mathematics and English language arts literacy, it will inevitably affect the content and focus of health education nation-wide, both discursively and practically. Our analysis will specifically concentrate on the increasing presence and influence of for-profit companies that have been proactive in developing and marketing pre-packaged health education curricular materials aligned to the CCSS learning objectives. We will also examine and critically interrogate the content, health messages and imperatives that are implicated in this new ‘national’ curricular endeavour - particularly those originating from advocates who have potentially much to gain from this new policy initiative. Finally, the analysis will examine the socio-political and economic shifts that have helped position these kinds of curricular mandates as necessary and pressing health measures.

Gard, M., & Pluim, C. (2004). Schools and public health. Maryland: Lexington.