Members of the D.C. State Board of Education today are expected to pass new standards guiding students’ lessons about health and sexuality, a step that proponents argue is long overdue and has the potential to correct historical deficiencies in the critical subjects of HIV and AIDS.

The health standards, which apply to elementary, middle and high school students, have drawn some criticism in recent weeks. Ultra Teen Choice, a nonprofit that teaches students to refrain from sex, circulated a petition against the guidelines over what the organization says is a lack of abstinence education.