The basic course of study for the junior high schools or middle schools must provide for the instruction of all students in life and career readiness, English language arts, health education and physical education, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, visual and performing arts and world languages, as described in the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements subject to the schedule specified in section 6209. Health education must include instruction that addresses the relationship between physical and mental health in order to enhance student understanding of attitudes toward and behavior relating to mental illness and to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.   [PL 2021, c. 190, §2 (AMD).]