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January/February 2003 Legislative Report

Arizona: Medical Accuracy Bill Passes Senate Committee

Senate Bill 1142, introduced on January 28, would require that any sexuality education curricula taught in schools be medically accurate and authorizes school districts that provide instruction on HIV/AIDS to also provide instruction on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The bill passed the Senate Education Committee on February 24.

The bill defines "medically accurate" as: 1) supported by research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods; 2) recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise; and 3) published in peer-reviewed journals, if appropriate.

California: California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act Introduced

The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Act, Senate Bill 71, is intended to consolidate, clarify, and amend the state's current provisions dealing with sexuality education. Introduced on January 17, it is in the Committee on Education.

The bill's stated purpose is to provide pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and to encourage healthy attitudes and values about adolescent growth and development, body image, gender roles, sexual orientation, romantic involvement, marriage, and family. S.B. 71 requires that all instruction be age-appropriate and "medically accurate," which is defined as "verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field, such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." The bill also requires that all pupils in grades seven through 12 receive HIV/AIDS prevention education from trained instructors.

Assembly Bill 950, introduced on February 20, would amend California's existing Education Code to prohibit any sexuality education instruction without a parent's prior written consent. Current law prohibits such instruction unless a parent or guardian has been notified. The bill is in committee.

The federal government provides $50 million in grants each year to states for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. States are required to match every four dollars of federal money with three dollars of state money. California is the only state that does not take the federal government's grant for abstinence-only-until-marriage. Senate Bill 267, introduced on February 18, would require the State Department of Health Services to develop a program that would allow the state to apply for and receive the federal funds.

Connecticut: Bill Requiring Child Development Education Introduced

In the Connecticut General Assembly, a bill has been introduced that would, as amended, require that child development education, including family life education among other topics, be included in school curricula. House Bill 5993, introduced on January 27, and amended by the Joint Committee on Children on February 5, 2003, does not define "family life education." It is in committee.

Federal: Medically Accurate Sex Education Bill Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives

On February 13, the Medically Accurate Sex Education bill was introduced in the House. This bill, H.R. 802, would prohibit any elementary or secondary school receiving federal funds to provide information that is not medically accurate in human development or sexuality education course material. Medical accuracy is defined as "supported by research, recognized as accurate and objective by leading medical, psychological, psychiatric, and public health organizations and agencies, and, where relevant, published in peer-reviewed journals." The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Hawaii: Three Bills Introduced in the House and Senate Requiring Medically Accurate, Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Two bills have been introduced in Hawaii's legislature that would require recipients of state funding who provide sexuality education to provide medically accurate, age-appropriate information about both abstinence and contraception. House Bill 136, introduced on January 17, has unanimously passed two committees and is now in a third. The Senate version, Senate Bill 876, is in committee.

House Bill 872, introduced on January 22, includes findings that comprehensive sexuality education-education that discusses abstinence and contraception-helps delay the onset of sexual activity and reduce the frequency of sex, and that abstinence-only programs do not delay onset of sexual activity or frequency of sex. The bill requires the Board of Education to formulate a policy requiring that schools teach comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.

All three bills define medically accurate as information that is supported by research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and information that is recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field, such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists or the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Illinois: Comprehensive Sexuality Education Bill Introduced

Senate Bill 99, introduced on January 29, would amend current Education Code to require that all sexuality education taught be comprehensive and medically accurate, and include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases as well as HIV/AIDS. The language changes would include an emphasis on the effectiveness of abstinence, but the phrase "abstinence is the expected norm" would be deleted. Language promoting heterosexual marriage is also omitted from current code, and other changes are included.

The bill defines "medically accurate" as "verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods, published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field."

Indiana: Two Bills Amending Sexuality Education Introduced; One Medical Accuracy Requirement and One Adds Topics, Including Marriage Promotion, to Abstinence Curricula

House Bill 1199, introduced on January 8, would add a requirement to current sexuality education law that any program must "include instruction on maintaining self-control, resisting peer pressure, and establishing positive relationships in preparation for marriage." Current law has three other requirements: 1) that the program teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school age children, 2) that the program include that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems, and 3) that the program include that the best way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and other associated health problems is to establish a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage.

House Bill 1862, introduced on January 23, would require when health, AIDS, HIV, or abstinence education is required by statute, that all information taught be medically accurate. The bill does not strike out current abstinence or marriage promotion language from the statutes and leaves in tact the above three requirements in current law. Both bills are in committee.

Louisiana: Parenthood Education Requirement Introduced

House Bill 103, pre-filed on February 19 and currently in committee, creates a parenthood education requirement for all public secondary schools. Current law states that if a school teaches home economics, it must also teach parenthood education. This bill would extend that requirement to all public high schools.

Massachusetts: Health Education Requirement Bills Introduced in House and Senate

House Bill 1258 and Senate Bill 295, both introduced in January, would require that health education be taught in grades kindergarten through 12 by adding the requirement to the state's core curriculum. The definition of "health education" comes from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Education Framework and includes information on topics such as nutrition, physical activity, mental health, safety and injury prevention, reproduction and sexuality, substance abuse, violence prevention, and consumer health.

House Bill 1867 and Senate Bill 550, both introduced in January, would require the state to establish community-based health and sexuality education services provided by comprehensive family planning agencies.

House Bill 1445, introduced in January, would require that any school with a sexuality education program have a written policy on parental/guardian notification of the program. All such programs would also have to be non-mandatory elective programs and parents would have to give written permission, or permission by a similar method, for their children to participate.

Michigan: Parenting Education Requirement Introduced in House

House Bill 4101, introduced on January 29, would require that "life management" be taught to children starting in kindergarten. Life management is defined as parenting education, intended to teach children about the responsibilities of parenthood. If such instruction includes any sexuality education, it must be submitted to and approved by the sex education advisory board. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education.

Minnesota: Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Bill Introduced in House

House Bill 580, introduced on February 24, requires that school districts implement "abstinence until marriage" curriculum and instruction with their mandatory sexually transmitted disease prevention programs. This bill is currently in committee.

Mississippi: Efforts to Create Advisory Councils that Would Make Recommendations on Sexuality Education Fails Twice in House, Passes Senate

After a January 17 introduction, House Bill 920, which would have required local school districts to create health/physical education advisory councils to make recommendations on various topics, including age-appropriate sexuality education, died in committee on February 4. A similar bill, Senate Bill 2339, was introduced in the Senate on January 15 and passed on February 6. It was then sent to the House where it was amended to omit any reference to human sexuality and passed on February 26.

North Dakota: Abstinence Bill Fails to Pass House

House Bill 1398, introduced on January 20, failed to pass the House by a vote of 50 to 43 on February 17. The bill would have required that abstinence be stressed in sexuality education courses throughout the state. The bill also would have forbidden condom or other contraceptive demonstrations.

Lubbock, Texas was cited by a North Dakota Democrat as a reason why the legislation should be defeated. Lubbock has been a subject of national discussion because of their abstinence-only-until-marriage curriculum and their high teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates.

New Mexico: Medically Accurate, Age-Appropriate Sexuality Education Bill Passes House

The Health and Human Development Education Act, House Bill 554, was introduced on February 5 and passed the House on February 25 by a vote on 61 to 2. The bill is now in the Senate Committee on Education.

The bill requires the Department of Education to create guidelines for schools on age-appropriate health and human development courses for grades kindergarten through 12. While schools are currently required to provide health education, such instruction may be taught as a separate class or as part of the curriculum for other subjects. This legislation outlines different guidelines for grades kindergarten through four, grades five through eight, and grades nine through 12.

Under the legislation, the Department of Education would also be required to provide "medically accurate health and human development information" to districts. Medically accurate is defined as verifiable or supported by the preponderance of research in compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals where appropriate. Medically accurate information must also, according to the definition in the bill, comprise of information that "leading professional organizations and agencies in the field, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, recognize as accurate."

New York: Dignity for All Students Act Introduced in Assembly and Senate

The Dignity for All Students Act, Assembly Bill 1118 and Senate Bill 1925, introduced on January 14 and February 14, respectively, would direct each school district, with direction from the Commissioner on Education, to establish policies, create programs, and develop instruction intended to eradicate discrimination in public schools based on various factors, including sexual orientation. Both bill are currently in committee.

Oklahoma: Act for Coordination of Efforts for Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Introduced in House

The Act for Coordination of Efforts for Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, House Bill 1104, was introduced in the House on February 2 and passed committee on February 18. The purpose of the bill is to provide for a comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary and interagency effort to reduce the rate of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The bill would create a committee for this purpose and enumerates activities for the committee. These activities include evaluating successful programs from around the country and recommending legislative changes. The bill also outlines qualifications and representatives who should serve on the board.

Vermont: Bill Requiring Parental Consent for Discussion of Sexual Issues Introduced in House

Vermont House Bill 291, introduced on February 25, would prohibit the teaching of enumerated sexual issues to students in grades seven through 12 in public schools without written consent-for each day that one of the subjects will be discussed-of a parent or guardian. Further, the bill has a detailed notification procedure for parents including the date and time of instruction, the instructor's name, and a detailed description of the instruction to be given. The bill also prohibits the teaching of any of the enumerated subjects-among them homosexuality-to children in grades kindergarten through six.

Washington: Medically Accurate Sexuality Education Bills Introduced in Both House and Senate

Bills requiring medically accurate sexuality education have been introduced in both the House and Senate. House Bill 1178, introduced on January 20, and Senate Bill 5314, introduced on January 22, would require that any sexuality education course taught with public funds be medically accurate. In Washington State, local school boards decide whether to offer sexuality education or not.

The House version has been amended and currently requires that courses teach abstinence as the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The House bill now also stipulates that any discussion of success or failure rates, among other topics, must use medically accurate information. The Senate bill requires, as the House bill before amendment, that all sexuality education be medically accurate.

"Medically accurate" is defined in both bills as information that is supported by research conducted in accordance with scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate and objective by expert professional organizations and government agencies such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There are two amendments pending for the House bill. One amendment states that nothing in the law is to be read to preclude school districts from providing abstinence-only programs. The other amendment exclusively authorizes school districts to choose their own sexuality education courses. The House bill has passed one committee and is currently in another. The Senate bill is in committee.

West Virginia: Responsible Sexuality Education in Schools Act Introduced

House Bill 2907, the Responsible Sexuality Education in Schools Act, was introduced on February 7 and referred to committee, where it currently sits. In its findings, the bill recognizes that comprehensive sexuality education-education that discusses abstinence and contraception-helps delay the onset of sexual activity, reduces the frequency of sex, and reduces the number of sex partners and that abstinence-only programs do not delay onset of sexual activity or frequency of sex.

The bill defines "medically accurate" as supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field, such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists or the Centers for Disease Control.

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