BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 329
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
329 (Weber) - As Amended April 13, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill makes instruction in sexual health education a
requirement, revises HIV prevention education content, expands
topics covered in sexual health education, requires this
AB 329
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instruction to be inclusive of different sexual orientations,
and clarifies parental consent policy. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires instruction on sexual health in grades 7-12 occur at
least once during junior high school and once during high
school (in addition to HIV prevention education). This
includes the requirements in existing law for comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education,
expanded information relative to the prevention and treatment
of HIV, and information relative to pregnancy, sexual
harassment, sexual assault, adolescent relationship abuse,
intimate partner violence, and sex trafficking.
2)Expands, by increasing the topics taught in sexual health
education, the number of topics which may be taught to
students earlier than grade 7 in an age appropriate and
medically accurate manner.
3)Requires outside consultants and guest speakers to have
knowledge of the most recent medically accurate research on
the relevant topics covered in their instruction.
4)Adds sexual health to the requirements for in-service training
for teachers of HIV prevention education.
5)Clarifies that active parental consent ("opt in") policies for
sexual health instruction and for research and evaluation
tools are prohibited.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Minor/absorbable costs to the California Department of
Education (CDE). CDE currently maintains and periodically
updates a Web page for information and resources on
comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention
education. CDE staff also provide guidance and support to the
field on comprehensive sexual health education and HIV
prevention education.
2)Unknown Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs for school
districts to provided integrated HIV and sexual health
instruction. Many districts providing HIV prevention education
under current law are using integrated instructional
materials. Actual costs would depend on the number of school
districts that would have to modify curriculum. For
illustration, the American Red Cross program costs $180 for
materials for one instructor. These materials include master
copies of student material, which district will need to copy
for their students. Taking an average of the enrollment in
grades seven through twelve, there are approximately 963,430
students in the two grade levels. If one-quarter of those
students attend schools that would need to purchase new
instructional materials, the statewide cost for duplicating
student materials would be approximately $480,000 per year.
The Commission on State Mandates (CSM) determined existing law
related to HIV/AIDS instruction constituted a reimbursable
mandate. The state has also included this mandate in the K-12
Mandate Block Grant. If the CSM determines these requirements
impose a higher level of service, this could place pressure on
the Legislature to increase funding under the K-12 Mandate
Block Grant.
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COMMENTS:
Purpose. HIV prevention education is currently mandated in
California schools. According to the author, current law is
outdated and does not address the broader context of HIV
prevention. For example, instruction that addresses relationship
skills and preventing other sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) and unintended pregnancy is fundamental to equipping
students to understand and prevent HIV. Most schools teach
combined HIV prevention and sexual health education, but the
author contends the distinction between them in the Education
Code generates confusion by schools that often results in
students being denied critical information.
This bill seeks to update the HIV and AIDS prevention education
to ensure students are receiving comprehensive and accurate
prevention information for HIV, other sexually transmitted
infections, unintended pregnancy, as well as information about
local health resources. This bill also clarifies a parent has a
right to excuse their child from all or part of comprehensive
sexual education through a passive consent ("opt-out") process
and clarifies a school district is prohibited from requiring
active parental consent ("opt-in").
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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