BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 329|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 329
Author: Weber (D) et al
Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 5-2, 7/1/15
AYES: Liu, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan
NOES: Runner, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-25, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Pupil instruction: sexual health education
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires schools to provide comprehensive
sexual health education in grades 7-12, and modifies the
currently required components of sexual health education and
HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 modify existing law by
striking reference to textbooks in specific subjects, and
instead clarifies that a textbook that includes a description or
illustration of human reproductive organs is exempt from
requirements related to sexual health education if the textbook
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does not include other elements of comprehensive sexual health
education or HIV prevention education; and include
double-jointing provisions to avoid chaptering problems with AB
517 (Gallagher).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Authorizes school districts to provide comprehensive sexual
health education, as specified, consisting of age-appropriate
instruction, in any grade, using instructors trained in the
appropriate courses. School districts that elect to offer
comprehensive sexual health education must meet all of the
following criteria:
a) Instruction and materials must be age appropriate.
b) All factual information presented must be medically
accurate and objective.
c) Instruction and materials must encourage a student to
communicate with his or her parents about human sexuality,
teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.
d) Beginning in grade 7, instruction and materials must
teach that abstinence is the only certain way to prevent
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, provide
information other methods of preventing pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases, how sexually transmitted
diseases are and are not transmitted, information on local
resources for testing and medical care, and information on
the effectiveness and safety of all federal Food and Drug
Administration approved contraceptive methods. (Education
Code § 51933)
2) Requires school districts to ensure that all students in
grades 7-12 receive HIV/AIDS prevention education, as
specified, from instructors trained in the appropriate
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courses. Each student must receive this instruction at least
once in junior high or middle school and at least once in
high school. (EC § 51934)
3) Provides that parents have the right to excuse their child
from all or part of comprehensive sexual health education,
HIV/AIDS prevention education, and assessment related to that
education. Current law requires school districts to notify
the parent of each student about instruction in sexual health
and HIV/AIDS prevention and research on student health
behaviors and risks planned for the coming year. (EC §
51938)
This bill:
1) Requires schools districts to ensure all students in grades
7-12 receive comprehensive sexual health education, and
merges existing statutes related to comprehensive sexual
health education and HIV prevention education. Requires
students to receive this instruction at least once in junior
high or middle school and at least once in high school.
2) Retains the authority for schools to provide age-appropriate
comprehensive sexual health education in grades K-6.
3) Modifies and expands the components that are required to be
included in sexual health education and HIV prevention
instruction:
a) Modifies information about the effectiveness and
safety of federal Food and Drug Administration approved
methods of prevention to include prevention of HIV and
other sexually transmitted infections (in addition to
preventing pregnancy).
b) Adds information about the effectiveness and safety of
reducing the risk of HIV transmission as a result of
injection drug use by decreasing needle use and needle
sharing.
c) Adds information about the treatment of HIV and other
sexually transmitted infections.
d) Adds information about students' legal rights to
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access local resources for sexual and reproductive health
care such as testing and medical care for sexually
transmitted infections other than HIV, and pregnancy
prevention and care.
e) Requires instruction on pregnancy to include an
objective discussion of all legally available pregnancy
outcomes, including:
i) Parenting, adoption, and abortion.
ii) The importance of prenatal care.
4) Modifies and expands criteria that comprehensive sexual
health and HIV prevention education must meet to include the
following:
a) All instruction and materials must be aligned with and
support the stated purposes of comprehensive sexual health
and HIV prevention education, and may not be in conflict
with any of those purposes.
b) Adds "English learners" to characteristics (race,
gender, sexual orientation, ethnic and cultural
backgrounds, students with disabilities) for which
instruction and materials must be appropriate.
c) Instruction and materials must affirmatively recognize
that people have different sexual orientations and, when
discussing or providing examples of relationships and
couples, be inclusive of same-sex relationships.
d) Instruction and materials must teach students about
gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore
the harm of negative gender stereotypes.
e) Adds "other trusted adults" with whom students are
encouraged, by instruction and materials, to communicate.
Adds that instruction and materials are to provide the
knowledge and skills necessary to communicate with a
parent or other trusted adult about human sexuality.
f) Modifies what instruction and materials are to teach
from "respect for marriage and committed relationships" to
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"the value of and prepare students to have and maintain
committed relationships such as marriage."
g) Instruction and materials must provide students with
knowledge and skills they need to form healthy
relationships that are based on mutual respect and
affection, and are free from violence, coercion, and
intimidation.
h) Expands the provisions of knowledge and skills for
making and implementing healthy decisions about sexuality
to include negotiation and refusal skills to assist
students in overcoming peer pressure and using effective
decision-making skills to avoid high-risk activities.
5) Authorizes school districts to expand currently-required
in-service training for school personnel who provide
instruction in HIV prevention to include training on
comprehensive sexual health education.
6) Clarifies that outside consultants and guest speakers
providing instruction must have expertise in sexual health
education and HIV prevention, and specifies that consultants
and guest speakers must have knowledge of the most recent
medically accurate research on the related topics.
7) Clarifies the existing parental opt-out (passive consent),
and specifically prohibits school districts from requiring
active parental consent (opt-in).
8) Expands exclusions from being considered sexual education
(does not discuss human reproductive organs and their
functions) to include presentations or programming, and
topics of discussion to include gender identity, gender
expression, discrimination, harassment, bullying,
intimidation, and relationships.
9) Clarifies that a textbook that includes a description or
illustration of human reproductive organs is exempt from
requirements related to sexual health education if the
textbook does not include other elements of comprehensive
sexual health education or HIV prevention education
10)Changes "HIV/AIDS prevention" to "HIV prevention," "family
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planning" to "contraception," and "sexually transmitted
diseases" to "sexually transmitted infections."
11)Includes double-jointing provisions to avoid chaptering
problems with AB 517 (Gallagher).
Comments
Mandatory sexual health education. Existing law does not
mandate sexual health education; school districts may choose to
provide sexual education but must ensure that the instruction
meets specified criteria, such as be medically accurate and
objective. According to the Assembly Education Committee
analysis, while this instruction is voluntary, research has
shown that nearly all (96%) school districts offer a program of
sexual health education. HIV/AIDS prevention education has been
mandated since 1992. This bill combines sexual health education
and the HIV prevention education provisions into a single,
mandatory program of instruction.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
would impose unknown, but costs likely at least in the low
millions (Proposition 98) to expand the existing mandate. Costs
are minor and absorbable to the California Department of
Education.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
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OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-25, 6/2/15
AYES: Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber,
Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones,
Kim, Lackey, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen,
Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Cooley, Linder, Maienschein
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/8/15 17:23:32
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