AB 517, as amended, Gallagher. The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act: educational materials.
Existing law, the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, authorizes school districts to provide comprehensive sexual health education, consisting of age-appropriate instruction, in any of kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and requires school districts to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive HIV/AIDS prevention education, as specified. Existing law requires each school district to notify parents and guardians about its plan to provide this instruction for the upcoming year and to inform them, among other things, that written and audiovisual educational materials used in this instruction are available for inspection and of the name of the organization or affiliation of any guest speaker.
This bill would require a school district to provide a parent or guardian with ample
time to inspect any written or audiovisual educational material used in comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education and would authorize a parent or guardian to make copies of any such written educational material that has been or will be presented by an outside consultant or guest speaker. The bill would also require a school district to inform parents and guardians of their right to make these copies and of thebegin delete relevant credentialsend deletebegin insert training in comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention educationend insert ofbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert eachend insert outside consultant or guest speaker providing this instruction.
Because this bill would require local educational agencies to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 51938 of the Education Code is amended
2to read:
A parent or guardian of a pupil has the right to excuse
4their child from all or part of comprehensive sexual health
5education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and assessments
6related to that education, as follows:
7(a) At the beginning of each school year, or, for a pupil who
8enrolls in a school after the beginning of the school year, at the
9time of that pupil’s enrollment, each school district shall notify
10the parent or guardian of each pupil about instruction in
11comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention
12education and research on pupil health behaviors and risks planned
13for the coming year. The notice shall do all of the following:
14(1) Advise the parent or guardian that written and audiovisual
15educational materials used in comprehensive sexual health
16education and HIV/AIDS prevention education are available for
17inspection and that during this inspection a parent or guardian may
18make copies at the parent’s or guardian’s pupil’s school of any
P3 1written educational material that is not copyrighted that has been
2or will be presented by an outside consultant or guest speaker.
3(2) Advise the parent or guardian whether the comprehensive
4sexual health education or HIV/AIDS prevention education will
5be taught by school district personnel or by outside consultants.
6A school district may provide comprehensive sexual health
7education or HIV/AIDS prevention education, to be taught by
8outside consultants, or
may hold an assembly to deliver
9comprehensive sexual health education or HIV/AIDS prevention
10education by guest speakers, but ifbegin delete itend deletebegin insert the school districtend insert elects to
11provide comprehensive sexual health education or HIV/AIDS
12prevention education in either of these manners, the notice shall
13include the date of the instruction, the name of the organization
14or affiliation of each outside consultant and guest speaker, the
15begin delete relevant credentialsend deletebegin insert training in comprehensive sexual health
16education and HIV/AIDS prevention educationend insert of each outside
17consultant and guest speaker,
and information stating the right of
18the parent or guardian to request a copy of this section, Section
1951933, and Section 51934. If arrangements for this instruction are
20made after the beginning of the school year, notice shall be made
21by mail or another commonly used method of notification, no
22fewer than 14 days before the instruction is delivered.
23(3) Include information explaining the parent’s or guardian’s
24right to request a copy of this chapter.
25(4) Advise the parent or guardian that the parent or guardian
26may request in writing that his or her child not receive
27comprehensive sexual health education or HIV/AIDS prevention
28education.
29(b) A school district shall provide a parent or guardian, upon
30request,
ample time to inspect any written or audiovisual
31educational material used in comprehensive sexual health education
32and HIV/AIDS prevention education. A parent or guardian may,
33during inspection, make copies at the parent’s or guardian’s pupil’s
34school of any written educational material that is not copyrighted
35that has been or will be presented by an outside consultant or guest
36speaker.
37(c) Notwithstanding Section 51513, anonymous, voluntary, and
38confidential research and evaluation tools to measure pupils’ health
39behaviors and risks, including tests, questionnaires, and surveys
40containing age-appropriate questions about the pupil’s attitudes
P4 1concerning or practices relating to sex may be administered to any
2pupil in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, if the parent or guardian is
3notified in writing that this test, questionnaire, or survey is
to be
4administered and the pupil’s parent or guardian is given the
5opportunity to review the test, questionnaire, or survey and to
6request in writing that his or her child not participate.
7(d) The use of outside consultants or guest speakers as described
8in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) is within the discretion of the
9school district.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
11this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
12local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
13pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
144 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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