BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 517
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 517
(Gallagher) - As Amended April 22, 2015
Note: This bill was heard by this Committee on April 8th and
failed by a vote of 1-5. Reconsideration was granted. This
bill has since been amended and is being heard in its amended
form.
SUBJECT: The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act: outside consultants:
parental consent
SUMMARY: Requires that parents be able to review sexual health
education materials presented by outside consultants and guest
speakers, that parents have ample time to do so, that parents be
able to make copies of any non-copyrighted materials, and
requires that parents be notified of any relevant credentials of
outside consultants or guest speakers. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires parents and guardians be notified that during their
inspection of any audio/visual materials that have been or
will be presented in comprehensive sexual health education or
HIV/AIDS prevention education by an outside consultant or
guest speaker, they make copies of any non-copyrighted
materials.
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2)Requires that, if sexual health education or HIV/AIDS
prevention education is taught using outside consultants or
guest speakers at assemblies, parents and guardians must be
provided notice of any relevant credentials of the consultants
or speakers.
3)Requires that parents and guardians be provided, upon request,
ample time to allowed to inspect any written or audiovisual
materials used in comprehensive sexual health education and
HIV/AIDS prevention education, and that they be given adequate
time to do so.
4)Requires that parents be permitted, while inspecting
materials, to make copies of any non-copyrighted written
materials used in comprehensive sexual health education and
HIV/AIDS prevention education, at their child's school.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Permits school districts to provide comprehensive sexual
health education, and places a number of requirements on
districts choosing to provide that instruction.
2)Requires school districts to provide HIV/AIDS prevention
education, and specifies what is to be included in that
instruction.
3)States that a parent or guardian of a student has the right to
excuse their child from all or part of comprehensive sexual
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health education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and related
assessments.
4)Requires that school districts, at the beginning of each
school year, notify parents about instruction in comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education, as
well as research on student health behaviors which is planned
for the coming year. The notice must:
a) Advise the parent or guardian that written and
audiovisual educational materials used in comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education
are available for inspection.
b) Advise the parent or guardian whether the comprehensive
sexual health education or HIV/AIDS prevention education
will be taught by school district personnel or by outside
consultants.
c) Provide information on outside consultants and guest
speakers, including the date of the instruction, the name
of the organization or affiliation of each guest speaker.
d) Advise the parent or guardian that the parent or
guardian may request in writing that his or her child not
receive comprehensive sexual health education or HIV/AIDS
prevention education.
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1)Permits, for students in grades 7-12, the administration of
anonymous, voluntary, and confidential research and evaluation
tools to measure students' health behaviors and risks.
Requires that these tools be used only if a parent or guardian
is notified in writing that this tool is to be administered
and they are given the opportunity to review them and to
request in writing that his or her child not participate.
2)Requires that students not be subject to disciplinary action,
academic penalty, or other sanctions if the students' parents
do not provide permission for students to attend this
instruction or participate in tests, questionnaires, or
surveys on student health behaviors and risks.
3)Requires that, while comprehensive this instruction is being
held or these tools are being administered, an alternative
educational activity be made available to students whose
parents or guardians have requested that they not participate.
FISCAL EFFECT: Legislative Counsel has keyed this bill as a
state mandated local program.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. On April 8th the Committee heard this bill
and it failed passage. At that time the bill proposed to
require active parental consent ("opt in") for sexual health
presentations by outside consultants and guest speakers at
assemblies. This bill has been substantially amended since
then.
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This bill now requires that parents be able to review materials
by outside consultants and guest speakers, that parents have
ample time to do so, that parents be able to make copies of
non-copyrighted materials, and that they are be informed of any
relevant credentials of the consultants and speakers. The
author's office states, "This ensures that schools can use
outside consultants to provide this crucial instruction, and
allows parents to be part of their children's educational
process if they so choose.
Outside consultants and guest speakers must follow requirements
as teachers. Current law (Education Code Sec. 51933) requires
outside consultants to abide by the same instructional
requirements as teachers. Among many requirements, this
instruction must be age appropriate, medically accurate and
objective, teach respect for committed relationships and
marriage, encourage students to speak with their parents or
guardians about human sexuality, be appropriate and accessible
for use with students with disabilities, and be appropriate for
students of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic
and cultural backgrounds.
What are the qualifications of outside consultants and speakers?
Current law is silent with respect to the qualifications of
outside consultants and speakers. AB 329 (Weber), which was
approved by the Committee on April 22nd, requires that outside
consultants and speakers "have expertise in comprehensive sexual
health education and HIV prevention education and have knowledge
of the most recent medically accurate research on the relevant
topics covered in their instruction."
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This bill requires that parents be provided information about an
instructor's relevant credentials. The purposes of that section
and this bill are aligned, in that both seek to ensure that the
content delivered to students is delivered by appropriately
trained presenters. To focus this bill on the issue of
appropriate training of presenters, and consistent with the
Committee's prior action, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to instead require that, as part of the notice provided
to parents about outside consultants and speakers, information
be provided on the consultants' "training in comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV and AIDs prevention education."
Related legislation this session: AB 329 (Webber) of this
Session would consolidate and revise the requirements for
comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention
education, and would expressly prohibit active parental consent
("opt-in") policies for HIV prevention education and
comprehensive sexual health education.
Prior legislation. AB 2086 (Huff) of the 2007-08 Session would
have required that parents be notified and be able to excuse
their children from discussions of sexual orientation which
occur outside of comprehensive sexual health education. That
bill died in this Committee.
AB 2891 (La Malfa) of the 2005-06 Session, would have required
parental permission before students could participate in tests,
questionnaires, surveys, or examinations containing any
questions regarding gender, or sexual orientation. That bill
died in this Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT /
OPPOSITION:
AB 517
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Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087