BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 517|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 517
Author: Gallagher (R)
Amended: 8/17/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/17/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mendoza, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-3, 5/26/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act: educational
materials
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires school districts to provide time for
parents to inspect educational materials used in sexual health
education and HIV/AIDS prevention education, authorizes parents
to make copies at the school of written materials, and requires
existing parental notification to include information about the
expertise of any guest speaker or outside consultant in sexual
health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing law:
1)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
courses. Each student must receive this instruction at least
once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high
school. (Education Code § 51934)
2)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. (EC § 51933)
3)Requires HIV/AIDS prevention education and comprehensive
sexual health education, whether taught by school personnel or
outside consultants, to satisfy 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 must be made available on an equal basis to
a student who is an English learner.
d) Instruction and materials must be appropriate for use
with students of all races genders, sexual orientations,
ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and students with
disabilities.
e) Instruction and materials must be accessible to students
with disabilities, including the provision of a modified
curriculum, materials and instruction in alternative
formats and auxiliary aids.
f) Instruction and materials must encourage a student to
communicate with his or her parents about human sexuality.
(EC § 51933 and § 51934)
1)Requires comprehensive sexual health education to meet, in
addition to the criteria listed above:
a) Instruction and materials must reach respect for
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marriage and committed relationships.
b) Beginning in grade 7, instruction and materials must:
i) Teach that abstinence is the only certain way to
prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
ii) Provide information about sexually transmitted
diseases.
iii) Provide information about the effectiveness and safety
of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods.
iv) Provide students with skills for making and
implementing responsible decisions about sexuality.
v) Provide students with information on the law on
surrendering physical custody of a minor child who is 72
hours or younger. (EC § 51933)
1)Requires school districts to cooperatively plan and conduct
in-service training for all school district personnel that
provide HIV/AIDS prevention education. Authorizes districts
to expend this training to cover comprehensive sexual health
education in order for school district personnel who provide
sexual health education. (EC § 51935)
2)Authorizes school districts to contract with outside
consultants with expertise in comprehensive sexual health
education or HIV/AIDS prevention education, or both, to
deliver the instruction or to provide training for school
district personnel. (EC § 51936)
3)States legislative intent to encourage students to communicate
with their parents about human sexuality and HIV/AIDS and to
respect the rights of parents to supervise their children's
education on these subjects. (EC § 51937)
4)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. (EC § 51938)
5)Requires school districts to notify the parent of each
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student, at the beginning of the school year or at the
student's enrollment, about instruction in sexual health and
HIV/AIDS prevention and research on student health behaviors
and risks planned for the coming year. The notice must do all
of the following:
a) Advise the parent that written and audiovisual
educational materials are available for inspection.
a) Advise the parent whether the education will be taught by
school district personnel or by outside consultants. If an
outside consultant or guest speaker is used, the notice
must also include the date of the instruction, the name of
the organization or affiliation of each guest speaker, and
information stating the right of the parent to request a
copy of specific related sections of law.
b) Include information explaining the parent's right to
request a copy of specific related sections of law.
c) Advise the parent that the parent may request in writing
that his or her child not receive comprehensive sexual
health education or HIV/AIDS prevention education. (EC §
51938)
This bill:
1)Requires school districts to provide a parent or guardian, upon
request, ample time to inspect any written or audiovisual
educational material used in comprehensive sexual health
education and HIV/AIDS prevention education.
2)Authorizes a parent or guardian to make copies of any written
educational material that will be distributed to students if
it is not copyrighted and has been or will be presented by an
outside consultant or guest speaker. The copies may be made
at the school during the time the parent is inspecting the
material. Schools are authorized to charge up to 10 cents per
page if a parent or guardian elects to make copies.
3)Adds to the existing annual notification to parents that during
inspection of educational materials by a parent, the parent
may go to the school and make copies of any written
educational material that will be distributed to students if
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it is not copyrighted and has been or will be presented by an
outside consultant or guest speaker.
4)Adds to the existing annual notification to parents information
about the date of instruction, the name of the organization or
affiliation relative to an outside consultant (already
required for each guest speaker), and adds information about
the training in comprehensive sexual health education and
HIV/AIDS prevention education of each outside consultant and
guest speaker.
Background
Expansion. This bill expands the existing right of parents or
guardians to inspect educational materials related to
comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention
education to require schools to allow parents or guardians to
make copies of written materials, at the expense of the school.
This bill expands existing parental notification requirements to
include additional information.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/25/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/26/15)
Department of Finance
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "this bill
empowers parents in two ways to help them become more informed
and able to participate in this important discussion with their
children. This bill enables parents to become more informed by
allowing them to make copies of the written, non-copyrighted
materials so that they can review them or discuss them with
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their family, if they choose."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Department of
Finance, "this bill is unnecessary. School districts must
notify parents or guardians if guest speakers will be used and,
if so, the name of the speaker's affiliation. Nothing in
current law prohibits school districts from providing additional
information about the qualifications of guest speakers. The
bill could create a reimbursable state mandate, likely costing
in the tens of thousands of dollars Proposition 98 General Fund,
by requiring school districts to include the qualifications of
guest speakers in their existing notifications."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-3, 5/26/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bonilla, Brough,
Brown, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,
Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Burke, Levine, Mark Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Bloom, Bonta, Chávez, Eduardo Garcia,
Gomez, Harper, Mathis
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/26/15 13:53:57
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