BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1471|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1471
Author: Kuehl (D)
Amended: 4/6/06
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/26/06
AYES: Ortiz, Alquist, Chesbro, Figueroa, Kuehl
NOES: Runner, Cox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 5/25/06
AYES: Murray, Alarcon, Alquist, Escutia, Florez, Ortiz,
Romero, Torlakson
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Poochigian
SUBJECT : Sex education programs: requirements
SOURCE : American Civil Liberties Union
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
DIGEST : This bill requires any program that provides
education to prevent adolescent or unintended pregnancy or
to prevent sexually transmitted infections and that is
conducted, operated, or administered by the state or any
state agency, or is funded directly or indirectly by the
state, or receives any financial assistance from the state,
including, but not limited to, public schools, to meet
specified requirements that emphasize comprehensive sex
education.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Establishes requirements for the provision of sex
education under the California Comprehensive Sexual
Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act, authorizes
school districts to provide comprehensive sexual health
education, as defined, in any kindergarten to grade 12,
inclusive, and ensures that all pupils in grades 7 to 12,
inclusive, receive HIV/AIDS prevention education, as
defined.
2.Enumerates various requirements for comprehensive sexual
health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education.
3.Requires a school district to notify the parent or
guardian of a pupil about instruction in comprehensive
sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention and
empowers a parent or guardian to excuse his or her pupil
from all or part of that instruction.
This bill:
1.Defines the following terms:
A. "Age appropriate" refers to topics, messages, and
teaching methods suitable to particular ages or age
groups of children and adolescents, based on
developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral
capacity typical for the age or age group.
B. A "single session" program means a single
presentation or contact designed to provide
awareness and information about preventing
pregnancy, or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
It includes outreach activities in which educators,
outreach workers, or youth peer educators provide
oral or written information to individuals during a
single encounter.
C. A "multiple session" program means instruction or
an informational presentation about preventing
pregnancy or STDs that is provided to the same
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audience over more than one session.
D. "Medically accurate" means verified or supported
by research conducted in compliance with scientific
methods and published in peer review journals, where
appropriate, and recognized as accurate and
objective by professional organizations and agencies
with expertise in the relevant field, including, but
not limited to, the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the American Public Health
Association, the Society for Adolescent Medicine,
the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
2.Requires any program that provides instruction or
information to prevent adolescent or unintended
pregnancy, or to prevent STDs, including HIV, that is
conducted, operated, or administered by any state agency
or is funded directly or indirectly by the state, or
receives any financial assistance from state funds or
funds administered by a state agency, to satisfy all of
the following requirements:
A. All information shall be medically accurate,
current, and objective.
B. Individuals providing instruction or information
on pregnancy, sexuality, and STDs shall know and use
the most current scientific data on human sexuality,
human development, pregnancy, and STDs.
C. The program content shall be age appropriate for
its targeted population.
D. The program shall not teach or promote religious
doctrine.
E. The program shall be culturally and
linguistically appropriate for its targeted
populations.
F. The program shall not reflect or promote bias
against any person on the basis of disability,
gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or
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sexual orientation.
3.Requires the program, if it consists of instruction or
information that is delivered in a single session, to
satisfy all of the criteria in number 2 above and shall
also satisfy the following conditions:
A. If the program is directed towards minors and
addresses STDs, it shall include information that
the only certain way to prevent STDs is to abstain
from activities that have been proven to transmit
STDs.
B. If the program is directed toward minors and
addresses pregnancy prevention, it shall include
information that the only certain way to prevent
unintended pregnancy is to abstain from sexual
intercourse.
C. If the program addresses STDs, the program shall
provide information about the effectiveness and
safety of one or more drugs or devices approved by
the federal Food and Drug Administration for
reducing the risk of contracting STDs.
D. If the program addresses pregnancy prevention, it
shall provide information about the effectiveness
and safety of one or more drugs or devices approved
by the federal Food and Drug Administration for
preventing pregnancy.
4.Requires the program, if it consists of instruction or
information that is delivered in multiple sessions, to
satisfy all of the criteria in number 2 above and shall
also satisfy the following conditions:
A. If the program is directed towards minors and
addresses STDs, it shall include information that
the only certain way to prevent STDs is to abstain
from activities that have been proven to transmit
STDs.
B. If the program is directed toward minors and
addresses pregnancy prevention, it shall include
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information that the only certain way to prevent
unintended pregnancy is to abstain from sexual
intercourse.
C. The program shall provide information about
skills for refusing unwanted sexual activity and
communicating with sexual partners.
D. The program shall provide information about the
effectiveness and safety of all drugs and devices
approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) for reducing the risk of contracting STDs, and
information on local resources for testing and
treatment of STDs.
E. lf the program addresses pregnancy prevention, it
shall provide information about the effectiveness
and safety of all drugs and devices approved by the
FDA for preventing pregnancy, including, but not
limited to, emergency contraception.
5.Requires that, as a condition of receiving state funds
or state-administered funds for any program or activity
described in this measure, an applicant to attest in
writing that its program complies with all conditions of
funding and that if the program is conducted at a
publicly-funded school, including charter schools, the
applicant shall indicate in writing how the program fits
in with the school's plan to comply fully with the
requirements of the California Comprehensive Sexual
Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act of the
Education Code.
6.States that nothing in this section shall be construed
to limit the requirements of the California Comprehensive
Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act of
the Education Code.
7.States that nothing in this measure shall apply to
one-on-one interactions between a health practitioner and
his or her patient in a clinical setting.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fiscal
DHS enforcement $400 $300 $300 GF
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/25/06)
American Civil Liberties Union (co-source)
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (co-source)
ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition
American Association of University Women CA
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
District IX
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Family Health Council
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
California Medical Association
California School Nurses Organization
Latino Issues Forum
NARAL Pro-Choice California
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Pharmacy Access Partnership
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernardino Counties
Southern California HIV Advocacy Coalition
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/25/06)
California Family Council
Capitol Resource Institute
Concerned Women of America of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue that this bill
expands on state law that requires sexual health and
HIV/AIDS prevention education taught in public schools be
medically accurate, bias-free, and age appropriate, also
applying these standards to community-based organizations
that provide sexuality education programs. They state that
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the bill provides needed guidance to state agencies that
fund or administer community-based programs or public
education campaigns, in order to ensure that California has
a consistent and effective approach for preventing
unintended pregnancy and STDs. Proponents cite the PPIC
survey and its findings and further state that to
effectively reduce existing reproductive health disparities
and promote access to sexual health information and
services, state funds should be used to support only
programs that provide medically accurate information with
current and unbiased data, in our communities as well as in
our public schools.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents object to the
expansion of these requirements in law. Concerned Women
for America (CWA) states that this bill does not require
that programs teach respect for marriage, an important
component in encouraging healthy sexual behavior. The CWA
and the Capitol Resource Institute both cite criteria in
the bill that prohibits a program from reflecting or
promoting bias against a person on the basis of, among
other factors, gender and sexual orientation. The CWA
states that this presents a clear problem since current
research identifies increased health risks for certain
individuals.
CTW:do 5/25/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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