BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 329


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          Date of Hearing:  April 29, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          329 (Weber) - As Amended April 13, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          Yes


          SUMMARY:


          This bill makes instruction in sexual health education a  
          requirement, revises HIV prevention education content, expands  
          topics covered in sexual health education, requires this  








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          instruction to be inclusive of different sexual orientations,  
          and clarifies parental consent policy.  Specifically, this bill:  
           


          1)Requires instruction on sexual health in grades 7-12 occur at  
            least once during junior high school and once during high  
            school (in addition to HIV prevention education).  This  
            includes the requirements in existing law for comprehensive  
            sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education,  
            expanded information relative to the prevention and treatment  
            of HIV, and information relative to pregnancy, sexual  
            harassment, sexual assault, adolescent relationship abuse,  
            intimate partner violence, and sex trafficking.



          2)Expands, by increasing the topics taught in sexual health  
            education, the number of topics which may be taught to  
            students earlier than grade 7 in an age appropriate and  
            medically accurate manner.



          3)Requires outside consultants and guest speakers to have  
            knowledge of the most recent medically accurate research on  
            the relevant topics covered in their instruction.



          4)Adds sexual health to the requirements for in-service training  
            for teachers of HIV prevention education. 



          5)Clarifies that active parental consent ("opt in") policies for  
            sexual health instruction and for research and evaluation  
            tools are prohibited.









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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Minor/absorbable costs to the California Department of  
            Education (CDE). CDE currently maintains and periodically  
            updates a Web page for information and resources on  
            comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention  
            education. CDE staff also provide guidance and support to the  
            field on comprehensive sexual health education and HIV  
            prevention education.


          2)Unknown Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs for school  
            districts to provided integrated HIV and sexual health  
            instruction. Many districts providing HIV prevention education  
            under current law are using integrated instructional  
            materials.  Actual costs would depend on the number of school  
            districts that would have to modify curriculum. For  
            illustration, the American Red Cross program costs $180 for  
            materials for one instructor. These materials include master  
            copies of student material, which district will need to copy  
            for their students. Taking an average of the enrollment in  
            grades seven through twelve, there are approximately 963,430  
            students in the two grade levels. If one-quarter of those  
            students attend schools that would need to purchase new  
            instructional materials, the statewide cost for duplicating  
            student materials would be approximately $480,000 per year.


            The Commission on State Mandates (CSM) determined existing law  
            related to HIV/AIDS instruction constituted a reimbursable  
            mandate.  The state has also included this mandate in the K-12  
            Mandate Block Grant.  If the CSM determines these requirements  
            impose a higher level of service, this could place pressure on  
            the Legislature to increase funding under the K-12 Mandate  
            Block Grant. 









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          COMMENTS:


          Purpose. HIV prevention education is currently mandated in  
          California schools. According to the author, current law is  
          outdated and does not address the broader context of HIV  
          prevention. For example, instruction that addresses relationship  
          skills and preventing other sexually transmitted infections  
          (STIs) and unintended pregnancy is fundamental to equipping  
          students to understand and prevent HIV. Most schools teach  
          combined HIV prevention and sexual health education, but the  
          author contends the distinction between them in the Education  
          Code generates confusion by schools that often results in  
          students being denied critical information.





          This bill seeks to update the HIV and AIDS prevention education  
          to ensure students are receiving comprehensive and accurate  
          prevention information for HIV, other sexually transmitted  
          infections, unintended pregnancy, as well as information about  
          local health resources.  This bill also clarifies a parent has a  
          right to excuse their child from all or part of comprehensive  
          sexual education through a passive consent ("opt-out") process  
          and clarifies a school district is prohibited from requiring  
          active parental consent ("opt-in"). 








          Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081








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