BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 517
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|Author: |Gallagher |
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|Version: |May 6, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: June 17, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act: educational materials
SUMMARY
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.
BACKGROUND
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
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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
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.
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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. Existing law
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
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.
b) 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
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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.
c) Include information explaining the parent's right to
request a copy of specific related sections of law.
d) 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)
ANALYSIS
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 of written materials at the school, 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. Specifically, 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 is not copyrighted that 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.
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 is not copyrighted that 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
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the training in comprehensive sexual health education and
HIV/AIDS prevention education of each outside consultant and
guest speaker.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. 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."
2)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.
3)Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would impose unknown Proposition
98/General Fund state mandated reimbursable costs, likely in
the low tens of thousands, to provide copies of materials to
parents upon request. There are 9,919 schools in California
that would be subject to the requirements of this bill.
Actual costs will depend on nature of claims submitted by
school districts. The Commission on State Mandates determined
existing law related to comprehensive sexual education
instruction constituted a reimbursable mandate. The state has
also included this mandate in the K-12 Mandate Block Grant.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines these
requirements impose a higher level of service, this could
pressure the Legislature to increase funding under the K-12
Mandate Block Grant.
4)Related and prior legislation.
RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 329 (Weber, 2015) among other things, modifies the authority for
schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education to
require such instruction. AB 329 is pending referral in the
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Senate.
PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 1348 (Mansoor, 2011) would have, among other things, prohibited
a student from receiving comprehensive sexual health education
or HIV/AIDS prevention education without the prior written
consent of the parent. AB 1348 was never heard.
SUPPORT
California Catholic Conference
California Right to Life Committee
OPPOSITION
None received.
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