BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 517|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 517
Author: Gallagher (R)
Amended: 9/4/15 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
SENATE FLOOR: 16-20, 9/9/15 (FAIL)
AYES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Huff, Liu, Mendoza, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen,
Runner, Stone, Vidak
NOES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Hertzberg, Pavley, Roth
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
AB 517
Page 2
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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 delete reference to the
provision of "ample time" for parents to review educational
materials, and include double-jointing language to avoid
chaptering problems with AB 329 (Weber).
ANALYSIS:
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
AB 517
Page 3
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)
4)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.
v) Provide students with information on the law on
surrendering physical custody of a minor child who is 72
hours or younger. (EC § 51933)
5)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)
6)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)
AB 517
Page 4
7)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)
8)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)
9)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
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)
This bill:
1)Requires school districts to allow a student's parent or
guardian 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
AB 517
Page 5
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
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.
5)Includes double-jointing provisions to avoid chaptering
problems with AB 329 (Weber).
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: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
AB 517
Page 6
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
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
9/9/15 19:18:49
**** END ****