1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to education in public schools concerning  

3

human sexuality; providing a short title; providing

4

definitions; requiring public schools that provide certain

5

information or programs to students concerning human

6

sexuality to provide information that meets specified

7

criteria; providing a process to review compliance with such

8

requirement; authorizing parents and guardians to seek

9

review of a school's compliance; providing for school

10

superintendents, district schools boards, and the

11

Commissioner of Education to review compliance and

12

corrective actions; providing for severability; providing an

13

effective date.

14

15

     WHEREAS, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy

16

rate in the industrialized world, with between 750,000 and

17

850,000 teen pregnancies each year, and

18

     WHEREAS, in this country, 75 to 90 percent of teen

19

pregnancies occurring between the ages of 15 to 19 are

20

unintended, and

21

     WHEREAS, Florida has the sixth highest teen-pregnancy rate

22

of any state, with 48,440 teenage pregnancies, and

23

     WHEREAS, the United States has the highest rate of sexually

24

transmitted infections in the industrialized world, with

25

approximately 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted

26

infections in 2005, almost half of them occurring in young people

27

between the ages of 15 to 24, and

28

     WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

29

Prevention, Florida has the second highest rate of AIDS cases in

30

the country, with 4,960 new cases of AIDS reported in 2005 and

31

100,809 cases overall, and

32

     WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

33

Prevention, sexually transmitted infections impose a tremendous

34

economic burden on the United States, with direct medical costs

35

as high as $14.1 billion per year, and

36

     WHEREAS, research shows that teenagers who receive sexuality

37

education that includes discussion of contraception, are more

38

likely than those who receive abstinence-only messages to delay

39

sexual activity and to use contraceptives when they do become

40

sexually active, and

41

     WHEREAS, the American Medical Association, the American

42

Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the

43

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American

44

Public Health Association, and the Society of Adolescent Medicine

45

support responsible sexuality education that includes information

46

regarding abstinence and contraception, NOW, THEREFORE,

47

48

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

49

50

     Section 1. The Florida Healthy Teens Act.--

51

     (1) This section may be cited as the "Florida Healthy Teens

52

Act."

53

     (2) Any public school that receives state funding directly

54

or indirectly and that provides information, offers programs, or

55

contracts with third parties to provide information or offer

56

programs regarding family planning, pregnancy, or sexually

57

transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, shall provide

58

comprehensive, medically accurate, and factual information that

59

is age-appropriate.

60

     (3) As used in this section, the term:

61

     (a) "Comprehensive information" means information that:

62

     1. Helps young people gain knowledge about the physical,

63

biological, and hormonal changes of adolescence and subsequent

64

stages of human maturation;

65

     2. Develops the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure

66

and protect young people with respect to their sexual and

67

reproductive health;

68

     3. Helps young people gain knowledge about responsible

69

decisionmaking;

70

     4. Is appropriate for use with students of any race,

71

gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic and cultural background;

72

     5. Develops healthy attitudes and values concerning growth,

73

development, and body image;

74

     6. Encourages young people to practice healthy life skills,

75

including goal setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, and

76

communication;

77

     7. Promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal skills,

78

focusing on skills concerning human relationships and

79

interactions, including platonic, romantic, intimate, and family

80

relationships and interactions, and how to avoid abusive

81

relationships and interactions;

82

     8. Teaches that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid

83

pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; and

84

     9. Commencing in the 6th grade:

85

     a. Emphasizes the value of abstinence while not ignoring

86

those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse and who

87

thereafter may or may not remain sexually active;

88

     b. Helps young people gain knowledge about the specific

89

involvement and responsibilities of sexual decisionmaking for

90

both genders;

91

     c. Provides information about the health benefits and side

92

effects of all contraceptives and barrier-protection methods as a

93

means of preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of

94

contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and

95

AIDS;

96

     d. Encourages family communication about sexuality among

97

parents, their children, and other adult household members;

98

     e. Teaches skills for making responsible decisions about

99

sexuality, including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and

100

sexual advances and how to avoid making unwanted verbal,

101

physical, and sexual advances; and

102

     f. Teaches how alcohol and drug use may affect responsible

103

decisionmaking.

104

     (b) "Factual information" includes, but is not limited to,

105

medical, psychiatric, psychological, empirical, and statistical

106

statements.

107

     (c) "Medically accurate information" means information

108

supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with

109

generally accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate

110

and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies

111

having relevant expertise in the field.

112

     (4)(a) The parent or guardian of a student who is enrolled

113

in a school subject to the requirements of subsection (2) who

114

believes that the school is not complying with the requirements

115

may file a complaint with the district school superintendent.

116

Within 30 days after receipt of a complaint, the superintendent

117

shall take any warranted corrective action and provide the

118

complainant and the school principal with written notice of the

119

corrective action, if any, which was taken.

120

     (b) A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the

121

district school superintendent's response to the complaint may

122

file an appeal with the district school board within 30 days

123

after receiving the superintendent's written notice of any

124

corrective action or if notice was not timely provided under

125

paragraph (a), within 60 days after the complaint was filed with

126

the superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of an appeal

127

under this paragraph, the school board shall take any warranted

128

corrective action and provide the appellant and the

129

superintendent with a written notice of what, if any, corrective

130

action was taken.

131

     (c) A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the

132

district school board's response to such an appeal may file an

133

appeal with the Commissioner of Education within 30 days after

134

receiving the district school board's written notice of any

135

corrective action or if notice was not timely provided under

136

paragraph (b), within 60 days after the appeal was filed with the

137

school board. The Commissioner of Education shall investigate the

138

claim and make a finding regarding compliance with subsection

139

(2). Upon a finding of substantial noncompliance, the

140

commissioner shall take corrective action, including, but not

141

limited to, notifying the parents and guardians of all students

142

enrolled in the school that the school is in violation of state

143

law.

144

     Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application

145

to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity

146

does not affect the remaining provisions or applications of the

147

act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or

148

application, and to this end the provisions of this act are

149

severable.

150

     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.