Florida Senate - 2010 (Corrected Copy) SB 1502
By Senators Smith, Deutch, Rich, and Joyner
30-00248-10 20101502__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education in public schools
3 concerning human sexuality; providing a short title;
4 providing definitions; requiring public schools that
5 provide certain information or programs to students
6 concerning human sexuality to provide information that
7 meets specified criteria; providing an exemption for
8 certain students; providing a process to review
9 compliance with such requirement; authorizing parents
10 and guardians to seek review of a school’s compliance;
11 providing for school superintendents, district school
12 boards, and the Commissioner of Education to review
13 compliance and corrective actions; providing for
14 severability; providing an effective date.
15
16 WHEREAS, one in four teenage girls in the United States has
17 a sexually transmitted disease according to the Centers for
18 Disease Control and Prevention, and
19 WHEREAS, Florida has the third highest rate of AIDS and
20 fifth highest rate of HIV in the nation according to the Centers
21 for Disease Control and Prevention, and
22 WHEREAS, in 2007, persons under the age of 25 accounted for
23 15 percent of new HIV infections in Florida, and
24 WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health, youth
25 accounted for 65.5 percent of new sexually transmitted disease
26 infections in Florida in 2007, and
27 WHEREAS, Florida has the sixth highest rate of teenage
28 pregnancy in the nation according to the Guttmacher Institute,
29 and
30 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that between 1991 and
31 2004 there have been more than 354,000 births to teenagers in
32 Florida, costing taxpayers a total of $8.1 billion over this
33 period, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
34 Unplanned Pregnancy, and
35 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that several recent
36 studies have found abstinence-only programs to be ineffective,
37 including a 2007 study that was commissioned by the Federal
38 Government and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Inc.,
39 and
40 WHEREAS, the federal budget for the 2010 fiscal year
41 eliminates funding for abstinence-only programs and invests in
42 medically accurate and age-appropriate prevention programs for
43 teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among
44 adolescents which have been proven effective, and
45 WHEREAS, Florida must prioritize state-based effective
46 models and strategies for evidence-based teen pregnancy and
47 disease prevention in order to be competitive for federal
48 funding, NOW, THEREFORE,
49
50 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
51
52 Section 1. The Florida Healthy Teens Act.—
53 (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Healthy Teens
54 Act.”
55 (2)(a) Any public school that receives state funding
56 directly or indirectly and that provides information, offers
57 programs, or contracts with third parties to provide information
58 or offer programs regarding family planning, pregnancy, or
59 sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, shall
60 provide comprehensive, medically accurate, and factual
61 information that is age-appropriate.
62 (b) The parent or legal guardian of a student who attends a
63 public school described in paragraph (a) may provide a written
64 request to the school principal to exempt his or her child from
65 instruction concerning reproductive health or sexually
66 transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS, in accordance with s.
67 1003.42(3), Florida Statutes.
68 (3) As used in this section, the term:
69 (a) “Comprehensive information” means information that:
70 1. Helps young people gain knowledge about the physical,
71 biological, and hormonal changes of adolescence and subsequent
72 stages of human maturation;
73 2. Develops the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure
74 and protect young people with respect to their sexual and
75 reproductive health;
76 3. Helps young people gain knowledge about responsible
77 decisionmaking;
78 4. Is appropriate for use with students of any race,
79 gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic and cultural background;
80 5. Develops healthy attitudes and values concerning growth,
81 development, and body image;
82 6. Encourages young people to practice healthy life skills,
83 including goal setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, and
84 communication;
85 7. Promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal skills,
86 focusing on skills concerning human relationships and
87 interactions, including platonic, romantic, intimate, and family
88 relationships and interactions, and how to avoid abusive
89 relationships and interactions;
90 8. Teaches that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid
91 pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; and
92 9. Commences in the 6th grade and:
93 a. Emphasizes the value of abstinence while not ignoring
94 those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse and who
95 thereafter may or may not remain sexually active;
96 b. Helps young people gain knowledge about the specific
97 involvement and responsibilities of sexual decisionmaking for
98 both genders;
99 c. Provides information about the health benefits and side
100 effects of all contraceptives and barrier-protection methods as
101 a means of preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of
102 contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and
103 AIDS;
104 d. Encourages family communication about sexuality among
105 parents, their children, and other adult household members;
106 e. Teaches skills for making responsible decisions about
107 sexuality, including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and
108 sexual advances and how to avoid making unwanted verbal,
109 physical, and sexual advances; and
110 f. Teaches how alcohol and drug use may affect responsible
111 decisionmaking.
112 (b) “Factual information” includes, but is not limited to,
113 medical, psychiatric, psychological, empirical, and statistical
114 statements.
115 (c) “Medically accurate information” means information
116 supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with
117 generally accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate
118 and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies
119 having relevant expertise in the field.
120 (4)(a) The parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a
121 school that is subject to the requirements of subsection (2) who
122 believes that the school is not complying with those
123 requirements may file a complaint with the district school
124 superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of the complaint,
125 the superintendent shall take any warranted corrective action
126 and provide the complainant and the school principal with
127 written notice of the corrective action, if any, which was
128 taken.
129 (b) A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
130 district school superintendent’s response to the complaint may
131 file an appeal with the district school board within 30 days
132 after receiving the superintendent’s written notice of any
133 corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
134 paragraph (a), within 60 days after the date the complaint was
135 filed with the superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of
136 an appeal under this paragraph, the school board shall take any
137 warranted corrective action and provide the complainant and the
138 superintendent with a written notice of what, if any, corrective
139 action was taken.
140 (c) A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
141 district school board’s response to such an appeal may file an
142 appeal with the Commissioner of Education within 30 days after
143 receiving the district school board’s written notice of any
144 corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
145 paragraph (b), within 60 days after the appeal was filed with
146 the school board. The Commissioner of Education shall
147 investigate the claim and make a finding regarding compliance
148 with subsection (2). Upon a finding of substantial
149 noncompliance, the commissioner shall take corrective action,
150 including, but not limited to, notifying the parents and
151 guardians of all students enrolled in the school that the school
152 is in violation of state law.
153 Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application
154 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
155 does not affect the remaining provisions or applications of the
156 act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
157 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
158 severable.
159 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.