1     
REPRODUCTIVE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS

2     
2018 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Justin L. Fawson

5     
Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler

6     <cospons>


7     

8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill amends and enacts provisions related to instruction in health and sex
11     education.
12     Highlighted Provisions:
13          This bill:
14          ▸     defines terms;
15          ▸     modifies instruction in health to include instruction in refusal skills and the harmful
16     effects of pornography;
17          ▸     clarifies ambiguous language, updates outdated terminology, and repeals repetitive
18     language;
19          ▸     amends definitions for required parental consent; and
20          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
21     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22          None
23     Other Special Clauses:
24          None
25     Utah Code Sections Affected:
26     AMENDS:
27          53G-10-402, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
28          53G-10-403, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
29     

30     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
31          Section 1. Section 53G-10-402 is amended to read:
32          53G-10-402. Instruction in health -- Parental consent requirements -- Conduct
33     and speech of school employees and volunteers -- Political and religious doctrine
34     prohibited.
35          (1) As used in this section:
36          (a) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
37          (b) "Local school board" means:
38          (i) a local board of education elected in accordance with Section 53G-4-201; or
39          (ii) a charter school governing board, as defined in Section 53G-5-102.
40          (c) "Parent" means a parent or legal guardian.
41          (d) "Refusal skills" means instruction:
42          (i) in a student's ability to clearly and expressly refuse sexual advances by a minor or
43     adult;
44          (ii) in a student's obligation to stop the student's sexual advances if refused by another
45     individual;
46          (iii) informing a student of the student's right to report and seek counseling for
47     unwanted sexual advances;
48          (iv) in sexual harassment; and
49          (v) informing a student that a student may not consent to criminally prohibited
50     activities or activities for which the student is legally prohibited from giving consent, including
51     the electronic transmission of sexually explicit images by an individual of the individual or
52     another.
53          [(1)] (2) (a) The [State Board of Education] board shall establish curriculum
54     requirements under Section 53E-3-501 that include instruction in:
55          (i) community and personal health;
56          (ii) physiology;
57          (iii) personal hygiene; [and]
58          (iv) prevention of communicable disease[.];
59          (v) refusal skills; and
60          (vi) the harmful effects of pornography.
61          (b) (i) That instruction shall stress:
62          (A) the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity before marriage and fidelity
63     after marriage as methods for preventing certain communicable diseases; and
64          (B) personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity.
65          (ii) (A) At no time may instruction be provided, including responses to spontaneous
66     questions raised by students, regarding any means or methods that facilitate or encourage the
67     violation of any state or federal criminal law by a minor or an adult.
68          (B) Subsection [(1)] (2)(b)(ii)(A) does not preclude an instructor from responding to a
69     spontaneous question as long as the response is consistent with the provisions of this section.
70          (c) (i) The board shall recommend instructional materials for use in the curricula
71     required under Subsection [(1)] (2)(a) after considering evaluations of instructional materials
72     by the State Instructional Materials Commission.
73          (ii) A local school board may choose to adopt:
74          (A) the instructional materials recommended under Subsection [(1)] (2)(c)(i); or
75          (B) other instructional materials as provided in [state] board rule.
76          (iii) The [state] board rule made under Subsection [(1)] (2)(c)(ii)(B) shall include, at a
77     minimum:
78          (A) that the materials adopted by a local school board under Subsection [(1)]
79     (2)(c)(ii)(B) shall be based upon recommendations of the school district's or charter school's
80     Curriculum Materials Review Committee that comply with state law and [state] board rules
81     emphasizing abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage, and prohibiting instruction
82     in:
83          (I) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;
84          (II) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; or
85          (III) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices;
86          [(IV) the advocacy of sexual activity outside of marriage;]
87          (B) that the adoption of instructional materials shall take place in an open and regular
88     meeting of the local school board for which prior notice is given to parents [and guardians] of
89     students attending the respective schools [in the district] and an opportunity for [them] parents
90     to express their views and opinions on the materials at the meeting;
91          (C) provision for an appeal and review process of the local school board's decision; and
92          (D) provision for a report by the local school board to the [State Board of Education]
93     board of the action taken and the materials adopted by the local school board under Subsections
94     [(1)] (2)(c)(ii)(B) and [(1)] (2)(c)(iii).
95          [(2)] (3) (a) [Instruction] A student shall receive instruction in the courses described in
96     Subsection [(1) shall be consistent and systematic in grades eight through] (2) on at least two
97     occasions during the period that begins with the beginning of grade 8 and the end of grade 12.
98          (b) At the request of the board, the Department of Health shall cooperate with the
99     board in developing programs to provide instruction in those areas.
100          [(3)] (4) (a) The board shall adopt rules that:
101          (i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323
102     are complied with; and
103          (ii) require a student's parent [or legal guardian] to be notified in advance and have an
104     opportunity to review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections
105     76-7-322 and 76-7-323.
106          (b) The board shall also provide procedures for disciplinary action for violation of
107     Section 76-7-322 or 76-7-323.
108          [(4)] (5) (a) In keeping with the requirements of Section 53G-10-204, and because
109     school employees and volunteers serve as examples to their students, school employees or
110     volunteers acting in their official capacities may not support or encourage criminal conduct by
111     students, teachers, or volunteers.
112          (b) To ensure the effective performance of school personnel, the limitations described
113     in Subsection [(4)] (5)(a) also apply to a school [employees or volunteers acting outside of
114     their] employee or volunteer acting outside of the school employee's or volunteer's official
115     capacities if:
116          (i) [they] the employee or volunteer knew or should have known that [their] the
117     employee's or volunteer's action could result in a material and substantial interference or
118     disruption in the normal activities of the school; and
119          (ii) that action does result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
120     normal activities of the school.
121          (c) [Neither the State Board of Education nor local school districts may] The board or a
122     local school board may not allow training of school employees or volunteers that supports or
123     encourages criminal conduct.
124          (d) The [State Board of Education] board shall adopt rules implementing this section.
125          (e) Nothing in this section limits the ability or authority of the [State Board of
126     Education and] board or a local school [boards] board to enact and enforce rules or take actions
127     that are otherwise lawful, regarding educators', employees', or volunteers' qualifications or
128     behavior evidencing unfitness for duty.
129          [(5)] (6) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-202, political, atheistic, sectarian,
130     religious, or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
131          [(6)] (7) (a) [Local school boards and their] A local school board and a local school
132     board's employees shall cooperate and share responsibility in carrying out the purposes of this
133     chapter.
134          (b) [Each school district] A local school board shall provide appropriate [inservice
135     training for its] professional development for the local school board's teachers, counselors, and
136     school administrators to enable them to understand, protect, and properly instruct students in
137     the values and character traits referred to in this section and Sections 53E-9-202, 53E-9-203,
138     53G-10-202, 53G-10-203, 53G-10-204, and 53G-10-205, and distribute appropriate written
139     materials on the values, character traits, and conduct to each individual receiving the [inservice
140     training] professional development.
141          (c) [The written materials shall also be made] A local school board shall make the
142     written materials described in Subsection (7)(b) available to classified employees, students, and
143     parents [and guardians] of students.
144          (d) In order to assist [school districts] a local school board in providing the [inservice
145     training] professional development required under Subsection [(6)] (7)(b), the [State Board of
146     Education] board shall, as appropriate, contract with a qualified individual or entity possessing
147     expertise in the areas referred to in Subsection [(6)] (7)(b) to develop and disseminate model
148     teacher [inservice programs which districts] professional development programs that a local
149     school board may use to train the individuals referred to in Subsection [(6)] (7)(b) to effectively
150     teach the values and qualities of character referenced in [that subsection] Subsection (7).
151          (e) In accordance with the provisions of Subsection [(4)] (5)(c), [inservice training]
152     professional development may not support or encourage criminal conduct.
153          (8) A local school board shall review every two years:
154          (a) local school board policies on instruction described in this section;
155          (b) for a local board of education of a school district, data for each county that the
156     school district is located in, or, for a charter school governing board, data for the county in
157     which the charter school is located, on the following:
158          (i) teen pregnancy;
159          (ii) child sexual abuse; and
160          (iii) sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections; and
161          (c) the number of pornography complaints or other instances reported within the
162     jurisdiction of the local school board.
163          [(7)] (9) If any one or more provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of
164     this section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is found to be
165     unconstitutional, the balance of this section shall be given effect without the invalid provision,
166     subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word.
167          Section 2. Section 53G-10-403 is amended to read:
168          53G-10-403. Required parental consent for sex education instruction.
169          (1) As used in this section:
170          (a) "Parent" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-10-205.
171          [(a)] (b) (i) "[Human sexuality] Sex education instruction" means any course material,
172     unit, class, lesson, activity, or presentation that, as the focus of the discussion, provides
173     instruction or information to a student about:
174          (A) sexual abstinence;
175          (B) human sexuality;
176          (C) human reproduction;
177          (D) reproductive anatomy;
178          (E) physiology;
179          (F) pregnancy;
180          (G) marriage;
181          (H) childbirth;
182          (I) parenthood;
183          (J) contraception;
184          (K) HIV/AIDS; [or]
185          (L) sexually transmitted diseases[.]; or
186          (M) refusal skills, as defined in Section 53G-10-402.
187          (ii) "[Human sexuality] Sex education instruction" does not include child sexual abuse
188     prevention instruction described in Section 53G-9-207.
189          [(b) "Parent" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-10-205.]
190          (c) "School" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-10-205.
191          (2) A school shall obtain prior written consent from a student's parent before the school
192     may provide [human sexuality] sex education instruction to the student.
193          (3) If a student's parent chooses not to have the student participate in [human sexuality]
194     sex education instruction, a school shall:
195          (a) waive the requirement for the student to participate in the [human sexuality] sex
196     education instruction; or
197          (b) provide the student with a reasonable alternative to the [human sexuality] sex
198     education instruction requirement.
199          (4) In cooperation with the student's teacher or school, a parent shall take responsibility
200     for the parent's student's [human sexuality] sex education instruction if a school:
201          (a) waives the student's [human sexuality] sex education instruction requirement in
202     Subsection (3)(a); or
203          (b) provides the student with a reasonable alternative to the [human sexuality] sex
204     education instruction requirement described in Subsection (3)(b).
205          (5) A student's academic or citizenship performance may not be penalized if the
206     student's parent chooses not to have the student participate in [human sexuality] sex education
207     instruction as described in Subsection (3).