1     
HEALTH EDUCATION AMENDMENTS

2     
2019 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward

5     
Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions regarding instruction in health.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     provides that health education instruction may include information about the
13     medical characteristics, effectiveness, limitations, and risks of contraceptive
14     methods or devices;
15          ▸     reorganizes provisions related to instruction in health;
16          ▸     requires the State Board of Education to make administrative rules; and
17          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
18     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
19          None
20     Other Special Clauses:
21          None
22     Utah Code Sections Affected:
23     AMENDS:
24          53G-10-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 224 and renumbered and
25     amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28          Section 1. Section 53G-10-402 is amended to read:
29          53G-10-402. Instruction in health -- Parental consent requirements -- Conduct
30     and speech of school employees and volunteers -- Political and religious doctrine
31     prohibited.
32          (1) As used in this section:
33          (a) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
34          [(b) "Local school board" means:]
35          [(i) a local board of education elected in accordance with Section 53G-4-201; or]
36          [(ii) a charter school governing board, as defined in Section 53G-5-102.]
37          (b) "LEA governing board" means a local school board or charter school governing
38     board.
39          (c) "Parent" means a parent or legal guardian.
40          (d) "Refusal skills" means instruction:
41          (i) in a student's ability to clearly and expressly refuse sexual advances by a minor or
42     adult;
43          (ii) in a student's obligation to stop the student's sexual advances if refused by another
44     individual;
45          (iii) informing a student of the student's right to report and seek counseling for
46     unwanted sexual advances;
47          (iv) in sexual harassment; and
48          (v) informing a student that a student may not consent to criminally prohibited
49     activities or activities for which the student is legally prohibited from giving consent, including
50     the electronic transmission of sexually explicit images by an individual of the individual or
51     another.
52          (2) (a) The board shall establish curriculum requirements under Section 53E-3-501 that
53     include instruction in:
54          (i) community and personal health;
55          (ii) physiology;
56          (iii) personal hygiene;
57          (iv) prevention of communicable disease;
58          (v) refusal skills; and
59          (vi) the harmful effects of pornography.
60          [(b) (i) That instruction shall stress:]
61          (b) The state board shall make rules that, and instruction shall:
62          [(A)] (i) stress the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity before marriage
63     and fidelity after marriage as methods for preventing certain communicable diseases; [and]
64          [(B)] (ii) stress personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and
65     fidelity[.];
66          (iii) prohibit instruction in:
67          (A) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;
68          (B) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; or
69          (C) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices; and
70          (iv) except as provided in Subsection (2)(d), allow instruction to include information
71     about contraceptive methods or devices that stresses effectiveness, limitations, risks, and
72     information on state law applicable to minors obtaining contraceptive methods or devices.
73          (c) The state board shall make rules for an LEA governing board that adopts
74     instructional materials under Subsection (2)(g)(ii) that:
75          (i) require the LEA governing board to report on the materials selected and the LEA
76     governing board's compliance with Subsection (2)(h); and
77          (ii) provide for an appeal and review process of the LEA governing board's adoption of
78     instructional materials.
79          (d) The state board may not require an LEA to teach or adopt instructional materials
80     that include information on contraceptive methods or devices.
81          [(ii) (A)] (e) (i) At no time may instruction be provided, including responses to
82     spontaneous questions raised by students, regarding any means or methods that facilitate or
83     encourage the violation of any state or federal criminal law by a minor or an adult.
84          [(B)] (ii) Subsection [(2)(b)(ii)(A)] (2)(e)(i) does not preclude an instructor from
85     responding to a spontaneous question as long as the response is consistent with the provisions
86     of this section.
87          [(c) (i)] (f) The board shall recommend instructional materials for use in the curricula
88     required under Subsection (2)(a) after considering evaluations of instructional materials by the
89     State Instructional Materials Commission.
90          [(ii)] (g) [A local school] An LEA governing board may choose to adopt:
91          [(A)] (i) the instructional materials recommended under Subsection [(2)(c)(i)] (2)(f); or
92          [(B)] (ii) other instructional materials [as provided in board rule] in accordance with
93     Subsection (2)(h).
94          [(iii) The board rule made under Subsection (2)(c)(ii)(B) shall include, at a minimum:]
95          [(A) that the materials adopted by a local school board under Subsection (2)(c)(ii)(B)
96     shall be based upon recommendations of the school district's or charter school's Curriculum
97     Materials Review Committee that comply with state law and board rules emphasizing
98     abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage, and prohibiting instruction in:]
99          [(I) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;]
100          [(II) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; or]
101          [(III) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices;]
102          (h) An LEA governing board that adopts instructional materials under Subsection
103     (2)(g)(ii) shall:
104          (i) ensure that the materials comply with state law and board rules;
105          (ii) base the adoption of the materials on the recommendations of the LEA governing
106     board's Curriculum Materials Review Committee; and
107          [(B)] (iii) [that the adoption of] adopt the instructional materials [shall take place] in an
108     open and regular meeting of the [local school] LEA governing board for which prior notice is
109     given to parents of students attending the respective schools and an opportunity for parents to
110     express their views and opinions on the materials at the meeting[;].
111          [(C) provision for an appeal and review process of the local school board's decision;
112     and]
113          [(D) provision for a report by the local school board to the board of the action taken
114     and the materials adopted by the local school board under Subsections (2)(c)(ii)(B) and
115     (2)(c)(iii).]
116          (3) (a) A student shall receive instruction in the courses described in Subsection (2) on
117     at least two occasions during the period that begins with the beginning of grade 8 and the end
118     of grade 12.
119          (b) At the request of the board, the Department of Health shall cooperate with the
120     board in developing programs to provide instruction in those areas.
121          (4) (a) The board shall adopt rules that:
122          (i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323
123     are complied with; and
124          (ii) require a student's parent to be notified in advance and have an opportunity to
125     review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections 76-7-322 and
126     76-7-323.
127          (b) The board shall also provide procedures for disciplinary action for violation of
128     Section 76-7-322 or 76-7-323.
129          (5) (a) In keeping with the requirements of Section 53G-10-204, and because school
130     employees and volunteers serve as examples to their students, school employees or volunteers
131     acting in their official capacities may not support or encourage criminal conduct by students,
132     teachers, or volunteers.
133          (b) To ensure the effective performance of school personnel, the limitations described
134     in Subsection (5)(a) also apply to a school employee or volunteer acting outside of the school
135     employee's or volunteer's official capacities if:
136          (i) the employee or volunteer knew or should have known that the employee's or
137     volunteer's action could result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
138     normal activities of the school; and
139          (ii) that action does result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
140     normal activities of the school.
141          (c) The board or [a local school] an LEA governing board may not allow training of
142     school employees or volunteers that supports or encourages criminal conduct.
143          (d) The board shall adopt rules implementing this section.
144          (e) Nothing in this section limits the ability or authority of the board or [a local school]
145     an LEA governing board to enact and enforce rules or take actions that are otherwise lawful,
146     regarding educators', employees', or volunteers' qualifications or behavior evidencing unfitness
147     for duty.
148          (6) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-202, political, atheistic, sectarian, religious,
149     or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
150          (7) (a) [A local school] An LEA governing board and [a local school] an LEA
151     governing board's employees shall cooperate and share responsibility in carrying out the
152     purposes of this chapter.
153          (b) [A local school] An LEA governing board shall provide appropriate professional
154     development for the [local school] LEA governing board's teachers, counselors, and school
155     administrators to enable them to understand, protect, and properly instruct students in the
156     values and character traits referred to in this section and Sections 53E-9-202, 53E-9-203,
157     53G-10-202, 53G-10-203, 53G-10-204, and 53G-10-205, and distribute appropriate written
158     materials on the values, character traits, and conduct to each individual receiving the
159     professional development.
160          (c) [A local school] An LEA governing board shall make the written materials
161     described in Subsection (7)(b) available to classified employees, students, and parents of
162     students.
163          (d) In order to assist [a local school] an LEA governing board in providing the
164     professional development required under Subsection (7)(b), the board shall, as appropriate,
165     contract with a qualified individual or entity possessing expertise in the areas referred to in
166     Subsection (7)(b) to develop and disseminate model teacher professional development
167     programs that [a local school] an LEA governing board may use to train the individuals
168     referred to in Subsection (7)(b) to effectively teach the values and qualities of character
169     referenced in Subsection (7).
170          (e) In accordance with the provisions of Subsection (5)(c), professional development
171     may not support or encourage criminal conduct.
172          (8) [A local school] An LEA governing board shall review every two years:
173          (a) [local school] LEA governing board policies on instruction described in this
174     section;
175          (b) for a local board of education of a school district, data for each county that the
176     school district is located in, or, for a charter school governing board, data for the county in
177     which the charter school is located, on the following:
178          (i) teen pregnancy;
179          (ii) child sexual abuse; and
180          (iii) sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections; and
181          (c) the number of pornography complaints or other instances reported within the
182     jurisdiction of the [local school] LEA governing board.
183          (9) If any one or more provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this
184     section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is found to be
185     unconstitutional, the balance of this section shall be given effect without the invalid provision,
186     subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word.