1     
HEALTHY LIFESTYLES AMENDMENTS

2     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Kathleen A. Riebe

5     
House Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions related to instruction in health.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     amends definitions;
13          ▸     repeals a provision prohibiting the encouragement of the use of contraceptive
14     methods or devices;
15          ▸     requires a local education agency to report to the State Board of Education on the
16     percentage of students who receive written parental consent to participate in sex
17     education instruction; and
18          ▸     makes technical changes.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          None
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     AMENDS:
25          53G-10-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 354 and 408
26          53G-10-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 293
27     


28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 53G-10-402 is amended to read:
30          53G-10-402. Instruction in health -- Parental consent requirements -- Conduct
31     and speech of school employees and volunteers -- Political and religious doctrine
32     prohibited.
33          (1) As used in this section:
34          (a) "LEA governing board" means a local school board or charter school governing
35     board.
36          (b) "Refusal skills" means instruction:
37          (i) in a student's ability to clearly and expressly refuse sexual advances by a minor or
38     adult at any time, regardless of whether the student has previously expressed acceptance of a
39     sexual advance by the minor or adult;
40          (ii) in a student's obligation to stop the student's sexual advances if refused by another
41     individual;
42          (iii) informing a student of the student's right to report and seek counseling for
43     unwanted sexual advances at any time, regardless of whether the other individual has
44     previously expressed acceptance of the student's sexual advances;
45          (iv) in sexual harassment; and
46          (v) informing a student that a student may not consent to criminally prohibited
47     activities or activities for which the student is legally prohibited from giving consent, including
48     the electronic transmission of sexually explicit images by an individual of the individual or
49     another.
50          (2) (a) The state board shall establish curriculum requirements under Section
51     53E-3-501 that include instruction in:
52          (i) community and personal health;
53          (ii) physiology;
54          (iii) personal hygiene;
55          (iv) prevention of [communicable] infectious disease;
56          (v) refusal skills; [and]
57          (vi) the harmful effects of pornography[.]; and
58          (vii) healthy relationships, including recognizing sexual assault.

59          (b) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
60     state board shall make rules that, and instruction shall:
61          (i) stress the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity [before marriage and
62     fidelity after marriage as methods] as a method for preventing certain [communicable]
63     infectious diseases;
64          (ii) stress personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity;
65          (iii) prohibit instruction in:
66          (A) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior; or
67          (B) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; [or] and
68          [(C) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices;
69     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) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
74     state board shall make rules for an LEA governing board that adopts instructional materials
75     under Subsection (2)(g)(ii) that:
76          (i) require the LEA governing board to report on the materials selected and the LEA
77     governing board's compliance with Subsection (2)(h); and
78          (ii) provide for an appeal and review process of the LEA governing board's adoption of
79     instructional materials.
80          (d) The state board may not require an LEA to teach or adopt instructional materials
81     that include information on contraceptive methods or devices.
82          (e) (i) At no time may instruction be provided, including responses to spontaneous
83     questions raised by students, regarding any means or methods that facilitate or encourage the
84     violation of any state or federal criminal law by a minor or an adult.
85          (ii) Subsection (2)(e)(i) does not preclude an instructor from responding to a
86     spontaneous question as long as the response is consistent with the provisions of this section.
87          (f) The state 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          (g) An LEA governing board may choose to adopt:
91          (i) the instructional materials recommended under Subsection (2)(f); or
92          (ii) other instructional materials in accordance with Subsection (2)(h).
93          (h) An LEA governing board that adopts instructional materials under Subsection
94     (2)(g)(ii) shall:
95          (i) ensure that the materials comply with state law and board rules;
96          (ii) base the adoption of the materials on the recommendations of the LEA governing
97     board's Curriculum Materials Review Committee; and
98          (iii) adopt the instructional materials in an open and regular meeting of the LEA
99     governing board for which prior notice is given to parents of students attending the respective
100     schools and an opportunity for parents to express their views and opinions on the materials at
101     the meeting.
102          (3) (a) A student shall receive instruction in the courses described in Subsection (2) on
103     at least two occasions during the period that begins with the beginning of grade 8 and the end
104     of grade 12.
105          (b) At the request of the state board, the Department of Health shall cooperate with the
106     state board in developing programs to provide [instruction in those areas] the instruction
107     described in Subsection (3)(a).
108          (4) (a) The state board shall adopt rules that:
109          (i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323
110     are complied with; and
111          (ii) require a student's parent to be notified in advance and have an opportunity to
112     review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections 76-7-322 and
113     76-7-323.
114          (b) The state board shall also provide procedures for disciplinary action for violation of
115     Section 76-7-322 or 76-7-323.
116          (5) (a) In keeping with the requirements of Section 53G-10-204, and because school
117     employees and volunteers serve as examples to their students, school employees or volunteers
118     acting in their official capacities may not support or encourage criminal conduct by students,
119     teachers, or volunteers.
120          (b) To ensure the effective performance of school personnel, the limitations described

121     in Subsection (5)(a) also apply to a school employee or volunteer acting outside of the school
122     employee's or volunteer's official capacities if:
123          (i) the employee or volunteer knew or should have known that the employee's or
124     volunteer's action could result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
125     normal activities of the school; and
126          (ii) that action does result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
127     normal activities of the school.
128          (c) The state board or an LEA governing board may not allow training of school
129     employees or volunteers that supports or encourages criminal conduct.
130          (d) The state board shall adopt, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
131     Administrative Rulemaking Act, rules implementing this section.
132          (e) Nothing in this section limits the ability or authority of the state board or an LEA
133     governing board to enact and enforce rules or take actions that are otherwise lawful, regarding
134     educators', employees', or volunteers' qualifications or behavior evidencing unfitness for duty.
135          (6) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-202, political, atheistic, sectarian, religious,
136     or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
137          (7) (a) An LEA governing board and an LEA governing board's employees shall
138     cooperate and share responsibility in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
139          (b) An LEA governing board shall provide appropriate professional development for
140     the LEA governing board's teachers, counselors, and school administrators to enable them to
141     understand, protect, and properly instruct students in the values and character traits referred to
142     in this section and Sections 53E-9-202, 53E-9-203, 53G-10-202, 53G-10-203, 53G-10-204,
143     and 53G-10-205, and distribute appropriate written materials on the values, character traits, and
144     conduct to each individual receiving the professional development.
145          (c) An LEA governing board shall make the written materials described in Subsection
146     (7)(b) available to classified employees, students, and parents of students.
147          (d) In order to assist an LEA governing board in providing the professional
148     development required under Subsection (7)(b), the state board shall, as appropriate, contract
149     with a qualified individual or entity possessing expertise in the areas referred to in Subsection
150     (7)(b) to develop and disseminate model teacher professional development programs that an
151     LEA governing board may use to train the individuals referred to in Subsection (7)(b) to

152     effectively teach the values and qualities of character referenced in Subsection (7).
153          (e) In accordance with the provisions of Subsection (5)(c), professional development
154     may not support or encourage criminal conduct.
155          (8) An LEA governing board shall review every two years:
156          (a) LEA governing board policies on instruction described in this section;
157          (b) for a local school board, data for each county that the school district is located in,
158     or, for a charter school governing board, data for the county in which the charter school is
159     located, on the following:
160          (i) teen pregnancy;
161          (ii) child sexual abuse; and
162          (iii) sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections; and
163          (c) the number of pornography complaints or other instances reported within the
164     jurisdiction of the LEA governing board.
165          (9) If any one or more provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this
166     section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is found to be
167     unconstitutional, the balance of this section shall be given effect without the invalid provision,
168     subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word.
169          Section 2. Section 53G-10-403 is amended to read:
170          53G-10-403. Required parental consent for sex education instruction.
171          (1) As used in this section:
172          (a) (i) "Sex education instruction" means any course material, unit, class, lesson,
173     activity, or presentation that, as the focus of the discussion, provides instruction or information
174     to a student about:
175          (A) sexual abstinence;
176          (B) human sexuality;
177          (C) human reproduction;
178          (D) reproductive anatomy;
179          (E) physiology;
180          (F) pregnancy;
181          (G) marriage;
182          (H) childbirth;

183          (I) parenthood;
184          (J) contraception;
185          (K) HIV/AIDS;
186          (L) sexually transmitted diseases; [or]
187          (M) refusal skills, as defined in Section 53G-10-402[.]; or
188          (N) healthy relationships.
189          (ii) "Sex education instruction" does not include child sexual abuse prevention
190     instruction described in Section 53G-9-207.
191          (b) "School" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-10-205.
192          (2) A school shall obtain prior written consent from a student's parent before the school
193     may provide sex education instruction to the student.
194          (3) If a student's parent chooses not to have the student participate in sex education
195     instruction, a school shall:
196          (a) waive the requirement for the student to participate in the sex education instruction;
197     or
198          (b) provide the student with a reasonable alternative to the sex education instruction
199     requirement.
200          (4) In cooperation with the student's teacher or school, a parent shall take responsibility
201     for the parent's student's sex education instruction if a school:
202          (a) waives the student's sex education instruction requirement in Subsection (3)(a); or
203          (b) provides the student with a reasonable alternative to the sex education instruction
204     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 sex education instruction as
207     described in Subsection (3).
208          (6) An LEA shall annually report to the state board, for each grade in which the LEA
209     provides sex education instruction, the percentage of students in the grade that provide the
210     written consent described in Subsection (2).