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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends provisions related to sex education instruction.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ amends a provision related to instruction about abstinence from sexual activity;
13 ▸ permits a local education agency to provide certain additional content in sex
14 education instruction with written parental consent;
15 ▸ defines terms; and
16 ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
17 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18 None
19 Other Special Clauses:
20 None
21 Utah Code Sections Affected:
22 AMENDS:
23 53G-10-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 354 and 408
24 53G-10-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 293
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26 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 Section 1. Section 53G-10-402 is amended to read:
28 53G-10-402. Instruction in health -- Parental consent requirements -- Conduct
29 and speech of school employees and volunteers -- Political and religious doctrine
30 prohibited.
31 (1) As used in this section:
32 (a) "LEA governing board" means a local school board or charter school governing
33 board.
34 (b) "Refusal skills" means instruction:
35 (i) in a student's ability to clearly and expressly refuse sexual advances by a minor or
36 adult;
37 (ii) in a student's obligation to stop the student's sexual advances if refused by another
38 individual;
39 (iii) informing a student of the student's right to report and seek counseling for
40 unwanted sexual advances;
41 (iv) in sexual harassment; and
42 (v) informing a student that a student may not consent to criminally prohibited
43 activities or activities for which the student is legally prohibited from giving consent, including
44 the electronic transmission of sexually explicit images by an individual of the individual or
45 another.
46 (2) (a) The state board shall establish curriculum requirements under Section
47 53E-3-501 that include instruction in:
48 (i) community and personal health;
49 (ii) physiology;
50 (iii) personal hygiene;
51 (iv) prevention of communicable disease;
52 (v) refusal skills; and
53 (vi) the harmful effects of pornography.
54 (b) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
55 state board shall make rules that, and instruction shall:
56 (i) stress the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity [
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58 infectious diseases;
59 (ii) stress personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity;
60 (iii) prohibit instruction in:
61 (A) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;
62 (B) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; or
63 (C) except as provided in Subsection 53G-10-403(3), the advocacy or encouragement
64 of the use of contraceptive methods or devices; and
65 (iv) except as provided in Subsection (2)(d), allow instruction to include information
66 about contraceptive methods or devices that stresses effectiveness, limitations, risks, and
67 information on state law applicable to minors obtaining contraceptive methods or devices.
68 (c) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
69 state board shall make rules for an LEA governing board that adopts instructional materials
70 under Subsection (2)(g)(ii) that:
71 (i) require the LEA governing board to report on the materials selected and the LEA
72 governing board's compliance with Subsection (2)(h); and
73 (ii) provide for an appeal and review process of the LEA governing board's adoption of
74 instructional materials.
75 (d) The state board may not require an LEA to teach or adopt instructional materials
76 that include information on contraceptive methods or devices.
77 (e) (i) At no time may instruction be provided, including responses to spontaneous
78 questions raised by students, regarding any means or methods that facilitate or encourage the
79 violation of any state or federal criminal law by a minor or an adult.
80 (ii) Subsection (2)(e)(i) does not preclude an instructor from responding to a
81 spontaneous question as long as the response is consistent with the provisions of this section.
82 (f) The state board shall recommend instructional materials for use in the curricula
83 required under Subsection (2)(a) after considering evaluations of instructional materials by the
84 State Instructional Materials Commission.
85 (g) An LEA governing board may choose to adopt:
86 (i) the instructional materials recommended under Subsection (2)(f); or
87 (ii) other instructional materials in accordance with Subsection (2)(h).
88 (h) An LEA governing board that adopts instructional materials under Subsection
89 (2)(g)(ii) shall:
90 (i) ensure that the materials comply with state law and board rules;
91 (ii) base the adoption of the materials on the recommendations of the LEA governing
92 board's Curriculum Materials Review Committee; and
93 (iii) adopt the instructional materials in an open and regular meeting of the LEA
94 governing board for which prior notice is given to parents of students attending the respective
95 schools and an opportunity for parents to express their views and opinions on the materials at
96 the meeting.
97 (3) (a) A student shall receive instruction in the courses described in Subsection (2) on
98 at least two occasions during the period that begins with the beginning of grade 8 and the end
99 of grade 12.
100 (b) At the request of the state board, the Department of Health shall cooperate with the
101 state board in developing programs to provide instruction in those areas.
102 (4) (a) The state board shall adopt rules that:
103 (i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323
104 are complied with; and
105 (ii) require a student's parent to be notified in advance and have an opportunity to
106 review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections 76-7-322 and
107 76-7-323.
108 (b) The state board shall also provide procedures for disciplinary action for violation of
109 Section 76-7-322 or 76-7-323.
110 (5) (a) In keeping with the requirements of Section 53G-10-204, and because school
111 employees and volunteers serve as examples to their students, school employees or volunteers
112 acting in their official capacities may not support or encourage criminal conduct by students,
113 teachers, or volunteers.
114 (b) To ensure the effective performance of school personnel, the limitations described
115 in Subsection (5)(a) also apply to a school employee or volunteer acting outside of the school
116 employee's or volunteer's official capacities if:
117 (i) the employee or volunteer knew or should have known that the employee's or
118 volunteer's action could result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
119 normal activities of the school; and
120 (ii) that action does result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
121 normal activities of the school.
122 (c) The state board or an LEA governing board may not allow training of school
123 employees or volunteers that supports or encourages criminal conduct.
124 (d) The state board shall adopt, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
125 Administrative Rulemaking Act, rules implementing this section.
126 (e) Nothing in this section limits the ability or authority of the state board or an LEA
127 governing board to enact and enforce rules or take actions that are otherwise lawful, regarding
128 educators', employees', or volunteers' qualifications or behavior evidencing unfitness for duty.
129 (6) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-202, political, atheistic, sectarian, religious,
130 or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
131 (7) (a) An LEA governing board and an LEA governing board's employees shall
132 cooperate and share responsibility in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
133 (b) An LEA governing board shall provide appropriate professional development for
134 the LEA governing board's teachers, counselors, and school administrators to enable them to
135 understand, protect, and properly instruct students in the values and character traits referred to
136 in this section and Sections 53E-9-202, 53E-9-203, 53G-10-202, 53G-10-203, 53G-10-204,
137 and 53G-10-205, and distribute appropriate written materials on the values, character traits, and
138 conduct to each individual receiving the professional development.
139 (c) An LEA governing board shall make the written materials described in Subsection
140 (7)(b) available to classified employees, students, and parents of students.
141 (d) In order to assist an LEA governing board in providing the professional
142 development required under Subsection (7)(b), the state board shall, as appropriate, contract
143 with a qualified individual or entity possessing expertise in the areas referred to in Subsection
144 (7)(b) to develop and disseminate model teacher professional development programs that an
145 LEA governing board may use to train the individuals referred to in Subsection (7)(b) to
146 effectively teach the values and qualities of character referenced in Subsection (7).
147 (e) In accordance with the provisions of Subsection (5)(c), professional development
148 may not support or encourage criminal conduct.
149 (8) An LEA governing board shall review every two years:
150 (a) LEA governing board policies on instruction described in this section;
151 (b) for a local school board, data for each county that the school district is located in,
152 or, for a charter school governing board, data for the county in which the charter school is
153 located, on the following:
154 (i) teen pregnancy;
155 (ii) child sexual abuse; and
156 (iii) sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections; and
157 (c) the number of pornography complaints or other instances reported within the
158 jurisdiction of the LEA governing board.
159 (9) If any one or more provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this
160 section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is found to be
161 unconstitutional, the balance of this section shall be given effect without the invalid provision,
162 subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word.
163 Section 2. Section 53G-10-403 is amended to read:
164 53G-10-403. Required parental consent for sex education instruction.
165 (1) As used in this section:
166 (a) "Expanded sex education instruction" means additional sex education instruction
167 content, as determined by an LEA in accordance with this section.
168 [
169 activity, or presentation that, as the focus of the discussion, provides instruction or information
170 to a student about:
171 (A) sexual abstinence;
172 (B) human sexuality;
173 (C) human reproduction;
174 (D) reproductive anatomy;
175 (E) physiology;
176 (F) pregnancy;
177 (G) marriage;
178 (H) childbirth;
179 (I) parenthood;
180 (J) contraception;
181 (K) HIV/AIDS;
182 (L) sexually transmitted diseases; or
183 (M) refusal skills, as defined in Section 53G-10-402.
184 (ii) "Sex education instruction" does not include child sexual abuse prevention
185 instruction described in Section 53G-9-207.
186 [
187 (2) A school shall obtain prior written consent from a student's parent before the school
188 may provide:
189 (a) sex education instruction to the student[
190 (b) expanded sex education instruction.
191 (3) (a) Expanded sex education instruction:
192 (i) may include instruction otherwise prohibited under Subsection
193 53G-10-402(2)(b)(iii)(C); and
194 (ii) may not include instruction prohibited under Subsections 53G-10-402(2)(b)(iii)(A)
195 and (B).
196 (b) An LEA's parental consent form for expanded sex education instruction shall
197 include:
198 (i) a description of the expanded sex education instruction; and
199 (ii) an explanation of how the expanded sex education instruction is different from sex
200 education instruction.
201 [
202 education instruction or expanded sex education instruction, a school shall:
203 (a) waive the requirement for the student to participate in the sex education instruction
204 or expanded sex education instruction; or
205 (b) provide the student with a reasonable alternative to the sex education instruction or
206 expanded sex education requirement.
207 [
208 responsibility for the parent's student's sex education instruction if a school:
209 (a) waives the student's sex education instruction or expanded sex education instruction
210 requirement in Subsection [
211 (b) provides the student with a reasonable alternative to the sex education instruction
212 or expanded sex education instruction requirement described in Subsection [
213 [
214 student's parent chooses not to have the student participate in sex education instruction or
215 expanded sex education instruction as described in Subsection [