84R8932 MEW-F

By: Watson S.B. No. 726

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to notice to parents of public school students regarding human sexuality instruction.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Texas led the nation in 2010 in the rate of teenage mothers who had second children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

(2) approximately 22 percent of births in Texas by girls age 15 to 19 were repeat births in 2010, compared to 18.3 percent in the United States;

(3) an estimated 82 percent of teen births are unintended and cost American taxpayers approximately $9.4 billion a year and cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2010, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy;

(4) the only certain way to avoid the termination of an unwanted pregnancy is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy;

(5) the state has a compelling state interest in ensuring that there is appropriate knowledge of how a pregnancy occurs and how a pregnancy can be avoided;

(6) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, effective strategies to prevent teen pregnancy include evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs that address specific protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, or attitudes related to teen pregnancy, including knowledge of sexual issues, sexually transmitted diseases, infection with human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, pregnancy, and methods of pregnancy prevention; and

(7) the state has a compelling state interest in ensuring that parents are informed of the type of human sexuality instruction their child is receiving in school.

SECTION 2. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (i) and adding Subsection (p) to read as follows:

(i) Before each school year, a school district shall provide written notice to a parent of each student enrolled in the district of the board of trustees' decision regarding whether the district will provide human sexuality instruction to district students. If instruction will be provided, the notice must include:

(1) a summary of the basic content of the district's human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student, including a statement informing the parent that the instruction is required by [of the instructional requirements under] state law to:

(A) present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual activity for unmarried persons of school age; and

(B) devote more attention to abstinence from sexual activity than to any other behavior;

(2) a statement of whether the instruction is considered by the district to be abstinence-only instruction or comprehensive instruction, including an explanation of the difference between those types of instruction and a specific statement regarding whether the student will receive:

(A) information on contraception, and if information will be received, whether the information to be received:

(i) is medically accurate, objective, and complete; and

(ii) addresses the effectiveness of the contraceptive methods discussed in the curriculum; and

(B) medically accurate information regarding the effectiveness of condoms in preventing a sexually transmitted disease or infection;

(3) a statement identifying the provider of the human sexuality curriculum and, if available, the provider's Internet website;

(4) [(2)] a statement of the parent's right to:

(A) review curriculum materials as provided by Subsection (j); and

(B) remove the student from any part of the district's human sexuality instruction without subjecting the student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other sanction imposed by the district or the student's school; and

(5) [(3)] information describing the opportunities for parental involvement in the development of the curriculum to be used in human sexuality instruction, including information regarding the local school health advisory council established under Subsection (a).

(p) In this section, "medically accurate" means supported by peer-reviewed research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate by leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant experience, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health.

SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.