| 1 | Representative Gottlieb offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert: |
| 5 | Section 1. Section 1003.465, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 6 | to read: |
| 7 | 1003.465 Abstinence-only instruction; parental right to |
| 8 | know.-- |
| 9 | (1) For the purposes of this section, the term "medically |
| 10 | accurate" means information supported by the weight of research |
| 11 | conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and |
| 12 | recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional |
| 13 | organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field. |
| 14 | (2) The principal of any school that receives funding for |
| 15 | abstinence-only instruction or a school principal who elects to |
| 16 | provide abstinence-only instruction to students in grades 6 |
| 17 | through 12 shall, at the beginning of each school year or at the |
| 18 | time of enrollment for a student who enrolls in a school after |
| 19 | the beginning of the school year, mail a notice to the parents |
| 20 | of affected students stating the following: |
| 21 | (a) Your child is receiving abstinence-only instruction. |
| 22 | (b) Abstinence-only instruction does not teach students |
| 23 | how to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections |
| 24 | other than by remaining abstinent. |
| 25 | (c) Your child is not receiving the following information: |
| 26 | 1. Methods, other than abstinence, for preventing |
| 27 | pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including, but |
| 28 | not limited to, HIV/AIDS. |
| 29 | 2. Medically accurate instruction on the risks and |
| 30 | benefits, including safety and efficacy, of Food and Drug |
| 31 | Administration (FDA) approved methods for: |
| 32 | a. Reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted |
| 33 | infections, including HIV/AIDS. |
| 34 | b. Preventing pregnancy. |
| 35 | 3. Medically accurate instruction on the correct use of |
| 36 | FDA approved methods for: |
| 37 | a. Reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted |
| 38 | infections, including HIV/AIDS. |
| 39 | b. Preventing pregnancy. |
| 40 | 4. Instruction that provides sexually active students with |
| 41 | the necessary skills for making and implementing responsible |
| 42 | decisions about relationships and sexuality, including the use |
| 43 | of all effective methods to prevent pregnancy and sexually |
| 44 | transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. |
| 45 | (d) Parents have the right to review the abstinence-only |
| 46 | curriculum in its entirety, and written and audio/visual |
| 47 | educational materials used in abstinence-only instruction shall |
| 48 | be reasonably accessible for inspection. |
| 49 | (e) Parents have the right to excuse their child from all |
| 50 | or parts of abstinence-only instruction. |
| 51 | (f) Parents have the right to be involved in their child's |
| 52 | education. |
| 53 | (3) Any student whose parent makes written request to the |
| 54 | school principal shall be excused from all or parts of |
| 55 | abstinence-only instruction. A student so excused may not be |
| 56 | subject to disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other |
| 57 | sanction for such excusal. |
| 58 | (4) The school shall inform parents of affected students |
| 59 | of the opportunity for commenting through the district school |
| 60 | board or through an alternative procedure on the abstinence-only |
| 61 | curriculum either by including information about this process in |
| 62 | the notification under subsection (2) or in a separate notice to |
| 63 | be mailed at the beginning of each school year or at the time of |
| 64 | enrollment for a student who enrolls in a school after the |
| 65 | beginning of the school year. |
| 66 | (5)(a) Any parent who believes that he or she failed to |
| 67 | receive the notice required under subsection (2) may file a |
| 68 | complaint with the district school superintendent. Within 30 |
| 69 | days after receiving a complaint, the superintendent shall take |
| 70 | any warranted corrective action and notify the complainant and |
| 71 | the principal of the corrective action taken. |
| 72 | (b) Upon receipt of notice from the superintendent |
| 73 | required under paragraph (a) or at least 30 days after filing a |
| 74 | complaint with the superintendent, the parent may appeal to the |
| 75 | district school board regarding the insufficiency of corrective |
| 76 | action. Within 30 days after receiving the complaint, the |
| 77 | district school board shall take any warranted corrective action |
| 78 | and notify the complainant and the superintendent of the |
| 79 | corrective action taken. |
| 80 | (c) Upon receipt of notice from the district school board |
| 81 | required under paragraph (b) or at least 30 days after filing a |
| 82 | complaint with the district school board, the parent may appeal |
| 83 | to the Commissioner of Education regarding the insufficiency of |
| 84 | corrective action. The commissioner shall investigate the |
| 85 | complaint and make a finding regarding compliance with the |
| 86 | provisions of this section. If the commissioner makes a finding |
| 87 | of substantial noncompliance, he or she shall take corrective |
| 88 | action, including prohibiting the school district from accepting |
| 89 | state and federal funding for abstinence-only instruction for a |
| 90 | period of at least one calendar year. |
| 91 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |
| 92 |
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| 93 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ========== |
| 94 | Remove the entire title and insert: |
| 95 | A bill to be entitled |
| 96 | An act relating to the parental right to know concerning |
| 97 | children's abstinence-only instruction; creating s. |
| 98 | 1003.465, F.S.; providing parental right to know with |
| 99 | respect to abstinence-only instruction; defining the term |
| 100 | "medically accurate"; requiring certain school principals |
| 101 | to mail a notice to parents regarding the provision of |
| 102 | abstinence-only instruction and the right to review the |
| 103 | abstinence-only curriculum; authorizing excuse from such |
| 104 | instruction under certain conditions; providing a process |
| 105 | for parental comment on the curriculum; providing for the |
| 106 | filing of complaints and appeals; providing for |
| 107 | investigation and corrective action; providing an |
| 108 | effective date. |