HB 449

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to education in public schools concerning
3	human sexuality; providing a short title; providing
4	definitions; requiring public schools that provide certain
5	information or programs to students concerning human
6	sexuality to provide information that meets specified
7	criteria; providing a process to review compliance with
8	such requirement; authorizing parents and guardians to seek
9	review of a school's compliance; providing for school
10	superintendents, district schools boards, and the
11	Commissioner of Education to review compliance and
12	corrective actions; providing for severability; providing
13	an effective date.
14
15	WHEREAS, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy
16	rate in the industrialized world, with between 750,000 and
17	850,000 teen pregnancies each year, and
18	WHEREAS, in this country, 75 to 90 percent of teen
19	pregnancies occurring between the ages of 15 to 19 are
20	unintended, and
21	WHEREAS, Florida has the sixth highest teen pregnancy rate
22	of any state, with 48,440 teenage pregnancies, and
23	WHEREAS, the United States has the highest rate of sexually
24	transmitted infections in the industrialized world, with
25	approximately 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted
26	infections in 2005, almost half of them occurring in young
27	people between the ages of 15 to 24, and
28	WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
29	Prevention, Florida has the second highest rate of AIDS cases in
30	the country, with 4,960 new cases of AIDS reported in 2005 and
31	100,809 cases overall, and
32	WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
33	Prevention, sexually transmitted infections impose a tremendous
34	economic burden on the United States, with direct medical costs
35	as high as $14.1 billion per year, and
36	WHEREAS, research shows that teenagers who receive
37	sexuality education that includes discussion of contraception
38	are more likely than those who receive abstinence-only messages
39	to delay sexual activity and to use contraceptives when they do
40	become sexually active, and
41	WHEREAS, the American Medical Association, the American
42	Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
43	American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the
44	American Public Health Association, and the Society of
45	Adolescent Medicine support responsible sexuality education that
46	includes information regarding abstinence and contraception,
47	NOW, THEREFORE,
48
49	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
50
51	Section 1.  The Florida Healthy Teens Act.--
52	(1)  This section may be cited as the "Florida Healthy
53	Teens Act."
54	(2)  Any public school that receives state funding directly
55	or indirectly and that provides information, offers programs, or
56	contracts with third parties to provide information or offer
57	programs regarding family planning, pregnancy, or sexually
58	transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, shall provide
59	comprehensive, medically accurate, and factual information that
60	is age-appropriate.
61	(3)  As used in this section, the term:
62	(a)  "Comprehensive information" means information that:
63	1.  Helps young people gain knowledge about the physical,
64	biological, and hormonal changes of adolescence and subsequent
65	stages of human maturation;
66	2.  Develops the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure
67	and protect young people with respect to their sexual and
68	reproductive health;
69	3.  Helps young people gain knowledge about responsible
70	decisionmaking;
71	4.  Is appropriate for use with students of any race,
72	gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic and cultural background;
73	5.  Develops healthy attitudes and values concerning
74	growth, development, and body image;
75	6.  Encourages young people to practice healthy life
76	skills, including goal setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, and
77	communication;
78	7.  Promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal skills,
79	focusing on skills concerning human relationships and
80	interactions, including platonic, romantic, intimate, and family
81	relationships and interactions, and how to avoid abusive
82	relationships and interactions;
83	8.  Teaches that abstinence is the only certain way to
84	avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; and
85	9.  Commencing in the 6th grade:
86	a.  Emphasizes the value of abstinence while not ignoring
87	those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse and who
88	thereafter may or may not remain sexually active;
89	b.  Helps young people gain knowledge about the specific
90	involvement and responsibilities of sexual decisionmaking for
91	both genders;
92	c.  Provides information about the health benefits and side
93	effects of all contraceptives and barrier-protection methods as
94	a means of preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of
95	contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and
96	AIDS;
97	d.  Encourages family communication about sexuality among
98	parents, their children, and other adult household members;
99	e.  Teaches skills for making responsible decisions about
100	sexuality, including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and
101	sexual advances and how to avoid making unwanted verbal,
102	physical, and sexual advances; and
103	f.  Teaches how alcohol and drug use may affect responsible
104	decisionmaking.
105	(b)  "Factual information" includes, but is not limited to,
106	medical, psychiatric, psychological, empirical, and statistical
107	statements.
108	(c)  "Medically accurate information" means information
109	supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with
110	generally accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate
111	and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies
112	having relevant expertise in the field.
113	(4)(a)  The parent or guardian of a student who is enrolled
114	in a school subject to the requirements of subsection (2) who
115	believes that the school is not complying with the requirements
116	may file a complaint with the district school superintendent.
117	Within 30 days after receipt of a complaint, the superintendent
118	shall take any warranted corrective action and provide the
119	complainant and the school principal with written notice of the
120	corrective action, if any, which was taken.
121	(b)  A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
122	district school superintendent's response to the complaint may
123	file an appeal with the district school board within 30 days
124	after receiving the superintendent's written notice of any
125	corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
126	paragraph (a), within 60 days after the complaint was filed with
127	the superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of an appeal
128	under this paragraph, the school board shall take any warranted
129	corrective action and provide the appellant and the
130	superintendent with a written notice of what, if any, corrective
131	action was taken.
132	(c)  A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
133	district school board's response to such an appeal may file an
134	appeal with the Commissioner of Education within 30 days after
135	receiving the district school board's written notice of any
136	corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
137	paragraph (b), within 60 days after the appeal was filed with
138	the school board. The Commissioner of Education shall
139	investigate the claim and make a finding regarding compliance
140	with subsection (2). Upon a finding of substantial
141	noncompliance, the commissioner shall take corrective action,
142	including, but not limited to, notifying the parents and
143	guardians of all students enrolled in the school that the school
144	is in violation of state law.
145	Section 2.  If any provision of this act or its application
146	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
147	does not affect the remaining provisions or applications of the
148	act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
149	application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
150	severable.
151	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.