HB 169

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to education in public schools concerning
3human sexuality; providing a short title; providing
4definitions; requiring public schools that provide certain
5information or programs to students concerning human
6sexuality to provide information that meets specified
7criteria; providing a process to review compliance with
8such requirement; authorizing parents and guardians to
9seek review of a school's compliance; providing for school
10superintendents, district schools boards, and the
11Commissioner of Education to review compliance and take
12corrective actions; providing for exemption from certain
13teaching; providing for severability; providing an
14effective date.
15
16     WHEREAS, one in four teen girls in the United States has a
17sexually transmitted disease, according to the United States
18Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
19     WHEREAS, Florida has the third highest AIDS rate and the
20fifth highest HIV rate in the nation, according to the United
21States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
22     WHEREAS, in 2007, persons under the age of 25 accounted
23for 15 percent of new HIV infections in Florida, and
24     WHEREAS, according to the Florida Department of Health, in
252007, youth accounted for 65.5 percent of new sexually
26transmitted disease infections in Florida, and
27     WHEREAS, Florida has the sixth highest teen pregnancy rate
28in the nation, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and
29     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that between 1991 and
302004 there have been more than 354,000 teen births in Florida,
31costing taxpayers a total of $8.1 billion over this period,
32according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
33Unplanned Pregnancy, and
34     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that several recent
35studies have found abstinence-only programs to be ineffective,
36including a 2007 study commissioned by the Federal Government
37and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and
38     WHEREAS, the Budget of the United States Government for
39Fiscal Year 2010 transmitted to Congress by the President of
40the United States eliminates funding for abstinence-only
41programs and invests in medically accurate and age-appropriate
42teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention
43programs for adolescents that have been proven effective, and
44     WHEREAS, Florida must prioritize state-based effective
45models and strategies for evidence-based teen pregnancy and
46disease prevention in order to be competitive for federal
47funding, NOW, THEREFORE,
48
49Be 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
53Teens Act."
54     (2)  Any public school that receives state funding directly
55or indirectly and that provides information, offers programs, or
56contracts with third parties to provide information or offer
57programs regarding family planning, pregnancy, or sexually
58transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, shall provide
59comprehensive, medically accurate, and factual information that
60is 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,
64biological, and hormonal changes of adolescence and subsequent
65stages of human maturation;
66     2.  Develops the knowledge and skills necessary to protect
67young people with respect to their sexual and reproductive
68health;
69     3.  Helps young people gain knowledge about responsible
70decisionmaking;
71     4.  Is appropriate for use with students of any race,
72gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic and cultural background;
73     5.  Develops healthy attitudes and values concerning
74growth, development, and body image;
75     6.  Encourages young people to practice healthy life
76skills, including goal setting, decisionmaking, negotiation, and
77communication;
78     7.  Promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal skills,
79focusing on skills concerning human relationships and
80interactions, including platonic, romantic, intimate, and family
81relationships and interactions, and how to avoid abusive
82relationships and interactions;
83     8.  Teaches that abstinence is the only certain way to
84avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; and
85     9.  Commencing in the 6th grade:
86     a.  Emphasizes the value of abstinence while not ignoring
87those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse and who
88thereafter may or may not remain sexually active;
89     b.  Helps young people gain knowledge about the specific
90involvement and responsibilities of sexual decisionmaking for
91both genders;
92     c.  Provides information about the health benefits and side
93effects of all contraceptives and barrier-protection methods as
94a means of preventing pregnancy and reducing the risk of
95contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and
96AIDS;
97     d.  Encourages family communication about sexuality among
98parents, their children, and other adult household members;
99     e.  Teaches skills for making responsible decisions about
100sexuality, including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical, and
101sexual advances and how to avoid making unwanted verbal,
102physical, and sexual advances; and
103     f.  Teaches how alcohol and drug use may affect responsible
104decisionmaking.
105     (b)  "Factual information" includes, but is not limited to,
106medical, psychiatric, psychological, empirical, and statistical
107statements.
108     (c)  "Medically accurate information" means information
109supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with
110generally accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate
111and objective by leading professional organizations and agencies
112having relevant expertise in the field.
113     (4)(a)  The parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a
114school that is subject to the requirements of subsection (2) who
115believes that the school is not complying with those
116requirements may file a complaint with the district school
117superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of the complaint,
118the superintendent shall take any warranted corrective action
119and provide the complainant and the school principal with
120written notice of the corrective action, if any, that was taken.
121     (b)  A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
122district school superintendent's response to the complaint may
123file an appeal with the district school board within 30 days
124after receiving the superintendent's written notice of any
125corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
126paragraph (a), within 60 days after the complaint was filed with
127the superintendent. Within 30 days after receipt of an appeal
128under this paragraph, the school board shall take any warranted
129corrective action and provide the appellant and the
130superintendent with a written notice of what, if any, corrective
131action was taken.
132     (c)  A parent or guardian who is not satisfied with the
133district school board's response to such an appeal may file an
134appeal with the Commissioner of Education within 30 days after
135receiving the district school board's written notice of any
136corrective action or, if notice was not timely provided under
137paragraph (b), within 60 days after the appeal was filed with
138the school board. The Commissioner of Education shall
139investigate the claim and make a finding regarding compliance
140with subsection (2). Upon a finding of substantial
141noncompliance, the commissioner shall take corrective action,
142including, but not limited to, notifying the parents and
143guardians of all students enrolled in the school that the school
144is in violation of state law.
145     (5)  A public school student whose parent makes written
146request to the school principal shall be exempted from the
147teaching of reproductive health or any disease, including HIV
148and AIDS, in accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.42(3),
149Florida Statutes.
150     Section 2.  If any provision of this act or its application
151to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
152does not affect the remaining provisions or applications of the
153act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
154application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
155severable.
156     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


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