Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1842 By Senator Baxley 12-01410-22 20221842__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to reproductive health and disease 3 education; amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; requiring school 4 districts or schools within a district to notify and 5 request the written consent of parents and guardians 6 before the teaching of reproductive health or any 7 sexually transmitted disease; prohibiting schools from 8 allowing students to be exposed to such teaching 9 without the written consent of their parents or 10 guardians; prohibiting a student whose parent or 11 guardian does not give such written consent from being 12 penalized; amending ss. 1002.20 and 1014.05, F.S.; 13 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 14 providing an effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1.Subsection (3) of section 1003.42, Florida 19 Statutes, is amended to read: 20 1003.42Required instruction. 21 (3)School districts, or schools as defined in s. 22 1003.01(2), shall notify and request the written consent of 23 parents or guardians at least 10 instructional days before Any 24 student whose parent makes written request to the school 25 principal shall be exempted from the teaching of reproductive 26 health or any sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS 27 and, its symptoms, development, and treatment. A school may not 28 allow a student to be exposed to such teaching without the prior 29 written consent of his or her parent or guardian. A student 30 whose parent or guardian does not give written consent for such 31 teaching so exempted may not be penalized by reason of that 32 withholding of consent exemption. Course descriptions for 33 comprehensive health education may shall not interfere with the 34 local determination of appropriate curriculum which reflects 35 local values and concerns. Each school district shall, on the 36 districts website homepage, notify parents of this right and 37 the process to request an exemption. The home page must include 38 a link for a students parent to access and review the 39 instructional materials, as defined in s. 1006.29(2), used to 40 teach the curriculum. 41 Section 2.Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 42 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 43 1002.20K-12 student and parent rights.Parents of public 44 school students must receive accurate and timely information 45 regarding their childs academic progress and must be informed 46 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 47 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 48 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 49 (3)HEALTH ISSUES. 50 (d)Reproductive health and disease education.A public 51 school student may be exposed to whose parent makes written 52 request to the school principal shall be exempted from the 53 teaching of reproductive health or any sexually transmitted 54 disease, including HIV/AIDS, only in accordance with s. 55 1003.42(3). Each school district shall, on the districts 56 website homepage, notify parents of the right to provide or 57 withhold consent to such instruction this right and the process 58 to request an exemption. The homepage must include a link for a 59 students parent to access and review the instructional 60 materials, as defined in s. 1006.29(2), used to teach the 61 curriculum. 62 Section 3.Paragraphs (d) and (f) of subsection (1) of 63 section 1014.05, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 64 1014.05School district notifications on parental rights. 65 (1)Each district school board shall, in consultation with 66 parents, teachers, and administrators, develop and adopt a 67 policy to promote parental involvement in the public school 68 system. Such policy must include: 69 (d)Procedures, pursuant to ss. 1002.20(3)(d) and 70 1003.42(3) s. 1002.20(3)(d), for a parent to provide or withhold 71 consent for withdraw his or her minor child to be exposed to 72 from any portion of the school districts comprehensive health 73 education required under s. 1003.42(2)(n) which that relates to 74 sex education or instruction in any sexually transmitted 75 disease, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome 76 education, or any instruction regarding sexuality if the parent 77 provides a written objection to his or her minor childs 78 participation. Such procedures must provide for a parent to be 79 notified at least 10 instructional days before in advance of 80 such course content so that he or she may provide or withhold 81 consent for withdraw his or her minor child to be exposed to 82 from those portions of the course. 83 (f)Procedures for a parent to learn about parental rights 84 and responsibilities under general law, including all of the 85 following: 86 1.Pursuant to ss. 1002.20(3)(d) and 1003.42(3) s. 87 1002.20(3)(d), the right to be notified at least 10 88 instructional days before opt his or her minor child out of any 89 portion of the school districts comprehensive health education 90 required under s. 1003.42(2)(n) which that relates to sex 91 education instruction in any sexually transmitted disease, 92 including acquired immune deficiency syndrome education, or any 93 instruction regarding sexuality. 94 2.A plan to disseminate information, pursuant to s. 95 1002.20(6), about school choice options, including open 96 enrollment. 97 3.In accordance with s. 1002.20(3)(b), the right of a 98 parent to exempt his or her minor child from immunizations. 99 4.In accordance with s. 1008.22, the right of a parent to 100 review statewide, standardized assessment results. 101 5.In accordance with s. 1003.57, the right of a parent to 102 enroll his or her minor child in gifted or special education 103 programs. 104 6.In accordance with s. 1006.28(2)(a)1., the right of a 105 parent to inspect school district instructional materials. 106 7.In accordance with s. 1008.25, the right of a parent to 107 access information relating to the school districts policies 108 for promotion or retention, including high school graduation 109 requirements. 110 8.In accordance with s. 1002.20(14), the right of a parent 111 to receive a school report card and be informed of his or her 112 minor childs attendance requirements. 113 9.In accordance with s. 1002.23, the right of a parent to 114 access information relating to the state public education 115 system, state standards, report card requirements, attendance 116 requirements, and instructional materials requirements. 117 10.In accordance with s. 1002.23(4), the right of a parent 118 to participate in parent-teacher associations and organizations 119 that are sanctioned by a district school board or the Department 120 of Education. 121 11.In accordance with s. 1002.222(1)(a), the right of a 122 parent to opt out of any district-level data collection relating 123 to his or her minor child not required by law. 124 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.