A.B. 138
- *AB138*
ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 138–ASSEMBLYMEMBER GALLANT
PREFILED JANUARY 28, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to curriculum standards
for teaching the personal safety of children.
(BDR 34-922)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to education; requiring the Department of
Education to develop age-appropriate curriculum
standards for teaching the awareness and prevention of
sexual abuse to pupils; requiring the instruction of pupils
in personal safety to include dangers of physical and
sexual abuse; and providing other matters properly
relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the Department of Education, in consultation with 1
persons and organizations who possess knowledge and expertise in the personal 2
safety of children, to develop age-appropriate curriculum standards for teaching the 3
personal safety of children to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12. (NRS 4
389.031) Section 1 of this bill: (1) additionally requires the Department to develop 5
age-appropriate curriculum standards for teaching the awareness and prevention of 6
sexual abuse to pupils; and (2) revises the definition of “personal safety of 7
children” to include an age-appropriate recognition of various hazards and dangers 8
that are particular to children, including physical and sexual abuse. 9
Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district and the 10
governing body of each charter school to ensure that instruction in the personal 11
safety of children, based on the standards developed by the Department, is 12
implemented as part of the course of study in health which is required to be taught 13
as applicable for grade levels and to the extent practicable in all public schools. 14
(NRS 389.018, 389.064) Section 2 of this bill specifies that the awareness and 15
prevention of sexual abuse is included in the personal safety of children for the 16
purposes of the instruction which must be implemented as part of the course of 17
study in health. 18
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 389.031 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
389.031 1. The Department, in consultation with persons and 2
organizations who possess knowledge and expertise in the teaching 3
of personal safety of children, shall develop: 4
(a) Age-appropriate curriculum standards based on best 5
practices for teaching the personal safety of children to pupils in 6
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. 7
(b) Age-appropriate curriculum standards based on best 8
practices for teaching the awareness and prevention of sexual 9
abuse to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, 10
including, without limitation: 11
(1) Methods for increasing awareness among teachers, 12
pupils and parents, guardians or other caretakers of pupils of 13
issues regarding the sexual abuse of children, including, without 14
limitation, recognizing common indicators of sexual abuse; 15
(2) Actions that a child who is a victim of sexual abuse 16
should take to obtain assistance and intervention; and 17
(3) Counseling options that are available to pupils affected 18
by sexual abuse. 19
(c) Recommendations to assist a school district or charter school 20
in developing: 21
(1) A training plan to ensure that at least one employee at 22
each school, as designated by the principal, receives training on the 23
personal safety of children; 24
(2) Educational materials and information to be distributed to 25
parents, guardians or other caretakers of pupils regarding the 26
personal safety of children and how and when to teach and reinforce 27
concepts and skills of the personal safety of children; and 28
(3) Policies and procedures for the referral of a child who has 29
reported or experienced an incident that did or could have 30
threatened his or her personal safety, and his or her family or 31
guardian, if appropriate, to various services, including, without 32
limitation, counseling or any other available services or resources. 33
[(c)] (d) Recommendations of existing research-based programs 34
and curriculum samples to be considered for implementation. 35
2. The Department will review the standards and 36
recommendations developed pursuant to subsection 1 on an annual 37
basis to ensure that those standards and recommendations contain 38
current information. 39
3. The Department may apply for and accept grants, gifts, 40
donations, bequests or devises from any public or private source to 41
carry out the provisions of this section. 42
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4. As used in this section, “personal safety of children” means 1
an age-appropriate recognition of various hazards and dangers that 2
are particular to children, including, without limitation, the danger 3
associated with unsafe persons, both known and unknown to the 4
child, physical and sexual abuse, becoming lost or separated from a 5
parent or guardian, and an awareness of age-appropriate steps a 6
child may take to avoid, lessen or alleviate those hazards and 7
dangers, including, without limitation, reporting threats of harm to a 8
responsible adult. 9
Sec. 2. NRS 389.064 is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
389.064 1. The board of trustees of each school district and 11
the governing body of each charter school shall ensure that 12
instruction in the personal safety of children, including, without 13
limitation, the awareness and prevention of sexual abuse, based on 14
the standards developed by the Department pursuant to NRS 15
389.031, be implemented as part of a course of study in health 16
prescribed pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 3 of 17
NRS 389.018. 18
2. The school district and the charter school, in accordance 19
with the recommendations provided by the Department pursuant to 20
subsection 1 of NRS 389.031, shall determine, for the instruction 21
required by subsection 1: 22
(a) The content of and materials to be used to provide the 23
instruction; and 24
(b) The grade levels in which the instruction will be provided. 25
3. A person who provides the instruction required by 26
subsection 1 must be: 27
(a) A licensed teacher; 28
(b) An employee of the school district with special knowledge 29
or training in the teaching of the personal safety of children; 30
(c) An employee of an agency which has as its primary purpose 31
the teaching of the personal safety of children; 32
(d) An employee of a law enforcement agency; or 33
(e) A volunteer of an agency which has as its primary purpose 34
the teaching of the personal safety of children and who meets the 35
requirements of subsection 8. 36
4. The school district and the charter school shall develop a 37
procedure for the notification of the parent or guardian of each pupil 38
to whom the instruction required by subsection 1 is to be provided. 39
The procedure must inform the parent or guardian that: 40
(a) The parent or guardian may submit a written request that the 41
pupil be excused from some or all of the instruction, except when 42
the instruction is included in a course which is required for 43
graduation; and 44
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(b) All instructional materials to be used in the instruction 1
required by subsection 1 are available for inspection by the parent or 2
guardian at reasonable times and locations before the instruction is 3
provided. 4
5. A pupil whose parent or guardian submits a written request 5
pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 4 must be excused from such 6
instruction without any penalty as to credits or academic standing. 7
6. The school district and the charter school shall consider the 8
recommendations developed by the Department pursuant to 9
paragraph [(b)] (c) of subsection 1 of NRS 389.031 and, to the 10
extent money is available for this purpose, develop and implement: 11
(a) A training plan to ensure that all school employees receive 12
training as to the teaching of the personal safety of children; 13
(b) Educational materials and information to be distributed to 14
parents, guardians or other caretakers of pupils regarding the 15
teaching of the personal safety of children; and 16
(c) Policies and procedures for the referral of a child who has 17
reported or experienced an incident that did or could have 18
threatened his or her personal safety, and his or her family or 19
guardian, if appropriate, to various services, including, without 20
limitation, counseling or any other available services or resources. 21
7. On or before August 1 of each year, each board of trustees 22
and each governing body shall report to the Department for the 23
preceding year: 24
(a) The grade levels in which the instruction required by 25
subsection 1 was conducted; 26
(b) The curriculum content and materials distributed and utilized 27
for the instruction required by subsection 1; 28
(c) The person, persons or agency utilized to provide the 29
instruction required by subsection 1; and 30
(d) The number of reports or disclosures by pupils of incidents 31
that did or could have threatened their personal safety during the 32
preceding school year. 33
8. An agency which has as its primary purpose the teaching of 34
the personal safety of children, before allowing any volunteer of the 35
agency to provide instruction pursuant to paragraph (e) of 36
subsection 3, must ensure that the volunteer has successfully 37
completed: 38
(a) A national background check, which must include, without 39
limitation, a report of the criminal history of the volunteer from the 40
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Repository for 41
Nevada Records of Criminal History; 42
(b) A child abuse and neglect screening through the Statewide 43
Central Registry for the Collection of Information Concerning the 44
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Abuse or Neglect of a Child established pursuant to NRS 432.100; 1
and 2
(c) Adequate and appropriate training specific to providing 3
instruction regarding the personal safety of children. 4
9. An agency which has as its primary purpose the teaching of 5
the personal safety of children shall, upon request from a school 6
district or charter school and to the extent allowed by federal law, 7
make available to the school district or charter school 8
documentation of the agency’s conclusions regarding a volunteer’s 9
successful completion of the requirements of subsection 8. 10
10. A board of trustees of a school district and a governing 11
body of a charter school may apply for and accept grants, gifts, 12
donations, bequests or devises from any public or private source to 13
carry out the provisions of this section. 14
11. As used in this section, “personal safety of children” has 15
the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 389.031. 16
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 17
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