Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB726 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R8932 MEW-F
2	2	By: Watson S.B. No. 726
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to notice to parents of public school students regarding
8	8	human sexuality instruction.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
11	11	(1) Texas led the nation in 2010 in the rate of teenage
12	12	mothers who had second children, according to the Centers for
13	13	Disease Control and Prevention;
14	14	(2) approximately 22 percent of births in Texas by
15	15	girls age 15 to 19 were repeat births in 2010, compared to 18.3
16	16	percent in the United States;
17	17	(3) an estimated 82 percent of teen births are
18	18	unintended and cost American taxpayers approximately $9.4 billion a
19	19	year and cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2010, according to the
20	20	National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy;
21	21	(4) the only certain way to avoid the termination of an
22	22	unwanted pregnancy is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy;
23	23	(5) the state has a compelling state interest in
24	24	ensuring that there is appropriate knowledge of how a pregnancy
25	25	occurs and how a pregnancy can be avoided;
26	26	(6) according to the Centers for Disease Control and
27	27	Prevention, effective strategies to prevent teen pregnancy include
28	28	evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs that address
29	29	specific protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, or
30	30	attitudes related to teen pregnancy, including knowledge of sexual
31	31	issues, sexually transmitted diseases, infection with human
32	32	immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome,
33	33	pregnancy, and methods of pregnancy prevention; and
34	34	(7) the state has a compelling state interest in
35	35	ensuring that parents are informed of the type of human sexuality
36	36	instruction their child is receiving in school.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by
38	38	amending Subsection (i) and adding Subsection (p) to read as
39	39	follows:
40	40	(i) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
41	41	written notice to a parent of each student enrolled in the district
42	42	of the board of trustees' decision regarding whether the district
43	43	will provide human sexuality instruction to district students. If
44	44	instruction will be provided, the notice must include:
45	45	(1) a summary of the basic content of the district's
46	46	human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student,
47	47	including a statement informing the parent that the instruction is
48	48	required by [of the instructional requirements under] state law to:
49	49	(A) present abstinence from sexual activity as
50	50	the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual
51	51	activity for unmarried persons of school age; and
52	52	(B) devote more attention to abstinence from
53	53	sexual activity than to any other behavior;
54	54	(2) a statement of whether the instruction is
55	55	considered by the district to be abstinence-only instruction or
56	56	comprehensive instruction, including an explanation of the
57	57	difference between those types of instruction and a specific
58	58	statement regarding whether the student will receive:
59	59	(A) information on contraception, and if
60	60	information will be received, whether the information to be
61	61	received:
62	62	(i) is medically accurate, objective, and
63	63	complete; and
64	64	(ii) addresses the effectiveness of the
65	65	contraceptive methods discussed in the curriculum; and
66	66	(B) medically accurate information regarding the
67	67	effectiveness of condoms in preventing a sexually transmitted
68	68	disease or infection;
69	69	(3) a statement identifying the provider of the human
70	70	sexuality curriculum and, if available, the provider's Internet
71	71	website;
72	72	(4) [(2)] a statement of the parent's right to:
73	73	(A) review curriculum materials as provided by
74	74	Subsection (j); and
75	75	(B) remove the student from any part of the
76	76	district's human sexuality instruction without subjecting the
77	77	student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other
78	78	sanction imposed by the district or the student's school; and
79	79	(5) [(3)] information describing the opportunities
80	80	for parental involvement in the development of the curriculum to be
81	81	used in human sexuality instruction, including information
82	82	regarding the local school health advisory council established
83	83	under Subsection (a).
84	84	(p) In this section, "medically accurate" means supported
85	85	by peer-reviewed research conducted in compliance with accepted
86	86	scientific methods and recognized as accurate by leading
87	87	professional organizations and agencies with relevant experience,
88	88	including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
89	89	United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of
90	90	Adolescent Health.
91	91	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
92	92	school year.
93	93	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
94	94	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
95	95	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
96	96	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
97	97	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.