84R8932 MEW-F
By: Watson S.B. No. 726
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice to parents of public school students regarding
human sexuality instruction.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) Texas led the nation in 2010 in the rate of teenage
mothers who had second children, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention;
(2) approximately 22 percent of births in Texas by
girls age 15 to 19 were repeat births in 2010, compared to 18.3
percent in the United States;
(3) an estimated 82 percent of teen births are
unintended and cost American taxpayers approximately $9.4 billion a
year and cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2010, according to the
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy;
(4) the only certain way to avoid the termination of an
unwanted pregnancy is to prevent the unwanted pregnancy;
(5) the state has a compelling state interest in
ensuring that there is appropriate knowledge of how a pregnancy
occurs and how a pregnancy can be avoided;
(6) according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, effective strategies to prevent teen pregnancy include
evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs that address
specific protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, or
attitudes related to teen pregnancy, including knowledge of sexual
issues, sexually transmitted diseases, infection with human
immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome,
pregnancy, and methods of pregnancy prevention; and
(7) the state has a compelling state interest in
ensuring that parents are informed of the type of human sexuality
instruction their child is receiving in school.
SECTION 2. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (i) and adding Subsection (p) to read as
follows:
(i) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
written notice to a parent of each student enrolled in the district
of the board of trustees' decision regarding whether the district
will provide human sexuality instruction to district students. If
instruction will be provided, the notice must include:
(1) a summary of the basic content of the district's
human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student,
including a statement informing the parent that the instruction is
required by [of the instructional requirements under] state law to:
(A) present abstinence from sexual activity as
the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual
activity for unmarried persons of school age; and
(B) devote more attention to abstinence from
sexual activity than to any other behavior;
(2) a statement of whether the instruction is
considered by the district to be abstinence-only instruction or
comprehensive instruction, including an explanation of the
difference between those types of instruction and a specific
statement regarding whether the student will receive:
(A) information on contraception, and if
information will be received, whether the information to be
received:
(i) is medically accurate, objective, and
complete; and
(ii) addresses the effectiveness of the
contraceptive methods discussed in the curriculum; and
(B) medically accurate information regarding the
effectiveness of condoms in preventing a sexually transmitted
disease or infection;
(3) a statement identifying the provider of the human
sexuality curriculum and, if available, the provider's Internet
website;
(4) [(2)] a statement of the parent's right to:
(A) review curriculum materials as provided by
Subsection (j); and
(B) remove the student from any part of the
district's human sexuality instruction without subjecting the
student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other
sanction imposed by the district or the student's school; and
(5) [(3)] information describing the opportunities
for parental involvement in the development of the curriculum to be
used in human sexuality instruction, including information
regarding the local school health advisory council established
under Subsection (a).
(p) In this section, "medically accurate" means supported
by peer-reviewed research conducted in compliance with accepted
scientific methods and recognized as accurate by leading
professional organizations and agencies with relevant experience,
including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of
Adolescent Health.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
school year.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.