89R3060 RDR-D
By: Menéndez S.B. No. 196
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the development and use of instructional modules and
training for public schools on the prevention of sexual abuse and
sex trafficking.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.017, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 762 (S.B. 2039), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2017, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 28.017. INSTRUCTION ON PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND
SEX TRAFFICKING. (a) The commissioner, in cooperation with the
human trafficking prevention task force created under Section
402.035, Government Code, and any other persons the commissioner
considers appropriate, shall develop one or more sexual abuse and
sex trafficking instructional modules that a school district may
use in the district's health curriculum. The modules must [may]
include:
(1) information on the different forms of sexual abuse
and assault, sex trafficking, and risk factors for sex trafficking;
(2) the procedures for reporting sexual abuse and sex
trafficking or suspected sexual abuse or sex trafficking;
(3) strategies for sexual abuse and assault prevention
and overcoming peer pressure;
(4) information on establishing healthy boundaries
for relationships, recognizing potentially abusive or harmful
relationships, and avoiding high-risk activities;
(5) the recruiting tactics of sex traffickers and peer
recruiters, including recruitment through the Internet;
(6) the legal aspects of sexual abuse and sex
trafficking under state and federal law; and
(7) the influence of culture and mass media on
perceptions of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, including
stereotypes and myths about victims and abusers, victim blaming,
and the role of language.
(b) The module or modules developed under Subsection (a)
must emphasize compassion for victims of sexual abuse or sex
trafficking and the creation of a positive reentry experience for
survivors of sexual abuse or sex trafficking into schools.
(c) Before the beginning of each school year, a school
district that elects to use a module developed under Subsection (a)
in the district's health curriculum shall provide written notice to
the parent of each student enrolled in the district that includes
the following:
(1) a statement that the district will provide
instruction relating to sexual abuse and sex trafficking awareness
to students enrolled in the district;
(2) a description of the material that will be used in
providing instruction to students; and
(3) a statement that the parent has the right to review
the material and remove the parent's student from the instruction.
(d) If a school district does not comply with the
requirements of Subsection (c), a parent of a student enrolled in
the district may file a complaint in accordance with the district's
grievance procedure developed under Section 26.011.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
SECTION 3. 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, 2025.