Bill Text: CA AB598 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education: school climate and safety: California Healthy Kids Survey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-07-05 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB598 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB598-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 18, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 09, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 598
| Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks (Coauthor: Assembly Member Lee) |
February 09, 2023 |
An act to amend Section 51934 of, and to add Section 51934.1 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 598, as amended, Wicks.
Sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education: school climate and safety: California Healthy Kids Survey.
Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. Under the act, this instruction includes, among other things, information about local resources related to sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy prevention and care, and assistance with sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and information about pregnancy, including parenting, adoption, and abortion, as provided.
This bill would revise the information included in this instruction related to local resources and abortion,
resources, as specified, and would require that pupils receive a physical or digital resource detailing certain local resources upon completion of the applicable instruction. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law authorizes anonymous, voluntary, and confidential research and evaluation tools to measure pupils’ health behaviors and risks, including tests, questionnaires, and surveys containing age-appropriate questions about the pupil’s attitudes concerning or practices relating to sex, to be administered to any pupil in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The California Healthy Kids Survey is an anonymous, confidential survey of school climate and safety, student wellness, and youth resiliency.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to ensure the California Healthy Kids Survey includes
questions about sexual and reproductive health care as a core survey module for pupils in grades 7, 9, and 11. The bill would require each school district serving pupils in any of grades 5, 7, 9, or 11 to administer the California Healthy Kids Survey to pupils in the applicable grades, as provided. By imposing new requirements on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 51934 of the Education Code is amended to read:51934.
(a) Each school district shall ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education from instructors trained in the appropriate courses. Each pupil shall receive this instruction at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school. This instruction shall include all of the following:(1) Information on the nature of HIV, as well as other sexually transmitted infections, and their effects on the human body.
(2) Information on the manner in which HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are and are not transmitted, including information
on the relative risk of infection according to specific
behaviors, including sexual activities and injection drug use.
(3) Information that abstinence from sexual activity and injection drug use is the only certain way to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy. This instruction shall provide information about the value of delaying sexual activity while also providing medically accurate information on other methods of preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
(4) Information about the effectiveness and safety of all federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods that prevent or reduce the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, including use of
antiretroviral medication, consistent with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(5) Information about the effectiveness and safety of reducing the risk of HIV transmission as a result of injection drug use by decreasing needle use and needle sharing.
(6) Information about the treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, including how antiretroviral therapy can dramatically prolong the lives of many people living with HIV and reduce the likelihood of transmitting HIV to others.
(7) Discussion about social views on HIV and AIDS, including addressing unfounded stereotypes and myths regarding HIV and AIDS and people living with HIV. This instruction shall emphasize that successfully
treated HIV-positive individuals have a normal life expectancy, all people are at some risk of contracting HIV, and the only way to know if one is HIV-positive is to get tested.
(8) (A) Information about local resources, how to access local resources, and pupils’ legal rights to access local resources for sexual and reproductive health care, including, but not limited to, information regarding:
(i) Testing, preventive care, and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
(ii) Pregnancy prevention and care, including, but not limited to, guidance regarding contraceptive methods and abortion.
(iii) Assistance with and
medical care pertaining to sexual assault and intimate partner violence.
(B) Upon completion of the instruction described in subparagraph (A), all pupils shall receive a physical or digital resource detailing the local resources described in subparagraph (A).
(9) Information about the effectiveness and safety of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy, including, but not limited to, emergency contraception. Instruction on pregnancy shall include an objective discussion of all legally available pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Parenting, adoption, and abortion.
(B) Information on the law on
surrendering physical custody of a minor child 72 hours of age or younger, pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 271.5 of the Penal Code.
(C) The importance of prenatal care.
(10)Information about obtaining abortions during different stages of pregnancy, including informational resources, methods, and medical risks. Instruction shall also discuss accessibility of and community attitudes toward reproductive care, with an emphasis on positive community tenets such as inclusivity and support in conversations surrounding abortion or contraception.
(11)
(10) Information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Information on human trafficking shall include both of the following:
(A) Information on the prevalence, nature, and strategies to reduce the risk of human trafficking, techniques to set healthy boundaries, and how to safely seek assistance.
(B) Information on how social media and mobile device applications are used for human trafficking.
(12)
(11) Information about adolescent relationship abuse and intimate partner violence, including the early warning signs thereof.
(b) A school district may provide optional instruction, as part of comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education, regarding the potential risks and consequences of
creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking internet websites, computer networks, or other digital media.
(c) A school district may provide comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction earlier than grade 7 using instructors trained in the appropriate courses. A school district that elects to offer comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education earlier than grade 7 may provide age appropriate and medically accurate information on any of the general topics contained in paragraphs (1) to (12), (11),
inclusive, of subdivision (a).
SEC. 2.
Section 51934.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:51934.1.
(a) The department shall ensure that the California Healthy Kids Survey includes questions about sexual and reproductive health care as a core module for pupils in grades 7, 9, and 11.(b) After the California Healthy Kids Survey is modified pursuant to subdivision (a), each school district serving pupils in any of grades 5, 7, 9, or 11 shall administer the California Healthy Kids Survey, consistent with Sections 51938 and 51939, to pupils in those applicable grades. Questions about sexual and reproductive health shall only be included in the surveys administered to pupils in grades 7, 9, and 11.
