Text of MA H 2053 (2017)

1 of 10 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2653 FILED ON: 1/20/2017 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2053 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: James J. O'Day and Paul Brodeur _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act relative to healthy youth. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: James J. O'Day 14th Worcester Paul Brodeur 32nd Middlesex Solomon Goldstein-Rose 3rd Hampshire Jack Lewis 7th Middlesex Cory Atkins 14th Middlesex Ruth B. Balser 12th Middlesex Christine P. Barber 34th Middlesex Jennifer E. Benson 37th Middlesex Daniel Cahill 10th Essex James M. Cantwell 4th Plymouth Gailanne M. Cariddi 1st Berkshire Evandro C. Carvalho 5th Suffolk Gerard Cassidy 9th Plymouth Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex Edward F. Coppinger 10th Suffolk Brendan P. Crighton 11th Essex Daniel Cullinane 12th Suffolk Josh S. Cutler 6th Plymouth 2 of 10 Michael S. Day 31st Middlesex Marjorie C. Decker 25th Middlesex Diana DiZoglio 14th Essex Daniel M. Donahue 16th Worcester William Driscoll 7th Norfolk Michelle M. DuBois 10th Plymouth Carolyn C. Dykema 8th Middlesex Lori A. Ehrlich 8th Essex James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester Tricia Farley-Bouvier 3rd Berkshire Dylan Fernandes Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Ann-Margaret Ferrante 5th Essex Linda Dorcena Forry First Suffolk Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex Denise C. Garlick 13th Norfolk Carmine L. Gentile 13th Middlesex Carlos Gonzalez 10th Hampden Kenneth I. Gordon 21st Middlesex Danielle W. Gregoire 4th Middlesex Stephan Hay 3rd Worcester Jonathan Hecht 29th Middlesex Paul R. Heroux 2nd Bristol Natalie Higgins 4th Worcester Kate Hogan 3rd Middlesex Kevin G. Honan 17th Suffolk Daniel J. Hunt 13th Suffolk Louis L. Kafka 8th Norfolk Jay R. Kaufman 15th Middlesex Mary S. Keefe 15th Worcester Kay Khan 11th Middlesex Peter V. Kocot 1st Hampshire Stephen Kulik 1st Franklin John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex David Paul Linsky 5th Middlesex Barbara A. L'Italien Second Essex and Middlesex Jay D. Livingstone 8th Suffolk Joan B. Lovely Second Essex Adrian Madaro 1st Suffolk 3 of 10 John J. Mahoney 13th Worcester Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk Paul W. Mark 2nd Berkshire Juana Matias 16th Essex Paul McMurtry 11th Norfolk Joan Meschino 3rd Plymouth Aaron Michlewitz 3rd Suffolk Michael O. Moore Second Worcester Sarah K. Peake 4th Barnstable Alice Hanlon Peisch 14th Norfolk William Smitty Pignatelli 4th Berkshire Denise Provost 27th Middlesex David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex Byron Rushing 9th Suffolk Daniel J. Ryan 2nd Suffolk Jeffrey Sánchez 15th Suffolk Paul A. Schmid, III 8th Bristol John W. Scibak 2nd Hampshire Frank I. Smizik 15th Norfolk Theodore C. Speliotis 13th Essex Thomas M. Stanley 9th Middlesex Jose F. Tosado 9th Hampden Paul Tucker 7th Essex Steven Ultrino 33rd Middlesex Aaron Vega 5th Hampden Chris Walsh 6th Middlesex Bud Williams 11th Hampden Jonathan D. Zlotnik 2nd Worcester 4 of 10 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2653 FILED ON: 1/20/2017 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2053 By Messrs. O'Day of West Boylston and Brodeur of Melrose, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2053) of James J. O'Day and others relative to sexual education programs in certain public schools. Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court (2017-2018) _______________ An Act relative to healthy youth. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 2 32A and inserting in place thereof the following sections:- 3 Section 32A. Every city, town, regional school district, vocational school district or 4 charter school implementing or maintaining a curriculum that primarily involves human sexual 5 education or human sexuality issues shall adopt a written policy ensuring parental or legal 6 guardian notification of the comprehensive sexual health education provided by the school, the 7 right of the parent or legal guardian to withdraw a student from all or part of the instruction, and 8 the notification process to the school for withdrawal. The policy shall also include a process for 9 parents and legal guardians to inspect the program instruction materials prior to the start of the 10 course, if the parent or legal guardian requests to review the materials. 11 Such notification must be provided in all languages that meet the federal definition for 12 Limited English Proficiency. The policy shall be distributed annually by September 1 to parents 5 of 10 13 or guardians of a student in a grade that includes a comprehensive sexual health education 14 curriculum during the upcoming academic year. The policy shall also be distributed in the same 15 manner as any student handbook that is distributed to students. If student handbooks are not 16 distributed in a certain grade, the policy shall be distributed in the same manner as other notices 17 provided to parents and guardians at the start of the school year. Upon adoption or amendment, 18 a copy of each district’s policy shall be sent to the department of elementary and secondary 19 education after adoption. 20 If a parent or guardian withdraws a student from all or part of sexual health instruction, 21 the student shall not be subject to disciplinary action, academic penalty or any other sanction. 22 An alternative educational activity shall be made available to students who have been withdrawn 23 from instruction. 24 Section 32B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the 25 context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: 26 “Age-appropriate”, topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular ages or 27 age groups of children and adolescents, based on cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral 28 capacity typical for that age or age group. 29 “Consent”, affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal, 30 physical, or sexual activity. 31 “Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education. 6 of 10 32 “Gender Identity”, a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or 33 not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally 34 associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. 35 “Medically accurate”, verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in 36 compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where 37 applicable, or otherwise recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional public 38 health or medical, psychological, and psychiatric organizations, government agencies and 39 scientific advisory groups with relevant expertise in the field. 40 “Sexual Orientation”, homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality; for purposes of 41 curriculum and instruction, “sexual orientation” includes an individual’s attraction, including 42 physical or emotional, to the same and/or different genders. 43 (b) Each city, town, regional school district, vocational school district, or charter school 44 that offers sexual health education shall provide medically accurate, age-appropriate, 45 comprehensive sexual health education. Sexual health education shall be appropriate for 46 students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and 47 shall include, but not be limited to, teaching the following topics: 48 (i) The physical, social, and emotional changes of human development; 49 (ii) Human anatomy, reproduction, and sexual development; 50 (iii) The benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity, in conjunction with the 51 effective use of contraceptives and barrier methods, such as condoms, medication, and birth 7 of 10 52 control, to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including 53 HIV/AIDS, and the options for pregnancy, including parenting, adoption, and abortion; 54 (iv) Ways to effectively discuss safe sexual activity; 55 (v) Healthy relationships, including friendships and relationships within families, and 56 communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of violence, coercion, and 57 intimidation and to make healthy decisions about relationships and sexuality; this includes: 58 (1) Developing effective communication, negotiation, and refusal skills, including the 59 skills to recognize and report inappropriate or abusive sexual advances; 60 (2) Understanding bodily autonomy, setting and respecting personal boundaries, 61 practicing personal safety, and consent; 62 (3) Critical thinking, problem solving, self-sufficiency, and decision making; 63 (4) Discussion of healthy relationships, including affirmative representation of 64 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, relationships, and families; and 65 (5) Encouraging youth to communicate with their parents or guardians, as well as 66 faith, health, and social service professionals, and other trusted adults about sexuality and 67 intimate relationships; and 68 (vi) Age-appropriate information about gender identity and sexual orientation for all 69 students, including: 70 (1) Affirmative recognition that people have different sexual orientations, gender 71 identities, and gender expressions; 8 of 10 72 (2) Information about community resources that can provide additional support for 73 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. 74 (c) Any city, town, regional school district, vocational school district or charter school 75 that utilizes curricula consistent with the Massachusetts curriculum framework for 76 comprehensive health shall be in compliance with this section. 77 (d) The department shall promulgate rules to implement, administer, and ensure 78 compliance with the provisions of this section. 79 (e) The department shall determine minimum education and training qualifications for 80 sex education instructors. 81 (f) Pursuant to its authority under section 1E of chapter 69 of the general laws, the board 82 of elementary and secondary education shall direct the commissioner to update the health 83 curriculum framework, including provisions relative to sexual health education consistent with 84 this section, upon the effective date of this act and no less than once every 10 years thereafter. 85 32C. (a) The department may promulgate regulations setting forth a complaint procedure 86 to enforce this Act, subject to subsection (b). A final determination of a complaint by the 87 department shall be appealable to the Massachusetts Superior Court. 88 (b) Any parent or guardian with a child enrolled in a city, town, regional school district, 89 vocational school district, or charter school, or any student having legal capacity enrolled in such 90 a school or school district, who believes the school district is not complying with the 91 requirements of Section 32B may enforce the provisions of Section 32B of this chapter in 92 superior court. 9 of 10 93 SECTION 2. Section 1I of Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 94 amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following:- Beginning the first academic year 95 following the effective date of this act, each city, town, regional school district, vocational school 96 district, or charter school shall file an annual report with the department regarding sexual health 97 education in the district by a date and in a format to be determined by the board. Said report 98 shall include, but not be limited to, the following data for each city, town, regional school 99 district, vocational school district, or charter school, by grade level: (1) a description of any 100 sexual health education curricula offered; (2) the approximate number of hours spent on sexual 101 health education; (3) the number of students receiving sexual health education; and (4) the 102 number of students who withdrew from sexual health education, pursuant to section 32A. 103 SECTION 3. Section 1 of chapter 71 of the general laws, as so appearing, is hereby 104 amended by inserting after the word “resuscitation”, in line 23, the following words:- ; provided, 105 however, that for any school located in a city or town with an adolescent or young adult sexually 106 transmitted infection (STI) incidence rate higher than the state average, and any regional school 107 district where one of the constituent cities or towns has an adolescent or young adult STI 108 incidence rate higher than the state average, instruction in health education shall additionally 109 include comprehensive sexual health education consistent with the requirements laid out in 110 section 32B of chapter 71 of the general laws. The department of elementary and secondary 111 education shall determine for each academic year which school districts and individual schools 112 shall be subject to such additional sexual health education instruction requirements based on the 113 STD, HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report published annually by the department 114 of public health. 10 of 10 115 SECTION 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect for the academic year 116 immediately following its passage. 117 SECTION 5. Section 3 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2020.