Text of MA H 410 (2020)

1 of 9 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 827 FILED ON: 1/14/2019 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 410 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Paul Brodeur and James J. O'Day _________________ 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: Paul Brodeur 32nd Middlesex James J. O'Day 14th Worcester Jack Patrick Lewis 7th Middlesex Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex Steven Ultrino 33rd Middlesex Louis L. Kafka 8th Norfolk William J. Driscoll, Jr. 7th Norfolk Michael J. Moran 18th Suffolk James Arciero 2nd Middlesex Ruth B. Balser 12th Middlesex Christine P. Barber 34th Middlesex John Barrett, III 1st Berkshire Michael J. Barrett Third Middlesex Jennifer E. Benson 37th Middlesex David Biele 4th Suffolk Natalie M. Blais 1st Franklin Joseph A. Boncore First Suffolk and Middlesex Daniel Cahill 10th Essex 2 of 9 Peter Capano 11th Essex Gerard J. Cassidy 9th Plymouth Harriette L. Chandler First Worcester Sonia Chang-Diaz Second Suffolk Michelle L. Ciccolo 15th Middlesex Edward F. Coppinger 10th Suffolk Brendan P. Crighton Third Essex Daniel R. Cullinane 12th Suffolk Josh S. Cutler 6th Plymouth Julian Cyr Cape and Islands Michael S. Day 31st Middlesex Marjorie C. Decker 25th Middlesex Sal N. DiDomenico Middlesex and Suffolk Mindy Domb 3rd Hampshire Daniel M. Donahue 16th Worcester Michelle M. DuBois 10th Plymouth Carolyn C. Dykema 8th Middlesex Lori A. Ehrlich 8th Essex James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester Nika C. Elugardo 15th Suffolk Tricia Farley-Bouvier 3rd Berkshire Paul R. Feeney Bristol and Norfolk Dylan A. Fernandes Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Ann-Margaret Ferrante 5th Essex Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex Denise C. Garlick 13th Norfolk Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex Carlos Gonzalez 10th Hampden Kenneth I. Gordon 21st Middlesex Tami L. Gouveia 14th Middlesex Danielle W. Gregoire 4th Middlesex Patricia A. Haddad 5th Bristol Richard M. Haggerty 30th Middlesex James K. Hawkins 2nd Bristol Stephan Hay 3rd Worcester Jonathan Hecht 29th Middlesex Christopher Hendricks 11th Bristol Natalie M. Higgins 4th Worcester Kate Hogan 3rd Middlesex 3 of 9 Russell E. Holmes 6th Suffolk Kevin G. Honan 17th Suffolk Daniel J. Hunt 13th Suffolk Patricia D. Jehlen Second Middlesex Patrick Joseph Kearney 4th Plymouth Mary S. Keefe 15th Worcester James M. Kelcourse 1st Essex Kay Khan 11th Middlesex Kathleen R. LaNatra 12th Plymouth John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf 17th Worcester Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex David Paul Linsky 5th Middlesex Jay D. Livingstone 8th Suffolk Adrian C. Madaro 1st Suffolk John J. Mahoney 13th Worcester Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk Paul W. Mark 2nd Berkshire Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr. 28th Middlesex Paul McMurtry 11th Norfolk Joan Meschino 3rd Plymouth Aaron Michlewitz 3rd Suffolk Christina A. Minicucci 14th Essex Liz Miranda 5th Suffolk Michael O. Moore Second Worcester Harold P. Naughton, Jr. 12th Worcester Tram T. Nguyen 18th Essex Sarah K. Peake 4th Barnstable Alice Hanlon Peisch 14th Norfolk Smitty Pignatelli 4th Berkshire Denise Provost 27th Middlesex Rebecca L. Rausch Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex Maria Duaime Robinson 6th Middlesex David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex Jeffrey N. Roy 10th Norfolk Daniel J. Ryan 2nd Suffolk Lindsay N. Sabadosa 1st Hampshire Jon Santiago 9th Suffolk Paul A. Schmid, III 8th Bristol 4 of 9 Thomas M. Stanley 9th Middlesex José F. Tosado 9th Hampden Paul F. Tucker 7th Essex Chynah Tyler 7th Suffolk Andres X. Vargas 3rd Essex Aaron Vega 5th Hampden Tommy Vitolo 15th Norfolk Thomas P. Walsh 12th Essex Timothy R. Whelan 1st Barnstable Susannah M. Whipps 2nd Franklin Bud L. Williams 11th Hampden Donald H. Wong 9th Essex Jonathan D. Zlotnik 2nd Worcester 5 of 9 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 827 FILED ON: 1/14/2019 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 410 By Messrs. Brodeur of Melrose and O'Day of West Boylston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 410) of Paul Brodeur and others relative to sexual health education in public schools. Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court (2019-2020) _______________ 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, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, 2 is hereby amended by striking out section 32A and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sections:- 4 Section 32A. Every city, town, regional school district, vocational school district or 5 charter school implementing or maintaining a curriculum that primarily involves human sexual 6 education or human sexuality issues shall adopt a written policy ensuring parental or legal 7 guardian notification of the comprehensive sexual health education provided by the school, the 8 right of the parent or legal guardian to withdraw a student from all or part of the instruction, and 9 the notification process to the school for withdrawal. The policy shall also include a process for 10 parents and legal guardians to inspect the program instruction materials prior to the start of the 11 course, if the parent or legal guardian requests to review the materials. 6 of 9 12 To the extent possible, such notification shall be provided in English and in other 13 commonly spoken languages spoken by parents and guardians. Annually, no later than 14 September 1, the policy shall be distributed to parents or guardians of a student in a grade that 15 includes a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum during the upcoming academic 16 year; provided, however, that parents or guardians shall not have less than 30 days notification 17 prior to the start of such instruction. The policy shall be distributed in the same manner as any 18 student handbook that is distributed to students. If student handbooks are not distributed in a 19 certain grade, the policy shall be distributed in the same manner as other notices provided to 20 parents and guardians at the start of the school year. Upon adoption or amendment, a copy of 21 each district’s policy, including the name of the comprehensive sexual health education 22 curriculum being used, shall be sent to the department of elementary and secondary education. 23 If a parent or guardian withdraws a student from all or part of the comprehensive sexual 24 health education curriculum, the student shall not be subject to disciplinary action, academic 25 penalty or any other sanction. An alternative educational activity shall be made available to 26 students who have been withdrawn from instruction. 27 Section 32B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the 28 context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: 29 “Age-appropriate”, topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular ages or 30 age groups of children and adolescents, based on developing cognitive, emotional, social, and 31 behavioral capacity typical for that age or age group. 32 “Consent”, affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal, 33 physical, or sexual activity. 7 of 9 34 “Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education. 35 “Gender Identity”, a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or 36 not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally 37 associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. 38 “Medically accurate”, supported by peer-reviewed research conducted in compliance 39 with accepted scientific methods and recognized as accurate and objective by leading medical, 40 psychological, psychiatric and public health organizations and agencies and, if relevant, 41 published in peer-reviewed journals. 42 “Sexual Orientation”, an individual’s attraction, including physical or emotional, to the 43 same and/or different genders. 44 (b) Each city, town, regional school district, vocational school district, or charter school 45 that offers sexual health education shall utilize a research-informed curriculum that offers 46 medically accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education. Sexual health 47 education shall be appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual 48 orientation, or gender identity and shall include, but not be limited to, teaching: (i) physical, 49 social, and emotional changes of human development; (ii) human anatomy, reproduction, and 50 sexual development; (iii) the benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity and the 51 prevention sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy, 52 including the effective use of contraceptives and barrier methods and the options for pregnancy, 53 including parenting, adoption, and abortion; (iv) ways to effectively discuss safe sexual activity; 54 (v) relationship and communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of 55 violence, coercion, and intimidation and to make healthy decisions about relationships and 8 of 9 56 sexuality, including affirmative and voluntary consent to engage in physical or sexual activity, 57 and skills to recognize and prevent dating violence; and (vi) age-appropriate information about 58 gender identity and sexual orientation for all students, including affirmative recognition that 59 people have different sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, and 60 information about resources that offer support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and 61 questioning students. Comprehensive sexual health education shall incorporate opportunities for 62 students to analyze societal and media messages. 63 (c) Any city, town, regional school district, vocational school district or charter school 64 that utilizes curricula consistent with the Massachusetts curriculum framework for 65 comprehensive health shall comply with this section. 66 (d) The department shall promulgate rules to implement, administer, and ensure 67 compliance with the provisions of this section. 68 (e) The department may determine minimum education and training qualifications for sex 69 education instructors. 70 (f) Pursuant section 1E of chapter 69, the board of elementary and secondary education 71 shall direct the commissioner to update the health curriculum framework, including provisions 72 relative to sexual health education consistent with this section, upon the effective date of this act 73 and periodically thereafter. 74 32C. (a) The department may promulgate regulations setting forth a complaint procedure 75 to enforce this Act, subject to subsection (b). A final determination of a complaint by the 76 department shall be appealable to the Massachusetts Superior Court. 9 of 9 77 (b) Any parent or guardian with a child enrolled in a city, town, regional school district, 78 vocational school district, or charter school, or any student having legal capacity enrolled in such 79 a school or school district, who believes the school district is not complying with the 80 requirements of Section 32B may enforce the provisions of Section 32B of this chapter in 81 superior court. 82 SECTION 2. Section 1I of Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 83 amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following:- Beginning the first academic year 84 following the effective date of this act, each city, town, regional school district, vocational school 85 district, or charter school shall file an annual report with the department regarding sexual health 86 education in the district by a date and in a format to be determined by the board. Said report 87 shall include, but not be limited to, the following data for each city, town, regional school 88 district, vocational school district, or charter school, by grade level: (1) the name and a 89 description of any sexual health education curricula offered; (2) the approximate number of 90 hours spent on sexual health education; (3) the number of students receiving sexual health 91 education; and (4) the number of students who withdrew from sexual health education, pursuant 92 to section 32A. 93 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect for the academic year immediately following its 94 passage.