Text of MA S 234 (2017)

1 of 9 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 912 FILED ON: 1/19/2017 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 234 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Sal N. DiDomenico _________________ 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: Sal N. DiDomenico Middlesex and Suffolk Solomon Goldstein-Rose 3rd Hampshire 1/20/2017 Jack Lewis 7th Middlesex 1/23/2017 Steven Ultrino 33rd Middlesex 1/23/2017 Jay R. Kaufman 15th Middlesex 1/25/2017 Cory Atkins 14th Middlesex 1/25/2017 Danielle W. Gregoire 4th Middlesex 1/25/2017 John W. Scibak 2nd Hampshire 1/25/2017 Barbara A. L'Italien Second Essex and Middlesex 1/25/2017 Lori A. Ehrlich 8th Essex 1/26/2017 Michael J. Barrett Third Middlesex 1/26/2017 John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex 1/26/2017 Kevin G. Honan 17th Suffolk 1/26/2017 Joseph A. Boncore First Suffolk and Middlesex 1/26/2017 Linda Dorcena Forry First Suffolk 1/27/2017 Patricia D. Jehlen Second Middlesex 1/27/2017 Michael D. Brady Second Plymouth and Bristol 1/27/2017 William N. Brownsberger Second Suffolk and Middlesex 1/27/2017 2 of 9 Marjorie C. Decker 25th Middlesex 1/29/2017 Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex 1/30/2017 Kenneth J. Donnelly Fourth Middlesex 1/30/2017 Thomas M. McGee Third Essex 1/30/2017 Cynthia S. Creem First Middlesex and Norfolk 1/30/2017 Kay Khan 11th Middlesex 1/31/2017 Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex 1/31/2017 Denise Provost 27th Middlesex 1/31/2017 James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester 1/31/2017 Julian Cyr Cape and Islands 2/1/2017 Paul R. Heroux 2nd Bristol 2/1/2017 Jay D. Livingstone 8th Suffolk 2/1/2017 Joan B. Lovely Second Essex 2/2/2017 Daniel J. Ryan 2nd Suffolk 2/2/2017 Mary S. Keefe 15th Worcester 2/2/2017 James J. O'Day 14th Worcester 2/2/2017 Juana Matias 16th Essex 2/2/2017 Eileen M. Donoghue First Middlesex 2/2/2017 Thomas M. Stanley 9th Middlesex 2/3/2017 Michael O. Moore Second Worcester 2/3/2017 Jose F. Tosado 9th Hampden 2/3/2017 Eric P. Lesser First Hampden and Hampshire 2/3/2017 Alice Hanlon Peisch 14th Norfolk 2/3/2017 Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk 2/3/2017 Carmine L. Gentile 13th Middlesex 2/6/2017 3 of 9 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 912 FILED ON: 1/19/2017 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 234 By Mr. DiDomenico, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 234) of Sal N. DiDomenico, Solomon Goldstein-Rose, Jack Lewis, Steven Ultrino and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to student sex education. Education. [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION SEE SENATE, NO. 265 OF 2015-2016.] 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, as appearing in the 2014 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 4 of 9 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. 12 Such notification must be provided in all languages that meet the federal definition for 13 Limited English Proficiency. The policy shall be distributed annually by September 1 to parents 14 or guardians of a student in a grade that includes a comprehensive sexual health education 15 curriculum during the upcoming academic year. The policy shall also be distributed in the same 16 manner as any student handbook that is distributed to students. If student handbooks are not 17 distributed in a certain grade, the policy shall be distributed in the same manner as other notices 18 provided to parents and guardians at the start of the school year. Upon adoption or amendment, 19 a copy of each district’s policy shall be sent to the department of elementary and secondary 20 education after adoption. 21 If a parent or guardian withdraws a student from all or part of sexual health instruction, 22 the student shall not be subject to disciplinary action, academic penalty or any other sanction. 23 An alternative educational activity shall be made available to students who have been withdrawn 24 from instruction. 25 Section 32B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the 26 context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: 27 “Age-appropriate”, topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular ages or 28 age groups of children and adolescents, based on cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral 29 capacity typical for that age or age group. 30 “Consent”, affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal, 31 physical, or sexual activity. 5 of 9 32 “Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education. 33 “Gender Identity”, a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or 34 not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally 35 associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. 36 “Medically accurate”, verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in 37 compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where 38 applicable, or otherwise recognized as accurate and objective by leading professional public 39 health or medical, psychological, and psychiatric organizations, government agencies and 40 scientific advisory groups with relevant expertise in the field. 41 “Sexual Orientation”, homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality; for purposes of 42 curriculum and instruction, “sexual orientation” includes an individual’s attraction, including 43 physical or emotional, to the 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 provide medically accurate, age-appropriate, 46 comprehensive sexual health education. Sexual health education shall be appropriate for 47 students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and 48 shall include, but not be limited to, teaching the following topics: 49 (i) The physical, social, and emotional changes of human development; 50 (ii) Human anatomy, reproduction, and sexual development; 51 (iii) The benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity, in conjunction with the 52 effective use of contraceptives and barrier methods, such as condoms, medication, and birth 6 of 9 53 control, to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including 54 HIV/AIDS, and the options for pregnancy, including parenting, adoption, and abortion; 55 (iv) Ways to effectively discuss safe sexual activity; 56 (v) Healthy relationships, including friendships and relationships within families, and 57 communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of violence, coercion, and 58 intimidation and to make healthy decisions about relationships and sexuality; this includes: 59 (1) Developing effective communication, negotiation, and refusal skills, including the 60 skills to recognize and report inappropriate or abusive sexual advances; 61 (2) Understanding bodily autonomy, setting and respecting personal boundaries, 62 practicing personal safety, and consent; 63 (3) Critical thinking, problem solving, self-sufficiency, and decision making; 64 (4) Discussion of healthy relationships, including affirmative representation of 65 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, relationships, and families; and 66 (5) Encouraging youth to communicate with their parents or guardians, as well as 67 faith, health, and social service professionals, and other trusted adults about sexuality and 68 intimate relationships; and 69 (vi) Age-appropriate information about gender identity and sexual orientation for all 70 students, including: 71 (1) Affirmative recognition that people have different sexual orientations, gender 72 identities, and gender expressions; 7 of 9 73 (2) Information about community resources that can provide additional support for 74 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. 75 (c) Any city, town, regional school district, vocational school district or charter school 76 that utilizes curricula consistent with the Massachusetts curriculum framework for 77 comprehensive health shall be in compliance with this section. 78 (d) The department shall promulgate rules to implement, administer, and ensure 79 compliance with the provisions of this section. 80 (e) The department shall determine minimum education and training qualifications for 81 sex education instructors. 82 (f) Pursuant to its authority under section 1E of chapter 69 of the general laws, the board 83 of elementary and secondary education shall direct the commissioner to update the health 84 curriculum framework, including provisions relative to sexual health education consistent with 85 this section, upon the effective date of this act and no less than once every 10 years thereafter. 86 32C. (a) The department may promulgate regulations setting forth a complaint procedure 87 to enforce this Act, subject to subsection (b). A final determination of a complaint by the 88 department shall be appealable to the Massachusetts Superior Court. 89 (b) Any parent or guardian with a child enrolled in a city, town, regional school district, 90 vocational school district, or charter school, or any student having legal capacity enrolled in such 91 a school or school district, who believes the school district is not complying with the 92 requirements of Section 32B may enforce the provisions of Section 32B of this chapter in 93 superior court. 8 of 9 94 SECTION 2. Section 1I of Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 95 amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following:- Beginning the first academic year 96 following the effective date of this act, each city, town, regional school district, vocational school 97 district, or charter school shall file an annual report with the department regarding sexual health 98 education in the district by a date and in a format to be determined by the board. Said report 99 shall include, but not be limited to, the following data for each city, town, regional school 100 district, vocational school district, or charter school, by grade level: (1) a description of any 101 sexual health education curricula offered; (2) the approximate number of hours spent on sexual 102 health education; (3) the number of students receiving sexual health education; and (4) the 103 number of students who withdrew from sexual health education, pursuant to section 32A. 104 SECTION 3. Section 1 of chapter 71 of the general laws, as so appearing, is hereby 105 amended by inserting after the word “resuscitation”, in line 23, the following words:- ; provided, 106 however, that for any school located in a city or town with an adolescent or young adult sexually 107 transmitted infection (STI) incidence rate higher than the state average, and any regional school 108 district where one of the constituent cities or towns has an adolescent or young adult STI 109 incidence rate higher than the state average, instruction in health education shall additionally 110 include comprehensive sexual health education consistent with the requirements laid out in 111 section 32B of chapter 71 of the general laws. The department of elementary and secondary 112 education shall determine for each academic year which school districts and individual schools 113 shall be subject to such additional sexual health education instruction requirements based on the 114 STD, HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report published annually by the department 115 of public health. 9 of 9 116 SECTION 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect for the academic year 117 immediately following its passage. 118 SECTION 5. Section 3 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2020.