Text of MA S 263 (2019)

1 of 7 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 579 FILED ON: 1/14/2019 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 263 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 Harriette L. Chandler First Worcester 1/25/2019 Sonia Chang-Diaz Second Suffolk 1/24/2019 Michael O. Moore Second Worcester 1/24/2019 Paul R. Feeney Bristol and Norfolk 1/24/2019 William N. Brownsberger Second Suffolk and Middlesex 1/24/2019 Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex 1/24/2019 Joanne M. Comerford Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester 1/25/2019 Rebecca L. Rausch Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex 1/17/2019 Jack Patrick Lewis 7th Middlesex 1/16/2019 Lori A. Ehrlich 8th Essex 1/24/2019 Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex 1/24/2019 David Paul Linsky 5th Middlesex 1/24/2019 Lindsay N. Sabadosa 1st Hampshire 1/24/2019 Maria Duaime Robinson 6th Middlesex 1/25/2019 Tram T. Nguyen 18th Essex 1/29/2019 Mary S. Keefe 15th Worcester 1/29/2019 Julian Cyr Cape and Islands 1/29/2019 2 of 7 James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester 1/29/2019 Kay Khan 11th Middlesex 1/29/2019 Michael J. Barrett Third Middlesex 1/29/2019 Jennifer E. Benson 37th Middlesex 1/29/2019 Diana DiZoglio First Essex 1/30/2019 Daniel J. Hunt 13th Suffolk 1/30/2019 Edward J. Kennedy First Middlesex 1/30/2019 Joseph A. Boncore First Suffolk and Middlesex 1/30/2019 Michael D. Brady Second Plymouth and Bristol 1/30/2019 James T. Welch Hampden 1/30/2019 José F. Tosado 9th Hampden 1/30/2019 Adam G. Hinds Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden 1/30/2019 Patricia D. Jehlen Second Middlesex 1/30/2019 Cindy F. Friedman Fourth Middlesex 1/30/2019 John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex 1/31/2019 Barry R. Finegold Second Essex and Middlesex 1/31/2019 Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk 1/31/2019 John F. Keenan Norfolk and Plymouth 2/1/2019 Eric P. Lesser First Hampden and Hampshire 2/1/2019 James J. O'Day 14th Worcester 2/1/2019 Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex 2/1/2019 Brendan P. Crighton Third Essex 2/1/2019 Nick Collins First Suffolk 2/1/2019 James K. Hawkins 2nd Bristol 2/8/2019 Cynthia Stone Creem First Middlesex and Norfolk 2/11/2019 3 of 7 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 579 FILED ON: 1/14/2019 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 263 By Mr. DiDomenico, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 263) of Sal N. DiDomenico, Harriette L. Chandler, Sonia Chang-Diaz, Michael O. Moore and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to student sex education. Education. [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION SEE SENATE, NO. 234 OF 2017-2018.] 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 4 of 7 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 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. 5 of 7 32 “Consent”, affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal, 33 physical, or sexual activity. 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; 6 of 7 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 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. 7 of 7 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. 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.