SB 71 and Sex Education
Is Your School District's Sex & HIV/AIDS Education Following the Law? Find out how to make sure kids in your community are getting the information they need.
As of January 1, 2004, California has new laws covering sex education in this state. As a parent, student or community member, here are some things you may want to know.
• Sex ed is not required. HIV/AIDS education is required once in middle school and once in high school.
• If schools offer sex ed, they cannot provide an abstinence-only program.
Abstinence-only education offers abstinence as the only choice for preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Many abstinence-only programs are religious in nature; sexuality education cannot promote any religious ideas.
• Sex education must be medically accurate, age-appropriate, and, starting in 7th grade must cover abstinence, effectiveness and safety of birth control, protection from sexually transmitted diseases, and decision-making. This means that if schools are offering sex ed, they must cover these subjects. They must look to trusted sources of information, like the American Academy of Pediatrics, to determine medical accuracy. All pregnancy and STD prevention devices that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration must be covered.
• Parents must be notified that their child will have sex ed or HIV/AIDS education and be allowed to see the materials before the classes start. If parents don’t want their children to take the class they must write a note requesting that.
• Teachers of both HIV/AIDS education and sexuality education must be trained in the subject. Schools may use outside organizations or speakers, if they have training, but those organizations must also follow the laws when they present.
• English language learners and students with disabilities must get sexuality and HIV/AIDS education that is right for them.
Schools must make sure that all students can get sexuality and HIV/AIDS education in a way that works for them.
• Sexuality education must respect and address the needs of students of all sexual orientations.
Questions and Answers About SB 71: The California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Act
A Guide for Parents, Students and Community Members
What should I do if I find out that a school is teaching biased or medically inaccurate information?
If you suspect or know that a school is teaching biased or inaccurate sex education or HIV/AIDS prevention education, you should:
1. Collect as much information about and materials from the class as possible.
2. Examine the materials to try to determine whether they meet the requirements of the law. Below are some resources:
The text of SB 71 can be accessed via the Internet at www.leginfo.ca.gov: select “bill information,” type in “SB 71,” select SB 71 from the list of bills that appears, and then select the chaptered version.
The California School Health Connections office is the office within the California Department of Education that oversees sex education and HIV/AIDS education programs. This department is familiar with the requirements of the law. Its web site is http://www.cde.ca.gov/cyfsbranch/lsp/health/
A good source of medically accurate data and statistics on condom effectiveness, risks of abortion, etc. is: The Alan Guttmacher Institute (www.agi-usa.org). Evaluate the statistics found in your school’s curriculum against these medically accurate statistics.
3. Familiarize yourself with the research surrounding the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education curricula and the lack of proven effectiveness of abstinence-only curricula. This research, as well as general information about problematic abstinence-only curricula, may be found at the following websites:
o The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
www.teenpregnancy.org, click on “Research, Resources and Information”
o Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS)
www.siecus.org, click on the “School Health Clearinghouse”
o Advocates for Youth
www.advocatesforyouth.org
4. Write up your findings and present them to the teacher, principal, superintendent of your school district, and school board. Request that the inaccurate, biased curriculum be replaced with a comprehensive curriculum that is medically accurate, research-based, and effective.
5. Be persistent and persuasive! Involve other parents, students, and community members in your efforts.
6. For more information and technical or legal assistance, contact the ACLU office or Planned Parenthood affiliate in your area. For information on how activists in the Bay Area are mobilizing in support of comprehensive sex education and against inaccurate abstinence-only programs, contact Bay Area Communities for Health Education at: BacheMtDiablo@aol.com.
Do schools have to teach sex education?
No. Just as before the new law was passed, schools do not have to teach sex education , which the law defines as: “education regarding human development and sexuality, including education on pregnancy, family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases.” (51931 (b)). But, if they do, they must follow specific requirements about what they teach and notifying parents.
Do schools have to teach HIV/AIDS prevention education?
Yes. Since 1992, California public schools have been required to teach HIV/AIDS prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school. The new law does not change this. HIV/AIDS prevention education is defined as: “instruction on the nature of HIV/AIDS, methods of transmission, strategies to reduce the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and social and public health issues related to HIV/AIDS” (51931 (d)).
If schools do teach sex education, what do they have to cover?
According to the law, comprehensive sexual health education must:
• Be age appropriate;
• Be medically accurate and objective;
• Be equally available to English language learners;
• Be appropriate for use with pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds;
• Be appropriate for and accessible to students with disabilities
• Encourage students to communicate with their parents or guardians about sexuality; and
• Teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.
It cannot teach or promote any religious doctrine or reflect or promote bias against any person who is protected by the non-discrimination policy. (To find that information see Education Code section 220.)
In grades 7-12, sex education classes must teach about:
• abstinence from sexual activity;
• sexually transmitted diseases, their transmission, treatment, and prevention, including information about the effectiveness and safety of all FDA-approved methods of reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases;
• the effectiveness and safety of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods; and
• the California law allowing parents to surrender newborn babies to hospitals or other designated sites without legal penalty.
• making and implementing responsible decisions about sexuality.
All of the above topics may also be included in classes taught prior to 7th grade.
What must HIV/AIDS prevention classes cover?
The new law does not significantly change the content requirements for HIV/AIDS prevention education, but it does require that HIV/AIDS prevention education must follow the same general criteria as comprehensive sexual health education. HIV/AIDS prevention education must:
• Be age appropriate;
• Be medically accurate and objective;
• Be equally available to English language learners;
• Be appropriate for use with pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds;
• Be appropriate for and accessible to pupils with disabilities; and
• Encourage students to communicate with their parents or guardians about human sexuality.
HIV/AIDS prevention instruction must provide information on:
• The nature of HIV/AIDS and its effects on the body;
• HIV transmission;
• Methods to reduce the risk of HIV infection, including both abstinence and condoms;
• Public health issues associated with HIV/AIDS;
• Local resources for HIV testing and medical care
Classes must also assist students in developing refusal and decision-making skills, and include discussion about societal views on HIV/AIDS, including stereotypes and myths regarding people living with AIDS. And it must emphasize compassion for people living with AIDS.
Can schools to teach sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention education in elementary school?
Yes. Comprehensive sex education may be taught in grades K-12 with no particular topic requirements for grades K through 6. But it still needs to follow the same guidelines as for older grades.
HIV/AIDS prevention education may be taught in elementary school and must be taught at least once in middle school and once in high school. This education must follow the same general criteria as comprehensive sexual health education, listed above, and must include the same topics as HIV/AIDS prevention education taught in later grades.
Does the law ban abstinence-only education?
Yes. “abstinence-only” sex education, or education that offers abstinence as the only choice for preventing pregnancy or disease is not allowed under the law. If sexuality and human development are covered, schools must cover birth control methods, sexually transmitted disease prevention including success and failure rates – not just failure rates (see “What do schools have to cover”).
Instruction that emphasizes the benefits of abstinence, while focusing only on the failure rates or perceived disadvantages of condoms and other contraceptives, is also prohibited by law. This would violate legal requirements that the instruction cover the effectiveness and safety (not solely the ineffectiveness) of condoms and other contraceptive methods and would also violate requirements that the instruction be medically accurate and objective.
Who decides whether the facts are medically accurate?
The law defines medical accuracy as verified by proper scientific research and recognized as accurate and objective by agencies with expertise in the field, such as the CDC, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Does the law address sexual orientation?
Yes. The law requires that sex education be appropriate for use with students of all sexual orientations and clearly states that part of the intent of the law is “to encourage a pupil to develop healthy attitudes concerning adolescent growth and development, body image, gender roles, sexual orientation, dating, marriage, and family.” The law prohibits sex education classes from teaching or promoting religious doctrine and from promoting bias against anyone who is protected by the state’s school nondiscrimination policy, which includes actual or perceived gender and sexual orientation. (see Education Code section 220, for more information)
In addition, the law removes previous language referring to “abstinence until marriage” to reflect that, if today’s laws remain the same, not all students will have the right to marry their chosen life partner. And it replaces the previous requirement to teach “honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage,” with the more inclusive requirement to teach “respect for marriage and committed relationships.”
Does the law protect students with disabilities?
Yes. The law requires instruction and materials to be appropriate for use with pupils with disabilities and be accessible to them. This includes, but is not limited to, “the provision of a modified curriculum, materials and instruction in alternative formats, and auxiliary aids.” (51933(b)(5))
Does the law make sure students who are English language learners also get sexuality education?
Yes. The law requires that instruction be made available on an equal basis to pupils who are English learners, whether they are placed in English immersion classes or alternative bilingual education classes. The instruction they receive must have the same information and messages as the existing sex education curriculum. The law also requires that sexual health education classes be appropriate for use with students of all races and ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Does the new law affect parental notification and consent policies?
Yes. The law recognizes that while parents and guardians overwhelmingly support teaching medically accurate, comprehensive sex education in schools, they are responsible for telling their children their values about human sexuality. So, they may choose to withdraw their children from this instruction.
But the new law makes the specifics of parental notification and consent easier and clearer. The school must notify parents or guardians at the beginning of the school year about planned sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention education. Parents must be given an opportunity to review materials, and be given the opportunity to request in writing that their child not take part in that class. Schools are not allowed to require parents to sign a permission slip or anything else to allow student into a sex education or HIV/AIDS prevention class.
So researchers can determine how effective sex education or pregnancy prevention programs are, school are allowed to administer anonymous, voluntary, confidential, age-appropriate surveys or questionnaires in which students are asked about their sexual activities and attitudes in order to measure their health behaviors and risks. Parents must be notified of any planned assessments, be given the opportunity to review the assessments and, in grades 7-12, be given the opportunity to request in writing that their children not participate. Again, schools may not require parents to sign permission slips for students in grades 7 to 12. Before 7th grade, parents must give their active consent in order for their child to participate.
These parental notification and consent policies apply only to sexual health education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and related assessments. The law does not allow parents to remove their children from anti-harassment programs or other instruction that discusses gender, sexual orientation, or family life but does not discuss human reproductive organs and their functions.
Does the law let schools use outside speakers?
Yes. Schools may contract with outside agencies with expertise in the field to provide comprehensive sexual health and/or HIV/AIDS prevention education, or to provide training to school personnel. Instruction provided by outside instructors must fulfill the same requirements as instruction provided by teachers employed by the school district.
Does the law require teachers to be trained?
Yes. Mandated HIV/AIDS prevention education must be taught by instructors trained in the appropriate courses. If school districts choose to teach comprehensive sexual health education, this subject must also be taught by instructors trained in the appropriate courses. The law defines “instructors trained in the appropriate courses” as: “instructors with knowledge of the most recent medically accurate research on human sexuality, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases.” (51931(e))
In addition, as was true under previous law, school districts must provide periodic training to HIV/AIDS prevention teachers to enable them to learn new developments in the scientific understanding of HIV/AIDS. Teachers who can show expertise in the field, or who have received training from the California Department of Education or CDC, do not need additional training by the district. School districts may expand the training to include comprehensive sexual health education.
For more information on SB 71, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and sex education in California schools, contact Chris Berry at the School Health Connections office of the California Department of Education, (916) 319-0285. Email NARAL Pro-Choice California at info@ProChoiceCA.org for a Curricula Checklist that you can use to determine whether specific programs in your local schools are in compliance with the new law. For more information on how to get active on this issue Click Here.
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