2007 Senate Bill 5297: Regarding providing medically and scientifically accurate sexual health education in schools.
Introduced by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, (D-Camano Island) (D) on January 16, 2007
To require schools to provide medically and scientifically accurate, age-appropriate sexual health education. Abstinence education must be included, but not at the exclusion of other materials and instructions on contraceptives and disease prevention. Education materials must be consistent with the January 2005 Guidelines for Sexual Health Information and Disease Prevention developed by the Department of Health and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. See companion HB 1297.
Official Text and Analysis.
Referred to the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on January 16, 2007
Substitute offered to the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on February 28, 2007
To make technical edits to the original bill.
The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on March 7, 2007
Referred to the Senate Rules Committee on February 28, 2007
Amendment offered by Sen. Jim Clements (R) on March 7, 2007
To add the following language, "including as a result of being excused from any
planned instruction in sexual health education, shall," to the list of activities that would require a school employee or volunteer to report the incident to an appropriate school official.
Amendment offered by Sen. Steve Hobbs (Lake Stevens) (D) on March 7, 2007
To add, on page 2, line 5 of the amendment, after "prevention." insert "A
school may choose to use separate, outside speakers or prepared
curriculum to teach different content areas or units within the
comprehensive sexual health program as long as all speakers,
curriculum, and materials used are in compliance with this section".
The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on March 7, 2007
Amendment offered by Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry (Moses Lake) (R) on March 7, 2007
To require parent notification.
Amendment offered by Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry (Moses Lake) (R) on March 7, 2007
To provide a null and void clause.
Amendment offered by Sen. Jim Kastama, (D-Puyallup) (D) on March 7, 2007
To allow sexual health education to be consistent with the
January 2005 guidelines for sexual health information and disease
prevention.
Amendment offered by Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) (R) on March 7, 2007
To limit what is considered 'statistically significant research'.
Amendment offered by Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, (D-Eatonville) (D) on March 7, 2007
To allow public schools that offer sexual health education to
assure that it is medically and scientifically accurate, age appropriate,
appropriate for students regardless of gender, race,
disability statute, or sexual orientation, and include information
about abstinence and other methods of preventing unintended pregnancy
and sexually transmitted disease.
Abstinence education may be taught to the exclusion of other
materials and instruction. Sexual health education should be as
consistent as practicable with the guidelines for sexual health
information and disease prevention.
Amendment offered by Sen. Pam Roach (Auburn) (R) on March 7, 2007
To allow a teacher to opt-out from teaching the program in his or her classroom.
Amendment offered by Sen. Joseph Zarelli, (R-Ridgefield) (R) on March 7, 2007
To require that every public school
that offers comprehensive sexual health education shall offer both
abstinence education and comprehensive sexual health programs.
Amendment offered by Sen. Joseph Zarelli, (R-Ridgefield) (R) on March 7, 2007
To require information about abstinence or other
materials and instruction on contraceptives and disease prevention.
Amendment offered by Sen. Joseph Zarelli, (R-Ridgefield) (R) on March 7, 2007
To require that every public school
that offers comprehensive sexual health education shall offer both
abstinence education and comprehensive sexual health programs.
Amendment offered by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, (D-Camano Island) (D) on March 7, 2007
To strike everything after the enacting clause and amend various sections of the original bill. The effect of the bill is the same.
The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on March 7, 2007
Received in the House on March 9, 2007
Referred to the House Health Care & Wellness Committee on March 9, 2007
Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on March 26, 2007
Referred to the House Rules Committee on March 30, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require sexual health education instruction to
include information on contraceptive failure and incorrect
usage rate for the contraceptive methods discussed.
Amendment offered by Rep. Dan Newhouse, (R-Sunnyside) (R) on April 11, 2007
To create an exemption from the requirement for public
schools to provide sexual health education that is consistent
with the 2005 Guidelines if the local school board determines
that providing such instruction would conflict with how certain
values and character traits are learned, as determined through
local consensus, including: honesty, integrity, respect for
self and others, responsibility, self-discipline, diligence,
respect for law and authority, healthy/positive behavior, and
family as the basis of society.
Amendment offered by Rep. Bob Sump, (R-Republic) (R) on April 11, 2007
To provide that parents and legal guardians may choose
whether to have their child attend sexual health
education. The amendment would also add that parents and legal guardians must be given a
written notice within 30 days before the student receives
sexual health education instruction, specifying the time
and place of the instruction and instructions for signing
and returning the notice if choosing to have the child
attend the instruction or choosing to review the
curriculum.
Amendment offered by Rep. John Ahern, (R-Spokane) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require sexual health education instruction to
include at least the same amount of time on abstinence as is
spent on contraceptives and disease prevention.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. John Ahern, (R-Spokane) (R) on April 11, 2007
To prohibits, in public school sexual health education,
describing a practice as "safe sex" if it does not result in
100 percent protection from unintended pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. John Ahern, (R-Spokane) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require the list of sexual health
education curricula consistent with the 2005 Guidelines to be
developed jointly by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) and the Department of Health (DOH), rather than by the
SPI in consultation with the DOH. The amendment would also add a requirement
that in developing, and annually reviewing and updating, the
list, it must be done in public meetings, with opportunity for
public comment.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. John Ahern, (R-Spokane) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require homework assignments to be given that
accurately reflect the information provided in the sexual
health education class, and requires the homework to be
completed with, and signed by, the parent or guardian and
returned to the instructor.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require public schools offering sexual health
education that have web sites to post the curriculum on the web
site.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require any list, developed by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction and the Department of Health, of sexual
health education curricula that is consistent with the 2005
Guidelines to be approved by the State Board of Education
before the list is posted on the agencies' web sites.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add that school districts with schools currently
offering sexual health education that incur additional costs to
comply with the bill's requirements, including purchasing
curricula or paying for additional preparation or instruction
time, will be reimbursed for the additional costs, subject to
funds appropriated for that purpose.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add a contingent effective date, making the bill take
effect on September 1 immediately following enactment of a
state law that requires public school mathematics curricula to
comply with guidelines established in state law by the
Legislature.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require the Superintendent of Public Instruction and
the Department of Health to update the 2005 Guidelines in 2010
and every five years thereafter, and requires the agencies to
provide opportunity for public comment in the updating process.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Barbara Bailey (Oak Harbor) (R) on April 11, 2007
To Changes the name of the act from "Healthy Youth Act"
to "Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Mandate".
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Barbara Bailey (Oak Harbor) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require sexual health education instruction in grades
through the sixth grade to be provided separately to girls and
boys.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. David Buri (R) on April 11, 2007
To delete provisions (1) requiring public schools that
offer sexual health education to assure that the education is
medically and scientifically accurate and consistent with the
2005 Guidelines, among other requirements, (2) encouraging
schools to review their sexual health education and choose from
curricula listed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and the Department of Health as consistent with the 2005
Guidelines, (3) granting a statutory right to a parent or legal
guardian to excuse his or her child from sexual health
education instruction and granting the right to review the
curriculum offered, (4) requiring the Superintendent to
identify the sexual health education curricula used in schools
and report this biennially to the Legislature, and (5) applying
the school bullying law to the sexual health education
provisions.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Richard Curtis (R) on April 11, 2007
To prohibit a public school from requiring teachers to
provide instruction in sexual health education as a condition
of employment unless the teacher was first hired after the
bill's effective date to provide this instruction.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Dunn, (R-Vancouver) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add that parents and legal guardians may also excuse
their child from sexual health education instruction on the
basis of a religious objection by filing a waiver with the
school.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Larry Haler (Richland) (R) on April 11, 2007
To allow public schools offering sexual health
education to choose separate, outside speakers to teach
different content areas, as long as students are provided with
medically and scientifically accurate comprehensive sexual
health education on program completion (instead of allowing
this approach to teaching if all speakers, curriculum, and
materials comply with the bill's requirements).
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Larry Haler (Richland) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add that sexual health education must be appropriate
for students regardless of color, creed, or religion, as well
as age, gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To amend the definition of "medically and scientifically
accurate" sexual health information to (1) add that the
supporting research must be statistically significant and
recognized as accurate by medical textbooks, as well as the
other listed expert organizations, and (2) delete a requirement
for supporting research to be published in peer-review journals
and, from the list of expert organizations that recognize the
research's accuracy, delete the Department of Health and the
reference to other unnamed expert organizations.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add a requirement for the school to provide an
alternative educational program for students who have been
excused from sexual health education.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require a school board, during at least one school
board meeting annually, to include an update and public input
on the sexual health education being offered in any school in
the district. Requires the curricula being used in the schools
to be available at the meeting for public review.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To add the sexual health education may not require
students to respond to questions involving the student's values
or beliefs.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Bill Hinkle, (R-Cle Elum) (R) on April 11, 2007
To delete the name of the act (the Healthy Youth Act).
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Jim McCune, (R-Graham) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require the sexual health education program to
emphasize that abstinence is the only medically and
scientifically proven way to avoid pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Joyce McDonald, (Puyallup) (R) on April 11, 2007
To provide that a parent or legal guardian choosing to have
his or her child excused from sexual health education, or
choosing to review the curriculum, may notify the child's
school, rather than filing a written request with the
school district or school principal. The amendment also adds that parents and legal guardians must be given a
written notice within 30 days before the student receives
the instruction and specifies the content of the notice, including the time
and place of the instruction and information about how to
notify the school if choosing to excuse the child or to
review the curriculum.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Dan Roach, (R-Bonney Lake) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require public schools planning sexual health
education instruction to provide, at the beginning of the
school year, a form for parents and legal guardians to use to
choose whether to excuse their child from instruction or to
approve the child's attendance at the instruction.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Charles Ross, (Naches) (R) on April 11, 2007
To require public schools that offer sexual health
education to have at least two parent nights annually to allow
parents to view the curricula and materials (written, video, or
audio) that will be used.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Charles Ross, (Naches) (R) on April 11, 2007
To specify that parents may review the written, video,
or audio material that will be used in teaching the sexual
health education curriculum (instead of generally allowing
review of the curriculum).
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Strow (R) on April 11, 2007
To delete the provision allowing a
parent or legal guardian to excuse his or her child from sexual
health education, or to review the curriculum, by filing a
written request, and replace the provision with a requirement
for schools to conduct an evening or weekend presentation
concerning the sexual health education curriculum used at least
one month before beginning instruction and to give the parents
and legal guardians notice of the presentation. The amendment would also prohibit students from being required to participate in the
instruction if a parent or legal guardian objects, in writing,
to the school's principal or designee.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Judy Warnick (Grant) (R) on April 11, 2007
To make it discretionary, rather than mandatory, for
public schools that offer sexual health education to make the
program consistent with the 2005 Guidelines for Sexual Health
Information and Disease Prevention published by the Department
of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Judy Warnick (Grant) (R) on April 11, 2007
To define "abstinence" as abstaining from sexual
activity until marriage, and require the use of this
definition throughout the sexual health education program.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Amendment offered by Rep. Judy Warnick (Grant) (R) on April 11, 2007
To specifie that a parent or legal guardian may excuse
his or her child from part or all of the planned sexual health
education instruction at a public school.
The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on April 11, 2007
Signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire on May 2, 2007