Bill Text: CA AB2053 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 2053 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB2053

Bill Title: Pupil instruction: abusive relationships.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 695, Statutes of 2024. [AB2053 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2053-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 2053

CHAPTER 695

An act to amend Section 51934 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

[ Approved by Governor September 27, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State September 27, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2053, Mathis. Pupil instruction: abusive relationships.

Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. Under the act, this instruction includes, among other things, information about adolescent relationship abuse and intimate partner violence, including the early warning signs thereof.

This bill would require the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education to also include information about resources available to pupils related to adolescent relationship abuse and intimate partner violence, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline and local domestic violence hotlines, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 51934 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51934.

(a) Each school district shall ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education from instructors trained in the appropriate courses. Each pupil shall receive this instruction at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school. This instruction shall include all of the following:

(1) Information on the nature of HIV, as well as other sexually transmitted infections, and their effects on the human body.

(2) Information on the manner in which HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are and are not transmitted, including information on the relative risk of infection according to specific behaviors, including sexual activities and injection drug use.

(3) Information that abstinence from sexual activity and injection drug use is the only certain way to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy. This instruction shall provide information about the value of delaying sexual activity while also providing medically accurate information on other methods of preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.

(4) Information about the effectiveness and safety of all federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods that prevent or reduce the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, including use of antiretroviral medication, consistent with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(5) Information about the effectiveness and safety of reducing the risk of HIV transmission as a result of injection drug use by decreasing needle use and needle sharing.

(6) Information about the treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, including how antiretroviral therapy can dramatically prolong the lives of many people living with HIV and reduce the likelihood of transmitting HIV to others.

(7) Discussion about social views on HIV and AIDS, including addressing unfounded stereotypes and myths regarding HIV and AIDS and people living with HIV. This instruction shall emphasize that successfully treated HIV-positive individuals have a normal life expectancy, all people are at some risk of contracting HIV, and the only way to know if one is HIV-positive is to get tested.

(8) Information about local resources, how to access local resources, and pupils’ legal rights to access local resources for sexual and reproductive health care such as testing and medical care for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy prevention and care, as well as local resources for assistance with sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

(9) Information about the effectiveness and safety of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy, including, but not limited to, emergency contraception. Instruction on pregnancy shall include an objective discussion of all legally available pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Parenting, adoption, and abortion.

(B) Information on the law on surrendering physical custody of a minor child 72 hours of age or younger, pursuant to Section 1255.7 of the Health and Safety Code and Section 271.5 of the Penal Code.

(10) Information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Information on human trafficking shall include both of the following:

(A) Information on the prevalence, nature, and strategies to reduce the risk of human trafficking, techniques to set healthy boundaries, and how to safely seek assistance.

(B) Information on how social media and mobile device applications are used for human trafficking.

(11) Information about adolescent relationship abuse and intimate partner violence, including the early warning signs thereof, and information about the resources available to pupils related to adolescent relationship abuse and intimate partner violence, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline and local domestic violence hotlines that provide confidential support services for pupils that have experienced domestic violence or stalking and are available by telephone 24 hours a day.

(b) A school district may provide optional instruction, as part of comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education, regarding the potential risks and consequences of creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking internet websites, computer networks, or other digital media.

(c) A school district may provide comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction earlier than grade 7 using instructors trained in the appropriate courses. A school district that elects to offer comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education earlier than grade 7 may provide age appropriate and medically accurate information on any of the general topics contained in paragraphs (1) to (11), inclusive, of subdivision (a).

SEC. 2.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.