CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1368

Introduced by Senator Ochoa Bogh

February 16, 2024

An act to amend Section 51934 of, and to add Sections 33546.1 and 51933.5 to, the Education Code, relating to school curriculum.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1368, as introduced, Ochoa Bogh. School curriculum: sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education: health framework: pregnancy centers.
Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education.
This bill would require the commission, when the Health Framework for California Public Schools is next revised after January 1, 2025, to include information on pregnancy centers as a resource in that health framework.
Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts 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 local resources related to sexual and reproductive health and pregnancy prevention and care, as provided.
This bill would require the department to make information about pregnancy centers available on its internet website and would require pregnancy centers to be included by school districts in the above-described information about local resources. By imposing additional duties on school districts, 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 33546.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:

33546.1.
 When the “Health Framework for California Public Schools” (health framework) is next revised after January 1, 2025, the commission shall include information on pregnancy centers as a resource in that health framework.

SEC. 2.

 Section 51933.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

51933.5.
 On or before July 1, 2025, the department shall make information about pregnancy centers available on the department’s internet website.

SEC. 3.

 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, including, but not limited to, pregnancy centers, 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.
(C) The importance of prenatal care.
(10) Information about sexual harassment, sexual assault, 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.
(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 Web sites, 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. 4.

 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.