A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to correct inaccuracies in the use of certain terms in the general statutes pertaining to the administration of a school health education program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑81(e1)(1) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑81.  Basic Education Program.
…
(e1)	School Health Education Program to Be Developed and Administered.
(1)	A comprehensive school health education program shall be developed and taught to pupils of the public schools of this State from kindergarten through ninth grade. This program includes age‑appropriate instruction in the following subject areas, regardless of whether this instruction is described as, or incorporated into a description of, "family life education", "family health education", "health education", "family living", "health", "healthful living curriculum", or "self‑esteem":
a.	Mental and emotional health;
b.	Drug and alcohol abuse prevention;
c.	Nutrition;
d.	Dental health;
e.	Environmental health;
f.	Family living;
g.	Consumer health;
h.	Disease control;
i.	Growth and development;
j.	First aid and emergency care, including the teaching of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the Heimlich maneuver by using hands‑on training with mannequins so that students become proficient in order to pass a test approved by the American Heart Association, or American Red Cross;
k.	Preventing sexually transmitted diseases, including  HIV/AIDS, and other communicable diseases;
l.	Abstinence until marriage education; and
m.	Bicycle safety.
As used in this subsection, "HIV/AIDS" means Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome."
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑81(e1)(3), (4), and (5) read as rewritten:
"(3)	The State Board of Education shall develop objectives for instruction in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, that include emphasis on the importance of parental involvement, abstinence from sex until marriage, and avoiding intravenous drug use. Any program developed under this subdivision shall present techniques and strategies to deal with peer pressure and to offer positive reinforcement and shall teach reasons, skills, and strategies for remaining or becoming abstinent from sexual activity; for appropriate grade levels and classes, shall teach that abstinence from sexual activity until marriage is the only certain means of avoiding out‑of‑wedlock pregnancy, most sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health and emotional problems, and that a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage is the best lifelong means of avoiding diseases transmitted by sexual contact, including HIV/AIDS, and shall teach the positive benefits of abstinence until marriage and the risks of premarital sexual activity. 
(4)	The State Board of Education shall evaluate abstinence until marriage curricula and their learning materials and shall develop and maintain a recommended list of one or more approved abstinence until marriage curricula. The State Board may develop an abstinence until marriage program to include on the recommended list. The State Board of Education shall not select or develop a program for inclusion on the recommended list that does not include the positive benefits of abstinence until marriage and the risks of premarital sexual activity as the primary focus. The State Board shall include on the recommended list only programs that include, in appropriate grades and classes, instruction that:
a.	Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage is the expected standard for all school‑age children;
b.	Presents techniques and strategies to deal with peer pressure and offering positive reinforcement;
c.	Presents reasons, skills, and strategies for remaining or becoming abstinent from sexual activity;
d.	Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain means of avoiding out‑of‑wedlock pregnancy, most sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and other associated health and emotional problems;
e.	Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage is the best lifelong means of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases, including  HIV/AIDS;
f.	Teaches the positive benefits of abstinence until marriage and the risks of premarital sexual activity;
g.	Provides opportunities that allow for interaction between the parent or legal guardian and the student; 
h.	Provides factually accurate biological or pathological information that is related to the human reproductive system; and
i.	Teaches how alcohol and drug use lower inhibitions, which may lead to risky sexual behavior.
(5)	The State Board of Education shall make available to all local school administrative units for review by the parents and legal guardians of students enrolled at that unit any State‑developed objectives for instruction, any approved textbooks, the list of reviewed materials, and any other State‑developed or approved materials that pertain to or are intended to impart information or promote discussion or understanding in regard to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including  HIV/AIDS, to the avoidance of out‑of‑wedlock pregnancy, or to the abstinence until marriage curriculum. The review period shall extend for at least 60 days before use."
SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑81(e1)(7) and (8) read as rewritten:
"(7)	Each school year, before students may participate in any portion of (i) a program that pertains to or is intended to impart information or promote discussion or understanding in regard to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, or to the avoidance of out‑of‑wedlock pregnancy, (ii) an abstinence until marriage program, or (iii) a comprehensive sex education program, whether developed by the State or by the local board of education, the parents and legal guardians of those students shall be given an opportunity to review the objectives and materials. Local boards of education shall adopt policies to provide opportunities either for parents and legal guardians to consent or for parents and legal guardians to withhold their consent to the students' participation in any or all of these programs.
(8)	Students may receive information about where to obtain contraceptives and abortion referral services only in accordance with a local board's policy regarding parental consent. Any instruction concerning the use of contraceptives or prophylactics shall provide accurate statistical information on their effectiveness and failure rates for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in actual use among adolescent populations and shall explain clearly the difference between risk reduction and risk elimination through abstinence. The Department of Health and Human Resources shall provide the most current available information at the beginning of each school year."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2006‑2007 school year.