A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the statutes pertaining to the school health education program.
Whereas, the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the Society of Adolescent Medicine (SAM), support responsible sexuality education that includes information about both abstinence and contraception; and
Whereas, recent scientific reports by the Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the Office on National AIDS Policy stress the need for sexuality education that includes messages about abstinence and provides young people with information about contraception for the prevention of teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); and
Whereas, sixty‑three percent of North Carolina high school seniors reported having had sexual intercourse at least once; and
Whereas, research shows that teenagers who receive sexuality education that includes discussion of contraception are more likely than those who receive abstinence‑only messages to delay sexual activity and to use contraceptives when they do become sexually active; and
Whereas, comprehensive sexuality education programs respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community and will complement and augment the sexuality education children receive from their families; and
Whereas, the median age of puberty is 13 years, and the average age of marriage is over 26 years old; and
Whereas, American teens need access to full, complete, and medically and factually accurate information regarding sexuality, including contraception, STD/HIV prevention, and abstinence; and
Whereas, although teen pregnancy rates are decreasing, there are still between 750,000 and 850,000 teen pregnancies in the United States each year; and
Whereas, there were over 18,000 teen pregnancies among 15‑ to 19‑ year‑olds in North Carolina in 2005; and 
Whereas, North Carolina has the ninth highest teen pregnancy rate for 15‑ to 19‑ year‑olds in the United States and the nation's highest birthrate among Hispanic teens; and
Whereas, the cost of teen pregnancy in North Carolina, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, is $312,000,000 a year; and
Whereas, between 75 and 90 percent of teen pregnancies among 15‑ to 19‑year‑olds are unintended; and
Whereas, studies estimate that 50 to 75 percent of the reduction in adolescent pregnancy rates is attributable to improved contraceptive use; the remainder to increased abstinence; and
Whereas, a study conducted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in October 2003 found that the vast majority of North Carolina parents (more than 90.5%) thought sexuality education should be taught in the public schools; and
Whereas, United States teens and young adults acquire an estimated 4,000,000 sexually transmitted infections each year; and
Whereas, by age 25, at least one of every 12 sexually active people will have contracted a sexually transmitted disease; and
Whereas, more than two young people in the United States are infected with HIV every hour of every day; and
Whereas, African‑American and Hispanic youth have been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic; and
Whereas, although about 15 percent of the adolescent population (ages 13 to 19) in the United States is African‑American, nearly 60 percent of AIDS cases through 2002 among 13‑ to 19‑year‑olds were among African‑Americans; and
Whereas, Hispanics comprise nearly 16 percent of the adolescent population (ages 13 to 19) in the United States and 22 percent of reported adolescent AIDS cases through June 2002; and
Whereas, one in five women in North Carolina will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑81(e1) reads as rewritten:
"(e1)	School Health Education Program to Be Developed and Administered.
(1)	The State Board of Education shall establish statewide objectives for a comprehensive school health education program. Local school administrative units shall provide that the program is taught to  students of the public schools of this State from kindergarten through ninth grade, that the program meets the State Board's objectives and all of the requirements of this subsection, and that the program is delivered by instructors trained in appropriate courses. Each local board of education may expand on the subject areas to be included in the program and on the instructional objectives. The comprehensive school health education program shall include 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.	Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse prevention;
c.	Nutrition and physical activity;d.	Dental health;
e.	Environmental  health awareness;f.	Family living;
g.	Consumer health;
h.	Disease prevention;
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 unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and other communicable diseases;
l.	 Abstinence‑based comprehensive sexual health education; m.	Injury prevention; and
n.	Awareness of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and risk reduction.
(1a)	As used in this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
a.	"HIV/AIDS" means Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
b.	"Instructors trained in appropriate courses" means instructors trained in school health education pedagogy to effectively deliver comprehensive health education including the most recent scientific research on abstinence‑based human sexuality education.
c.	"Scientific research" means investigations conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer‑reviewed journals and recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field.
(2)	The State Board of Education shall supervise the development and operation of a statewide comprehensive school health education program including curriculum development, in‑service training provision and promotion of collegiate training, learning material review, and assessment and evaluation of local programs in the same manner as for other programs. The State Board of Education shall adopt objectives for the instruction of the subject areas listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection that are appropriate for each grade level. In addition, the State Board shall approve textbooks and other materials incorporating these objectives that local school administrative units may purchase with State funds. The State Board of Education, through the Department of Public Instruction, shall, on a regular basis, review materials related to these objectives, and distribute these reviews to local school administrative units for their information.
(2a)	The abstinence‑based comprehensive sexual health education program shall satisfy all of the following criteria:
a.	Instruction and materials shall be age appropriate.
b.	All information presented shall be objective and based upon scientific research.
c.	Instruction and materials shall be appropriate for use with students of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and for students with disabilities. Instruction and materials shall not reflect or promote bias against any person on the basis of sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, or mental or physical disability.
d.	Instruction and materials shall encourage a student to communicate with his or her parents or guardians about human sexuality.
e.	Instruction and materials shall teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.
f.	Commencing in seventh grade, instruction and materials shall do all of the following:
1.	Teach that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy, teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to reduce the risk of sexual transmission of diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and provide information about the value of abstinence.
2.	Provide information about sexually transmitted diseases. This instruction shall include how sexually transmitted diseases are and are not transmitted, the effectiveness and safety of all federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods of reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and information on local resources for testing and medical care for sexually transmitted diseases.
3.	Provide information about the effectiveness and safety of all FDA‑approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy, including, emergency contraception.
4.	Teach the functional knowledge and essential skills to promote and maintain health enhancing behaviors that value lifelong good health and avoidance of risky behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse, especially intravenous drug abuse.
(2b)	A local school administrative unit may elect to offer abstinence‑based comprehensive sexual health education to students before seventh grade and provide age appropriate information based upon objective scientific research on any of the topics contained in sub‑subdivision (2a)f. of this subsection.
(2c)	The abstinence‑based comprehensive sexual health education offered by a local school administrative unit pursuant to subdivision (2a) of this subsection shall include HIV/AIDS prevention education that complies with all of the provisions of that subdivision. Each student shall receive the instruction in junior high or middle school and again in high school.
										(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, 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 unintended pregnancy, or to the abstinence‑based comprehensive health education curriculum. The review period shall extend for at least 60 days before use.
				(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 unintended pregnancy, or (ii)  an abstinence‑based comprehensive sexual health education program, 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 for parents and legal guardians to withhold their consent to the students' participation in either or both of the programs described in (i) or (ii) of this subdivision.
(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 and legal guardian notification and consent. Any instruction concerning the use of contraceptives or prophylactics shall provide accurate statistical information on their effectiveness and failure rates for reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease infection, including HIV/AIDS, and shall explain clearly the difference between risk reduction and risk elimination through abstinence from all sexual activity. The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide the most current available information based on scientific research at the beginning of each school year.
(9)	Contraceptives, including condoms and other devices, shall not be made available or distributed on school property.
(10)	School health coordinators may be employed to assist in the instruction of any portion of the comprehensive school health education program. Where feasible, a school health coordinator should serve more than one local school administrative unit. Each person initially employed as a State‑funded school health coordinator after June 30, 1987, shall have a degree in health education.
(11)	The State Board of Education shall develop objectives for instruction in the awareness of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and risk reduction. The instruction and materials shall provide for all of the following:
a.	Focus on healthy relationships.
b.	Teach students what constitutes sexual assault and sexual abuse, the causes of those behaviors, and risk reduction.
c.	Inform students about resources and reporting procedures if they experience sexual assault or sexual abuse.
d.	Examine common misconceptions and stereotypes about sexual assault and sexual abuse.
e.	Explore the contribution that alcohol and drugs may play in sexual assault."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007, and applies beginning with the 2008‑2009 school year.