S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6512
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 8, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to comprehensive sexuali-
ty education in schools
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 804-e
to read as follows:
§ 804-E. COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION. 1. EACH PUBLIC AND CHARTER
SCHOOL SHALL INCLUDE, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF EDUCATION IN GRADES KINDER-
GARTEN THROUGH TWELVE, COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION.
2. THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH,
SHALL DEVELOP AND ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAM.
SUCH PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION SHALL INCLUDE: (I) LEARNING STANDARDS FOR
COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH TWELVE
THAT, AT A MINIMUM, REFLECT THE NATIONAL SEXUALITY EDUCATION STANDARDS;
(II) MODEL CURRICULA FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN GRADES
KINDERGARTEN THROUGH TWELVE INCLUDING EXEMPLAR LESSON PLANS, INSTRUC-
TIONAL TOOLS AND MATERIALS, AND BEST PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
THAT ARE SUITABLE TO STUDENT AGE, BASED ON COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL, AND
BEHAVIORAL CAPACITY; (III) GUIDELINES AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INSTRUCTION IN
THE SCHOOLS; (IV) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF ALL PROGRAM MATERIALS RELATED
TO COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE; AND
(V) A SYSTEM TO TRACK AND EVALUATE SUCH COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCA-
TION INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A REPORTING REQUIREMENT THAT TRACKS
AND MAKES DISTRICT COMPLIANCE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. SUCH PROGRAM OF
COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY INSTRUCTION SHALL BE REVIEWED PERIODICALLY BY
THE COMMISSIONER IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH, AT
INTERVALS SPECIFIED BY THE COMMISSIONER, AND UPDATED AS NECESSARY.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10518-01-9
A. 6512 2
3. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PRESCRIBE IN REGULATIONS SUCH CONTENTS,
TOPICS AND COURSES TO BE INCLUDED IN A CURRICULUM OF COMPREHENSIVE SEXU-
ALITY INSTRUCTION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH REGULATIONS RECOGNIZE
THE DIVERSITY OF STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS
AND SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND RESPECT ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF
RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, RELIGIOUS PRACTICE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, ETHNIC
GROUP, SEX, GENDER, GENDER IDENTITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY OR
LANGUAGE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE CURRICULA NEED NOT BE UNIFORM
THROUGHOUT THE STATE; AND PROVIDED FURTHER, HOWEVER, THAT SCHOOL
DISTRICTS SHALL UTILIZE EITHER A CURRICULUM FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY
EDUCATION INSTRUCTION PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMISSIONER OR A CURRICULUM IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARDS AND CRITERIA ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMIS-
SIONER.
4. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS
ABOUT A PROGRAM ON COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION, RELEVANT LEARNING
STANDARDS, MODEL CURRICULA AND CURRICULUM RESOURCES, GUIDELINES AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES BY DECEMBER FIRST NEXT SUCCEEDING THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION. UPON APPROVAL AND ADOPTION BY THE BOARD
OF REGENTS, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ISSUE GUIDANCE TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS
ABOUT THE PROGRAM ON COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY INSTRUCTION AND PUBLISH ON
ITS WEBSITE MODEL CURRICULA AND INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES REQUIRED BY THIS
SECTION. SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCA-
TION INSTRUCTION NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING
SCHOOL YEAR STARTING TWO YEARS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
NO LATER THAN THE THIRD YEAR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION
AND EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL POST CONSPICUOUSLY ON
THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE IN A MANNER SEARCHABLE BY INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL, A
REPORT FOR THE PRECEDING ACADEMIC YEAR FOR EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT AND FOR
EACH SCHOOL WITHIN EACH DISTRICT. THE REPORT SHALL INCLUDE FOR EACH
GRADE LEVEL IN EACH SCHOOL, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, DATA SPECIFYING: (I)
THE NUMBER OF HOURS PER SEMESTER OF COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION
RECEIVED BY STUDENTS IN THAT GRADE; AND (II) THE TOTAL NUMBER AND
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN EACH GRADE WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE AMOUNT OF
COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION IN THE
PRECEDING ACADEMIC YEAR.
5. THE BOARDS OF EDUCATION OR TRUSTEES OF THE CITIES AND SCHOOL
DISTRICTS OF THE STATE SHALL EACH ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY COUNCIL WHICH
SHALL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR TRUSTEES
CONCERNING THE CURRICULUM, CONTENT, AND EVALUATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE
SEXUALITY EDUCATION REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. THE ADVISORY
COUNCIL SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE LIMITED TO, MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL
BOARD OR TRUSTEES, SCHOOL AUTHORITIES, TEACHERS AND OTHER STAFF AS
RECOMMENDED BY THE TEACHERS' LABOR ORGANIZATION, PARENTS, STUDENTS, AND
OTHER REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMUNITY. CONSISTENT WITH THE COMPREHEN-
SIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAM ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER PURSU-
ANT TO THIS SECTION, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR TRUSTEES OF A SCHOOL
DISTRICT SHALL DETERMINE THE CURRICULUM AND CONTENT OF THE PROGRAM WITH-
IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EVALUATION OF
THE PROGRAM WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
6. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND TRUSTEES OF THE CITIES AND SCHOOL
DISTRICTS OF THE STATE SHALL ESTABLISH A PROCESS BY WHICH A PARENT OR
GUARDIAN OF A STUDENT MAY ELECT FOR THE STUDENT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN
COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH PROCESS
SHALL REQUIRE WRITTEN NOTICE SIGNED BY THE STUDENT'S PARENT OR GUARDIAN
FOR EACH SCHOOL YEAR AND WHICH SHALL BE MAINTAINED IN THE STUDENT'S
RECORD.
A. 6512 3
7. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE, "COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION" MEANS
A MEDICALLY ACCURATE, AGE-APPROPRIATE SEQUENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM WHICH
ADDRESSES PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF HUMAN
SEXUALITY, IS TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE AND CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE, INCORPORATES
SKILLS-BASED INSTRUCTION, AND IS RESPECTFUL AND INCLUSIVE OF ALL
STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, RELIGIOUS PRACTICE,
NATIONAL ORIGIN, ETHNIC GROUP, SEX, GENDER, DISABILITY, LANGUAGE, SEXUAL
ORIENTATION, OR GENDER IDENTITY. COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION
SHALL INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, AGE-APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION ON:
(I) HUMAN ANATOMY, REPRODUCTION, AND SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT; (II) CONSENT,
BODILY AUTONOMY, AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, INCLUDING RELATIONSHIPS
INVOLVING DIVERSE SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS AND GENDER IDENTITIES; (III) METH-
ODS FOR PREVENTING PREGNANCY AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS; (IV)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUBSTANCE USE AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND HEALTH;
AND (V) THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN INTIMATE RELATION-
SHIPS.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.