SB 314: "An Act relating to public school health personal safety education."
00SENATE BILL NO. 314 01 "An Act relating to public school health personal safety education." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the "Healthy Students Act." 04 * Sec. 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to foster the development and 05 dissemination of educational activities and materials that will assist students, teachers, 06 administrators, and parents in the perception, appreciation, and understanding of health 07 principles and problems, and adoption of responsible behavior. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 14.08.115 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 14.08.115. ADVISORY SCHOOL BOARDS AND COMMITTEES IN 10 REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL ATTENDANCE AREAS. (a) A regional school board 11 shall establish advisory school boards and health education curriculum advisory 12 committees in each community in the regional educational attendance area that has 13 more than 50 permanent residents, and by regulation shall prescribe their manner of 14 selection and organization, and, in a manner consistent with (b) of this section, their
01 powers and duties. 02 (b) An advisory board shall advise the regional school board on all matters 03 concerning schools in the community in which the advisory board is established. A 04 health education curriculum advisory committee shall advise the regional school 05 board on the health education curriculum at schools in the community in which 06 the committee is established. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 14.12.035 is amended to read: 08 Sec. 14.12.035. ADVISORY SCHOOL BOARDS AND COMMITTEES IN 09 BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS. A borough school district board shall establish 10 a health education curriculum advisory committee and may establish other 11 advisory school boards or committees, and by regulation shall prescribe their manner 12 of selection, organization, powers, and duties. 13 * Sec. 5. AS 14.30.360 is amended to read: 14 Sec. 14.30.360. CURRICULUM. (a) Each district in the state public school 15 system shall [BE ENCOURAGED TO] initiate and conduct a program in 16 comprehensive health education for kindergarten through grade 12. The program 17 must [SHOULD] include 18 (1) age appropriate instruction in physical health and personal safety 19 including 20 (A) alcohol, tobacco, and substance [DRUG] abuse and fetal 21 alcohol syndrome education; 22 (B) first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); 23 (C) human growth and development, including human 24 sexuality, reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, prevention and 25 control of diseases, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome and 26 other sexually transmitted diseases; 27 (D) mental and emotional health, including suicide 28 prevention; 29 (E) [, EARLY] cancer prevention and early detection, 30 nutrition, dental health, family health, environmental health; 31 (F) [,] the identification and prevention of child abuse, child
01 abduction, neglect, and sexual abuse, and domestic violence; [,] and 02 (G) appropriate use of health services; 03 (2) training, support groups, and pertinent literature designed to 04 assist parents and other members of the community to participate in health and 05 personal safety education; 06 (3) a district curriculum and curriculum materials adopted in 07 conjunction with the district health education curriculum advisory committee; and 08 (4) a method of notifying parents of students of the content of 09 instructional materials used in the human growth and development program and 10 of the parents' option to exempt their child from human growth and development 11 instruction; a district shall use procedures to provide that students exempted from 12 the program are not embarrassed by the exemption. 13 (b) The state board shall establish guidelines for a comprehensive health and 14 personal safety education program. Personal safety guidelines shall be developed in 15 consultation with the Department of Health and Social Services [COUNCIL ON 16 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT]. Upon request, the Department 17 of Education, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Health and Social 18 Services, and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault shall provide 19 technical assistance to school districts in the development of personal safety curricula. 20 A school health and personal safety education specialist position shall be established 21 and funded in the department to coordinate the program statewide. Adequate funds 22 to enable curriculum and resource development, adequate consultation to school 23 districts, and a program of [TEACHER] training and planned periodic staff 24 development for administrators and teachers in health and personal safety education 25 shall be provided. 26 * Sec. 6. AS 14.30.360 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (c) In this section, 28 (1) "family health" includes 29 (A) an understanding of the physical, mental, emotional, social, 30 economic, and psychological aspects of close personal relationships and an 31 understanding of the physiological, psychological, and cultural foundations of
01 human development; 02 (B) the development of responsible personal values and 03 behavior and the establishing of a strong family life for students in the future, 04 with emphasis on the responsibilities of parenting; 05 (C) knowledge of the law relating to the sexual conduct of 06 minors and sexual abuse of minors, including criminal sexual conduct; 07 (2) "health and personal safety education" includes health education in 08 a school setting that is planned and carried out with the purpose of maintaining, 09 reinforcing, or enhancing the health, health-related skills, and health attitudes and 10 practices of children and youth that are conducive to their good health and that 11 promote wellness, health maintenance, and disease prevention; it includes age-appropriate, sequential instruction in 12 health either as part of an existing course or as 13 a special course; 14 (3) "pregnancy prevention" includes 15 (A) skills to enable students to resist peer pressure and to 16 abstain from sexual activity; 17 (B) methods of contraception, and the risks and benefits of each 18 method; 19 (C) knowledge of sexually transmitted disease, including 20 acquired immune deficiency syndrome; 21 (4) "reproductive health" includes human physiology, conception, 22 prenatal care and development, fetal alcohol syndrome, childbirth, postnatal care, 23 contraception, and prevention of disease. 24 * Sec. 7. TRANSITION. Each district shall begin development of the comprehensive 25 health education curriculum required by this Act by July 1, 1994, and shall have in place a 26 program of comprehensive health education required by this Act by August 1, 1996.