PRINTER'S NO. 1120
No. 974 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG, REGOLI, BAKER, WENGER, BRIGHTBILL,
LINCOLN, PECORA, HOLL, HELFRICK AND PUNT, MAY 31, 1989
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MAY 31, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," providing for sex education.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
9 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
10 article to read:
11 ARTICLE XXV-A
12 SEX EDUCATION
13 Section 2501-A. Short Title.--This article shall be known
14 and may be cited as the "Parent and Pupil Protection Act."
15 Section 2502-A. Definitions.--When used in this article the
16 following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
17 (1) "Board" shall mean the board of school directors of a
18 school district.
19 (2) "Commonwealth agency" shall mean the Department of
1 Education, the State Board of Education or any other
2 Commonwealth department, board, commission or agency in the
3 executive branch of the Commonwealth.
4 (3) "Curricular material" shall mean written plans on which
5 sex education instruction is based, curriculum guidelines or
6 supplements for sex education, and books or other written and
7 audiovisual material used for sex education instruction.
8 (4) "Department" shall mean the Department of Education of
9 the Commonwealth.
10 (5) "Parent" shall mean a parent with legal custody of the
11 pupil.
12 (6) "Pupil" shall mean a student enrolled in a public school
13 of a school district.
14 (7) "Revision" or "revise" shall not include a deletion of
15 any curricular material or of any sex education instruction.
16 (8) "Sex education" shall mean any instruction that is given
17 as part of any planned course, curriculum or other instructional
18 program and that is intended to impart information or promote
19 discussion or understanding in regard to human sexual behavior,
20 sexual feelings and sexual values, human sexually transmitted
21 diseases, regardless of whether such instruction is described as
22 or incorporated into a description of "sex education," "family
23 life education," "family health education," "health education,"
24 "family living," "health," "self esteem" or other descriptions.
25 This definition shall not apply to:
26 (i) Any discussion or instruction which occurs in a planned
27 course, such as English or social studies, designed for a
28 purpose unrelated to sex education, provided that such
29 instruction or discussion is reasonably designed to further the
30 objectives of such course and is not undertaken for the purpose
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1 of circumventing the purpose of this article.
2 (ii) Any course of instruction in physiology, biology,
3 zoology or similar course of scientific instruction, insofar as
4 any sex education information imparted by such course is limited
5 to scientific instruction on the functioning of human
6 reproductive organs.
7 Section 2503-A. Board Approval for Sex Education
8 Instruction.--(a) No school district shall permit or revise any
9 sex education instruction in any public school within the
10 jurisdiction of the district unless the board first adopts a
11 resolution making such sex education instruction a formal part
12 of its curriculum and setting forth standards for such sex
13 education instruction. No curricular material may be used as a
14 basis for any sex education instruction unless first approved by
15 resolution of the board. Any such curricular material must be
16 available for review and inspection by the board and the public
17 at the principal office of the school district beginning at
18 least seven (7) days before the meeting or hearing mandated by
19 subsection (b) and must be available for public inspection at
20 such meeting or hearing and at the meeting where approval of
21 curricular material is to be considered.
22 (b) No board resolution required under subsection (a) shall
23 be adopted or valid until the board first provides an
24 opportunity for public input and comment thereon at, in the
25 discretion of the board, a public hearing or a regularly or
26 specially scheduled meeting of the board to be held not more
27 than ninety (90) days nor less than ten (10) days before the
28 board votes on the adoption of such a resolution. The board
29 shall allot a reasonable amount of time for questions and
30 comments from the public at such hearing or meeting. The board
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1 shall give public notice of such public hearing or meeting not
2 more than thirty (30) days and not less than seven (7) days in
3 advance of the hearing or meeting.
4 (c) The board shall provide public notice of the public
5 hearing or meeting mandated under subsection (b) by sending a
6 written notice to local radio, television and newspaper media
7 that the school district ordinarily utilizes for the
8 dissemination of public information. The notice shall include
9 the following sentence: The school board will conduct a
10 (insert 'public hearing' or 'public meeting' as the
11 case may be) on (insert date, time and place) for
12 the purpose of seeking public input and comment on a proposed
13 sex education program for pupils in the following grades:
14 .
15 Section 2504-A. Parental Notice of Course Materials.--(a)
16 Except as otherwise provided in this section, any curricular
17 material used or to be used in or as a basis for sex education
18 instruction shall, upon request, be made available to the
19 parents or guardians of a pupil scheduled for such instruction
20 for a take-home period of not less than seven (7) days. If the
21 superintendent makes a written determination, on the basis of
22 the limited number of available materials, that it is
23 impracticable to provide take-home review for any item or items
24 of curricular material, other than a curriculum or curriculum
25 guide or supplement, the school district shall not be required
26 to provide for the take-home review of any such material. The
27 school district shall provide for public inspection and, in the
28 case of any noncopyrighted material, photocopying of such
29 material, at cost, by any person at the principal office of the
30 school district during all reasonable business hours. In
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1 addition, the school district shall provide for inspection by
2 any parent or guardian of an affected pupil at least twice a
3 week during reasonable weekend and evening hours designated for
4 this purpose. The school district may require weekend and
5 evening inspection be by appointment only and that such
6 appointment be requested at least twenty-four (24) hours in
7 advance of the designated weekend and evening hours. The school
8 district may dispense with inspection during evening and weekend
9 hours if it makes arrangement with a public library, located
10 within a county wherein the school district is situated, for
11 public inspection in the library of a complete set of such
12 curricular material, provided such library has evening and
13 weekend hours at least twice a week.
14 (b) The school district shall give the parents or guardians
15 of pupils written notice by mail of their right to inspect
16 curricular material used or to be sued as a basis for sex
17 education instruction, and such notice shall be on a form solely
18 used for the purpose of complying with the requirements of this
19 section. This notice shall be mailed to the parents or guardians
20 of pupils scheduled for sex education instruction not less than
21 thirty (30) days prior to the use of such curricular material.
22 The curricular material shall be available for public inspection
23 beginning from the date of its approval by the board and
24 continuing thereafter for the duration of the use of such
25 curricular material.
26 (c) All curricular material to be used or being used in or
27 as a basis for sex education at a public school shall be
28 available for public inspection on the premises thereof, during
29 school hours, by a parent or guardian of a child attending said
30 school.
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1 (d) Upon request of any parent or guardian of an affected
2 pupil, any inspection of curricular material authorized by this
3 section shall be permitted to take place outside the presence of
4 any officer, employe or agent of the school district.
5 Section 2505-A. Consent of Parents or Guardian for Sex
6 Education Instruction.--(a) It shall be unlawful for any school
7 district or any officer or employe thereof to permit any public
8 school pupil to attend any class in which sex education
9 instruction is or will be given or to participate in any course
10 of instruction which is designed in substantial part for sex
11 education instruction if a parent or guardian of the pupil
12 specifies that such pupil is not to attend such class in which
13 sex education instruction is or will be given or, in the case of
14 a course designed in substantial part for sex education
15 instruction, that such pupil is not to participate in such
16 course of instruction. The objection of a parent or guardian to
17 sex education instruction shall be presumed until the consent
18 form required by this section is mailed to said parent or
19 guardian and for a thirty (30) day period thereafter. If a
20 parent or guardian of an affected pupil does not tender an
21 objection within the thirty (30) day period, nothing in this
22 article shall preclude the school district from placing the
23 pupil in the sex education program referred to in the form
24 required by this section until such time as objection is
25 received in the manner prescribed by this article. In order to
26 implement the requirements of this section, the school district
27 shall utilize a form which shall be solely used for the purpose
28 of complying with the requirements of this section. The school
29 district shall mail the form to the parents and guardians whose
30 consent is required not less than thirty (30) days prior to the
19890S0974B1120 - 6 -
1 beginning of sex education instruction.
2 (b) No pupil shall be adversely affected in terms of credits
3 or graduation or otherwise penalized or discriminated against in
4 any other manner because the parents or guardians of such pupil
5 do not permit such pupil to attend any class in which sex
6 education instruction is or will be given or to participate in
7 any course of sex education which is designed in substantial
8 part for sex education purposes.
9 (c) Each school district shall be required to implement this
10 section in a manner which minimizes the potential embarrassment
11 to pupils not permitted to attend such classes. In cases where a
12 pupil who is not permitted to attend a sex education class is
13 participating in those portions of a course of instruction which
14 do not involve sex education, the school district and the
15 principal of each public school therein shall establish a
16 procedure to assure that the pupil does not report to said class
17 on any day on which sex education is given.
18 (d) A parent or guardian may withdraw or withhold any
19 consent to sex education instruction at any time, effective
20 immediately, by providing the principal of the school attended
21 by the affected pupil with written notice thereof.
22 Section 2506-A. Notice; Consent Form. (a) The notice
23 required by section 2504-A shall be in substantially the
24 following form:
25 SEX EDUCATION NOTICE
26 Your child is scheduled to take a course that will
27 include sex education. You are entitled to inspect the
28 curriculum and other sex education materials that will be
29 used for your child's sex education instruction at the
30 principal office of the school district and at the school
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1 your child is attending. You may inspect ...... (insert
2 "some" or "all", depending on the school district policy) of
3 these materials in your home for up to ...... days. In
4 addition, a complete set of these sex education materials
5 have been made available for public inspection at the
6 following library: .................................. (only
7 use this sentence if applicable). If you have any questions,
8 please contact ........................... at the following
9 telephone number: ......................
10 (b) The consent form required by section 2505-A shall be in
11 substantially the following form:
12 SEX EDUCATION CONSENT
13 Please check the appropriate box below and send it to the
14 following address: .................................. within
15 thirty (30) days or your child may be enrolled in sex
16 education instruction. If you change your mind about your
17 child's participation in sex education instruction, you may
18 remove your child from sex education instruction at any time
19 by providing the principal of the school your child is
20 attending with a written notice of your objection.
21 I withhold my consent to my child's
22 participation in sex education instruction. ......
23 I consent to my child's participation
24 in sex education instruction. ......
25 If you have any further questions about this matter,
26 please feel free to contact ................................
27 at the following telephone number: ....................
28 Please complete this form and return it to the principal of
29 your child's school. You may use the following address for
30 this purpose: ............................................
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1 (c) Nothing in this article shall prohibit the school
2 district from including a form provided for in this section in a
3 mailing containing unrelated material: Provided, That the form
4 itself does not contain such unrelated material.
5 (d) A school district may use a single mailing to transmit
6 both forms prescribed by this section where it is feasible to do
7 so.
8 Section 2507-A. Protection of Pupil and Parental Right of
9 Privacy.--(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no
10 school district or any officer, employe or agent thereof shall
11 subject any pupil to examination, testing or other questioning
12 which is designed to or is likely to elicit information
13 concerning:
14 (1) mental and psychological problems that are potentially
15 embarrassing to the student or his family;
16 (2) sexual behavior and attitudes;
17 (3) illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating and demeaning
18 behavior;
19 (4) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom
20 respondents have close family relationships;
21 (5) legally recognized privileged and analogous
22 relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians and
23 ministers; or
24 (6) income, other than that required by law to determine
25 eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving
26 financial assistance under such program, without the prior
27 consent of the pupil if the pupil is an adult or emancipated
28 minor or without the prior written consent of the parent in the
29 case of an unemancipated minor.
30 (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to modify
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1 existing law in regard to any examination, testing, questioning
2 or treatment:
3 (1) which is undertaken in connection with the act of
4 November 26, 1975 (P.L.438, No.124), known as the "Child
5 Protective Services Law";
6 (2) which is undertaken in conjunction with counseling or
7 advising pupils on an individual basis: Provided, That such
8 counseling or advice is given outside a classroom setting and is
9 not given as part of any course of instruction;
10 (3) which is an essential part of a program for pupils who
11 have been placed or who are being considered on an
12 individualized basis for placement in a program for exceptional
13 children, as defined in section 1371, and the regulations and
14 standards of the State Board of Education or for pupils with an
15 alcohol or controlled substance abuse problem who have been
16 placed in a program in connection therewith; or
17 (4) which is undertaken in connection with the enforcement
18 of any policy or rule governing the conduct of pupils.
19 Section 2508-A. Prohibited Health Services.--(a) No school
20 district may provide, fund, cooperate in or authorize the
21 provision of the following services to pupils:
22 (1) Abortion services.
23 (2) Abortion counseling services.
24 (3) Abortion referral services.
25 (4) Family planning services.
26 (5) Pregnancy testing.
27 (6) Pregnancy testing referral services.
28 (7) Contraceptive counseling services.
29 (8) Contraceptive referral services.
30 (9) Prescribing or dispensing abortifacients or
19890S0974B1120 - 10 -
1 contraceptives.
2 (b) No school physician, school dentist, school nurse,
3 dental hygienist, medical technician, sanitarian, teacher or any
4 other administrator or school employe, or any other person
5 acting in concert with or at the direction or control of the
6 aforementioned persons, may transport or provide for the
7 transportation of any pupil to any clinic, agency or facility
8 for the purpose of obtaining abortion services, abortion
9 counseling or referral, contraceptive services, contraceptive
10 counseling or referral, pregnancy testing or pregnancy referral,
11 or family planning services. Nothing in this subsection shall
12 apply to the private practice of a physician or licensed health
13 care professional insofar as such private practice is unrelated
14 to any duties performed by such physician or licensed health
15 care professional as an employe or agent of the school district.
16 (c) Each school district shall adopt and implement rules
17 consistent with this section.
18 (d) Nothing in this section shall apply to sex education
19 instruction.
20 Section 2509-A. Sex Education Emphasis on Abstinence From
21 Sexual Activity.--No school district shall permit and no person
22 shall conduct any sex education instruction in a public school
23 unless such instruction shall emphasize the importance to pupils
24 of abstaining from premarital sexual relations and unless such
25 instruction shall stress that abstinence from sexual activity is
26 the only completely reliable means of preventing the
27 transmission of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and
28 other sexually transmitted diseases and of avoiding pregnancy.
29 Section 2510-A. Restrictions Upon State Sex Education
30 Mandates and Guidelines.--(a) Except as otherwise provided in
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1 this section for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
2 instruction, no Commonwealth agency shall have any authority to
3 require that school districts adopt or implement sex education
4 instruction nor shall any Commonwealth agency have the authority
5 to prescribe any mandatory curriculum or other requirements for
6 sex education instruction.
7 (b) Nothing in this article shall prohibit a Commonwealth
8 agency from preparing and recommending nonbinding curriculum
9 guidelines for sex education instruction.
10 (c) No Commonwealth agency shall adopt or issue any
11 guidelines for sex education instruction until such guidelines
12 shall have been first published as proposed guidelines in the
13 Pennsylvania Bulletin and until interested persons have had at
14 least sixty (60) days thereafter to submit comments and
15 suggestions for review and consideration by the Commonwealth
16 agency proposing such guidelines. Any Commonwealth agency
17 proposing sex education guidelines shall transmit them to the
18 majority and minority chairmen of the Education Committee of the
19 House of Representatives and to the majority and minority
20 chairmen of the Education Committee of the Senate at the time it
21 submits the proposed guidelines for publication in the
22 Pennsylvania Bulletin.
23 (d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the State Board
24 of Education from requiring school districts to provide
25 instruction about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and
26 related issues to its pupils once in the elementary grades, once
27 in the middle/junior high school grades and once in the senior
28 high school grades. AIDS curricular material and AIDS
29 instruction shall be determined by the school district and shall
30 be appropriate to the age group being taught. In addition to
19890S0974B1120 - 12 -
1 meeting the requirements of section 2509-A, the program shall
2 stress that avoidance of illegal drug use is the only completely
3 reliable means of preventing transmission of AIDS through shared
4 drug paraphernalia. Except as otherwise provided in this
5 subsection and in section 2512-A, any AIDS instruction involving
6 sex education instruction and sex education curricular material
7 shall comply with the requirements of this article.
8 Section 2511-A. Enforcement.--(a) Any parent or guardian of
9 a pupil attending a public school within the district or any
10 other resident of the school district who believes that a school
11 district or any officer or employe thereof is failing to comply
12 with the requirements of this article may either file a
13 complaint with the department or file a complaint with the court
14 of common pleas of any judicial district wherein the school
15 district is situated for the purpose of seeking an order
16 enjoining any violation of this article. The department and the
17 court may issue temporary restraining orders, where appropriate,
18 pending a further review of the complaint.
19 (b) On receipt of such a complaint, the department shall
20 conduct an immediate investigation into the complaint and, if it
21 determines that a school district or an officer or employe
22 thereof has failed to comply with the requirements of this
23 article, it shall issue an order directing compliance with this
24 article. Any person or school district aggrieved by an order of
25 the department may appeal the order to the Commonwealth Court.
26 If the school district fails to comply with the order of the
27 department, the department shall petition the Commonwealth Court
28 for an order enjoining the school district or an officer or
29 employe thereof from continuing to violate this article.
30 (c) The department shall submit annually a report to the
19890S0974B1120 - 13 -
1 Education Committee of the House of Representatives and to the
2 Education Committee of the Senate containing a description of
3 the types of complaints received under this article, the status
4 of cases, department action which has been taken, and the length
5 of time from the initial complaint to final departmental
6 resolution.
7 Section 2512-A. Application of Article.--(a) Except for
8 revisions occurring on or after the enactment date of this
9 article, no school district shall be required to comply with the
10 requirements of section 2503-A with respect to any sex education
11 instruction being implemented and any curricular material in use
12 as of the enactment date of this article. Except for revisions
13 occurring on or after the enactment date of this article, a
14 school district may continue to implement a sex education
15 program of instruction and use curricular material in operation
16 or use on the enactment date of this article without being in
17 compliance with the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of
18 section 2504-A, subsection (a) of section 2505-A and section
19 2506-A: Provided, however, That the school district shall be
20 subject to said requirements with respect to any such sex
21 education instruction and curricular material beginning with the
22 first day of class in the school term commencing not more than
23 ninety (90) days after the effective date of this article. In
24 all other respects, sex education instruction and curricular
25 material being implemented or in use on the enactment date of
26 this article shall be subject to the provisions of this article
27 as of its effective date.
28 (b) The adoption or revision of any sex education program or
29 the addition of new curricular material on or after the
30 enactment date shall be subject to all the provisions of this
19890S0974B1120 - 14 -
1 article as of its effective date.
2 Section 2. (a) All acts and parts of acts are repealed
3 insofar as they are inconsistent with this act.
4 (b) Any Commonwealth, school district or public school rule,
5 regulation, policy or guideline inconsistent herewith is hereby
6 abrogated to the extent of any such inconsistency.
7 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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