BILL NUMBER:S71

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the education law, in relation to mandating sex education in
elementary and high schools

PURPOSE:
To establish and implement a comprehensive, medically accurate and age
appropriate sex education curriculum in grades one through twelve in
all public and charter schools.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 815 to the Education Law requiring the
Commissioner of Education to collaborate with the Commissioners of
Health and Mental Health to create an age comprehensive, medically
accurate and age-appropriate sex education curriculum for all grades
and requires that schools teach sex education. The section also grants
local boards of education or the Chancellor of the New York City
School System the option of adopting their own curriculum upon
approval of the Commissioner.

Section 2 establishes the enactment date.

JUSTIFICATION:
According to a U.S. Government report released in April 2007,
              

abstinence-only sex education does not keep teenagers from having
sex. The independent study determined that the more than 2,000 teens
who took part in the programs as elementary and middle schools
students were just as likely to have sex as those who did not
participate in them.

Similarly, a report of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
found no credible evidence to support the claim that abstinence-only
programs delay the onset of sexual activity or reduce its frequency.
Rather, the report revealed that abstinence-only programs put teens
in harms way of contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV /
AIDS, and fail to provide information about contraceptive methods
that could prevent pregnancy.

A poll conducted by Zogby International reveal that 77 percent of New
York voters believe that comprehensive age appropriate, medically
accurate sex education should be taught in public schools. The State
has a responsibility to bring this instruction into the classroom to
keep our youth healthy and safe, and give them the tools they need to
make healthy lifestyle choices.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2007-2008: Died in Committee
2009-1010: Referred to and died in the Senate Committee on Education.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
The effective date is immediate.