IHAMB-R ©

REGULATION

FAMILY  LIFE  EDUCATION

Instruction  in  Sex  Education

Instruction in sex education may be offered in the District in conformity with the requirements of Arizona law.  Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to require a school district or charter school provide sex education instruction to pupils.  The District shall not refer students to or use any sexually explicit material in any manner except as provided in a Governing Board-approved sex education program.  Materials may be exempted from this requirement if the materials meet the definition of A.R.S. 15-120.03(B).

The school shall obtain signed, written consent from a student's parent or guardian before doing either of the following:

A.  Using video, audio or electronic materials that may be inappropriate for the age of the student.

B.  Providing sex education instruction to the student.  At the same time the public educational institution seeks consent, it shall inform the student's parent or guardian of the parent's or guardian's right to review the instructional materials and activities.

School districts and charter schools may not provide sex education instruction before grade five (5).

Grades 5 - 8:

A.  Elective lessons.  The District may provide a specific elective lesson or lessons concerning sex education as a supplement to the health course of study.

1.  Such supplement may be taken by the student only upon the written request of the student's parent or guardian.

2.  Alternative elective lessons from the state-adopted optional subjects shall be provided for students who do not enroll in elective sex education.

3.  Elective sex education lessons shall not exceed the equivalent of one (1) class period per day for one-quarter (1/4th) of the school year for grades five (5) through eight (8).

B.  Governing Board approval.  All elective sex education lessons to be offered must have prior approval from the Governing Board.

1.  The Governing Board shall establish an advisory committee with membership representative of District size and the racial and ethnic composition of the community to assist in the development of lessons and advise the Board on an ongoing basis.  All meetings of committees that are authorized for the purposes of reviewing and selecting the sex education course of study shall be publicly noticed at least two (2) weeks before occurring and be open to the public pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Title 38, Chapter 3, Article 3.1.

2.  The Governing Board shall review the total instructional materials and approve all lessons and curricula in the course of study to be offered in sex education.

3.  The Governing Board shall make any proposed sex education course of study available and accessible for review and public comment for at least sixty (60) days before the Board decides whether to approve that course of study.  The Board shall publicize and hold at least two (2) public hearings within the sixty (60)-day period for the purpose of receiving public input at least one (1) week prior to the local governing board meeting at which the elective sex education lessons will be considered for approval.  Public input may include written comments, oral comments and comments submitted electronically.

4.  The Governing Board shall maintain for viewing by the public, both online and in-person pursuant to A.R.S. 15-102(A)(2), the total instructional materials to be used in approved elective sex education lessons within the school district or charter school at least two (2) weeks before any instruction is offered.

C.  Format of instruction:

1.  Lessons shall be taught to boys and girls separately.

2.  Lessons shall be ungraded and shall require no homework; any evaluation administered for the purpose of self-analysis shall not be retained or recorded by the school or the teacher in any form.

3.  Lessons shall not include tests, psychological inventories, surveys, or examinations containing any questions about personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality, values, or religion on the part of students or their parents.

4.  Lessons for grades seven (7) and eight (8) shall include instruction on the laws relating to sexual conduct with a minor.

Grades 9 - 12:

A.  A course in sex education may be provided in the high schools of Arizona.

B.  This course may only be taken by the student at the written request of the student’s parent or guardian.

C.  Alternative elective lessons from the state-adopted optional subjects shall be provided for students who do not enroll in elective sex education.

D.  All meeting of committees that are authorized for the purposes of reviewing and selecting the sex education course of study shall be publicly noticed at least two (2) weeks before occurring and be open to the public pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Title 38, Chapter 3, Article 3.1.

E.  The Governing Board shall review the total instructional materials and approve all lessons and curricula in the course of study to be offered in sex education.

F.  The Governing Board shall make any proposed sex education course of study available and accessible for review and public comment for at least sixty (60) days before the Board decides whether to approve that course of study.  The Board shall publicize and hold at least two (2) public hearings within the sixty (60)-day period for the purpose of receiving public input at least one (1) week prior to the local governing board meeting at which the elective sex education lessons will be considered for approval.  Public input may include written comments, oral comments and comments submitted electronically.

G.  Lessons shall not include tests, psychological inventories, surveys, or examinations containing any questions about personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality, values, or religion on the part of students or their parents.

H.  The Governing Board shall maintain for viewing by the public, both online and in-person pursuant to A.R.S. 15-102(A)(2), the total instructional materials to be used in approved elective sex education lessons within the school district or charter school at least two (2) weeks before any instruction is offered.

Content of instruction (Grades 5 - 12):

A.  All sex education materials and instruction shall be age appropriate, shall recognize the needs of exceptional students, shall meet the needs of the District, shall recognize local community standards and sensitivities, shall not include the teaching of abnormal, deviate, or unusual sexual acts and practices, and shall include the following:

1.  Emphasis upon the power of individuals to control their own personal behavior.

Students shall be encouraged to base their actions on reasoning, self-discipline, sense of responsibility, self-control, and ethical considerations such as respect for self and others.

2.  Instruction on how to say "no" to unwanted sexual advances and to resist negative peer pressure.

Students shall be taught that it is wrong to take advantage of, or to exploit, another person.

3.  Instruction on the laws relating to sexual conduct with a minor.

B.  All sex education materials and instruction that discuss sexual intercourse shall:

1.  Stress that students should abstain from sexual intercourse until they are mature adults.

2.  Emphasize that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only method for avoiding pregnancy that is one hundred percent (100%) effective.

3.  Stress that sexually transmitted diseases have severe consequences and constitute a serious and widespread public health problem.

4.  Include a discussion of the possible emotional and psychological consequences of preadolescent and adolescent sexual intercourse and the consequences of preadolescent and adolescent pregnancy.

5.  Advise students of Arizona law pertaining to the financial responsibilities of parenting, and legal liabilities related to sexual intercourse with a minor.

School districts and charter schools shall make any existing sex education course of study available and accessible for review both online and in person.

Prohibition  on  Use  of  Sexually  Explicit
Materials  as  Defined  and  Exemptions

Except as prescribed in a Governing Board approved sex education program, a public school in this state may not refer students to or use any sexually explicit material in any manner.

A.  Exemptions:  Materials may be exempted from this rule if all of the following requirements are met:

1.  The exempted material possesses serious educational value for minors or possesses serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

2.  The public school obtains parental consent before the public school refers a student to or uses the exempted material.  The public school shall obtain parental consent on a per-material basis.

3.  The public school provides students for whom parental consent is not secured under paragraph 2 of this subsection with an alternative assignment that does not contain sexually explicit material.

B.  Definitions:

"Sexually explicit materials" includes textual, visual or audio materials or materials accessed via any other medium that depict any of the following:

1.  Sexual conduct.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "sexual conduct" means acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such person is a female, breast.

2.  Sexual excitement.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "sexual excitement" means the condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.

3.  Ultimate sexual acts.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "ultimate sexual acts" means sexual intercourse, vaginal or anal, fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality or sodomy.  A sexual act is simulated when it depicts explicit sexual activity that gives the appearance of consummation of ultimate sexual acts.

Instruction  on  Acquired  Immune
Deficiency  Syndrome  and  Human
Immunodeficiency  Virus

The District will develop its own course of study for each grade.  At a minimum, instruction shall:

A.  Be appropriate to the grade level in which it is offered.

B.  Be medically accurate.

C.  Promote abstinence.

D.  Discourage drug abuse.

E.  Dispel myths regarding transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus.

The District may request that the Department of Health Services, in conjunction with the Department of Education, review instruction materials to determine their medical accuracy.

The District may request that the Department of Education provide the following assistance:

A.  A suggested course of study.

B.  Teacher training.

C.  A list of available films and other teaching aids.

At the request of a parent, a student shall be excused from the instruction on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and the human immunodeficiency virus.  The District shall notify all parents of their ability to withdraw their children from the instruction.