Sen. Carol Ronen

Filed: 2/7/2006

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2267

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2267 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Age-appropriate Sex Education Grant Program Act.
 
6     Section 5. Legislative intent. The General Assembly finds
7 and declares that Illinois' teen birth rate, numbering over
8 18,000 per year, ranks among the highest in the nation.
9 Further, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate
10 of all developed countries. Current research documents the fact
11 that those individuals who receive early, comprehensive,
12 age-appropriate, and scientifically accurate education in the
13 health and other benefits derived from sexual abstinence,
14 family planning, and birth control are more likely to delay
15 sexual activity and engage in such activity later and with a
16 higher degree of responsibility and safety. Comprehensive sex
17 education programs, which complement parental involvement and
18 respect the diversity and values of our State, provide our
19 at-risk youth with the foundation to make responsibly informed
20 choices. The earlier these programs are commenced on an
21 age-appropriate basis, the more responsibly our youth will make
22 decisions about sexual activity.
23     The General Assembly further finds and declares that
24 current statistics demonstrate that occurrences of sexually

 

 

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1 transmitted diseases among adolescents have shown an increase
2 over the past several years. Concurrently, adolescents are the
3 fastest growing population of new HIV/AIDS cases. These
4 increases place greater demand on the State's health care
5 delivery system and require that we take immediate action and
6 embark on a dedicated mission to provide targeted at-risk
7 adolescents with a more concentrated sex education program with
8 a significant parental component, designed to inform and
9 instruct them on abstinence, protection, and pregnancy
10 prevention. Nearly half of all new sexually transmitted disease
11 cases occurred among Americans aged 15 to 24. In Illinois,
12 one-third of all Chlamydia cases and over one-quarter of all
13 Gonorrhea cases occur in teens ages 15 to 19. By age 24, at
14 least one in 3 sexually active persons are estimated to have
15 had a sexually transmitted disease.
16     It is the intent of the legislature that the
17 age-appropriate sex education grant program established in
18 this Act provide adolescents with the information, assistance,
19 skills, and support to enable them to make responsible
20 decisions, including abstaining from sexual intercourse, and,
21 for those who do become sexually active, the effective use of
22 contraceptives and barrier methods.
 
23     Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the
24 following terms shall have the following meanings:
25     "Age-appropriate sex education grant program" means a
26 comprehensive age-appropriate sex education program conducted
27 by an eligible applicant under Section 15 of this Act.
28     "Department" means the Illinois Department of Human
29 Services.
30     "Eligible applicant" means any of the following:
31         (1) A public school district.
32         (2) A State-certified local health department.
33         (3) A community based organization that may be a

 

 

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1     for-profit corporation or entity or not-for-profit
2     corporation or organization.
3         (4) A religious corporation, church, or other
4     religious entity, provided that, either directly or
5     indirectly, the promotion or teaching of religious tenets
6     is not a component of a sex education program.
7         (5) A consortium or partnership formed by a public
8     school district and one or more community based
9     organizations that qualify for the award of an
10     age-appropriate sex education grant by the Department
11     under this Act.
12     "Grant program plan" means the plan submitted to the
13 Department by an eligible applicant under Section 15 of this
14 Act.
15     "Medically accurate" means verified or supported by
16 research conducted in compliance with scientific methods,
17 published in peer-reviewed journals, when appropriate, and
18 recognized as accurate and objective by professional
19 organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant
20 field, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
21     "State income standard" means the most recent federal
22 income official poverty line as defined annually and revised by
23 the federal Office of Management and Budget adjusted for family
24 size.
 
25     Section 15. Establishment of age-appropriate sex education
26 grant program; components of instruction; general standards.
27     (a) There is established within the Illinois Department of
28 Human Services an age-appropriate sex education grant program
29 subject to appropriation. The purpose of the program shall be
30 to provide grants to eligible applicants to support
31 age-appropriate sex education programs for young people that
32 provide them with components of instruction set forth in
33 subsection (b) of this Section.

 

 

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1     (b) The age-appropriate sex education programs approved
2 under this grant program shall include the following components
3 of instruction:
4         (1) Teaches that abstinence is the only sure way to
5     avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
6         (2) Teaches skills to make responsible decisions about
7     sexuality, including how to avoid unwanted verbal,
8     physical, and sexual advances, and how not to make unwanted
9     verbal, physical, and sexual advances.
10         (3) Teaches how alcohol and drug use can affect
11     responsible decision making.
12         (4) Helps young people to gain knowledge about the
13     physical, biological, and hormonal changes of adolescence
14     and subsequent stages of human maturation.
15         (5) Provides information about the health benefits,
16     side effects, and proper use of all contraceptives and
17     barrier methods, including accurate information about
18     effectiveness, as a means to prevent pregnancy and as a
19     means to reduce the risk of contracting sexually
20     transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
21         (6) Assists young people in gaining knowledge about the
22     specific involvement and responsibility of both males and
23     females in sexual decision making.
24         (7) Encourages young people to practice healthy life
25     skills, including goal setting, decision making,
26     negotiation, communication, and stress management.
27         (8) Promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal
28     skills focusing on relationship skills, including
29     platonic, romantic, intimate, and family relationships and
30     interaction.
31     The Department may determine certain components of
32 instruction to be optional in grades kindergarten through 5 for
33 age-appropriate or other practical reasons as specified in the
34 application instructions made available by the Department for

 

 

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1 the purposes of implementing this Act.
2     (c) Any eligible applicant may apply for and, upon approval
3 of the application by the Department, shall be awarded an
4 annual age-appropriate sex education grant if it demonstrates
5 in the grant program plan submitted to the Department that:
6         (1) The components of instruction shall adhere to the
7     following standards:
8             (A) Is age-appropriate.
9             (B) Is medically accurate.
10             (C) Does not teach or promote religion, provided
11         that this item shall not preclude discussion of moral,
12         ethical, or religious views related to sex or sexual
13         relationships.
14             (D) Stresses the value of abstinence while not
15         ignoring those adolescents who have had or who are
16         having sexual intercourse.
17             (E) Encourages family communication about
18         sexuality among parents, other adult household
19         members, and children.
20             (F) Develops the knowledge and skills necessary to
21         ensure and protect young people with respect to their
22         sexual and reproductive health.
23             (G) Develops healthy attitudes and values
24         concerning growth and development, body image, gender
25         roles, sexual orientation, and other subjects.
26         (2) The applicant is capable of providing young persons
27     with an effective sex education program that shall be
28     meaningful, shall substantially involve parents and other
29     adults as feasible and appropriate, and shall be conducted
30     in accordance with this Act and any rule under this Act.
31         (3) If the applicant is an organization outside of a
32     school-setting that provides sex education, including, but
33     not limited to, a community organization, religious
34     corporation, church, or other religious entity, it has a

 

 

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1     demonstrated record of conducting comprehensive sex
2     education that conforms to the standards set forth in
3     paragraph (1) of this subsection, it will use instructional
4     strategies that are high quality and based on medically
5     accurate research, it is capable of providing an
6     age-appropriate sex education program to a broad based
7     segment of the youth population in the organization's
8     service area, and it will provide instruction consistent
9     with applicable federal, State, and local health, safety,
10     and civil rights laws. The Department may seek and shall
11     receive any pertinent information or may request and
12     receive recommendations as to interactions or prior
13     dealings the community based organization, religious
14     corporation, church, or other religious entity has had with
15     any other State or local governmental entity, including,
16     but not limited to, any public school district, in making
17     the determination required by this paragraph.
 
18     Section 20. Application for grants; age-appropriate sex
19 education grant program plan.
20     (a) The Department shall establish an application
21 procedure by which eligible applicants may apply for a grant
22 pursuant to this Act. The Department shall establish the manner
23 and method, including specified objective criteria consistent
24 with this Act, by which the Department shall determine the
25 eligibility of an applicant. Once an application is approved,
26 the Department shall not suspend a grant unless for good cause
27 shown. If an application is rejected by the Department, an
28 eligible applicant is not prohibited from resubmitting a new or
29 supplemental application with the Department for consideration
30 in future years.
31     (b) The eligible applicant shall submit with its
32 age-appropriate sex education grant application its grant
33 program plan to the Department, which shall include, but not be

 

 

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1 limited to:
2         (1) The manner in which parents and other adults will
3     be included in the program.
4         (2) An outline for the curriculum to be covered in the
5     eligible applicant's program, including the instructional
6     materials, books, videos, or other instructional tools to
7     be used and the training that will be provided to teachers,
8     personnel, and volunteers who will conduct the program. The
9     curriculum shall include, but need not be limited to, a
10     comprehensive block of instruction that stresses the
11     components of instruction of an age-appropriate sex
12     education grant program as established in Section 15 of
13     this Act.
14         (3) Any special, unusual, or innovative services,
15     programs, or education methods to be used.
16         (4) The number and types of teachers or personnel to be
17     employed, or volunteers to be used, together with their
18     professional or academic credentials.
19         (5) The geographic area in which the proposed program
20     will be offered and a description of the categories and age
21     groupings of at-risk adolescents included in the program,
22     along with an estimate of the number of adolescents the
23     applicant estimates will participate in the program.
24         (6) A demonstration that the proposed program is
25     adequate in terms of course length and in terms of both
26     short-term and long-range goals.
27         (7) The program is appropriate within the overall goals
28     of school health.
29         (8) The need for the program in the proposed area to be
30     served. In determining the need the Department shall
31     specifically consider the following factors and give
32     special attention to programs servicing areas that have a
33     higher than average number or incidence in one or more of
34     the following life experiences:

 

 

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1             (A) The number of reported births to adolescent
2         mothers residing in the area over the previous 10 years
3         and the number of adolescent parents, including when
4         feasible the number of single parents, who currently
5         reside in the area.
6             (B) The number of reported occurrences of sexually
7         transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS among residents of
8         the area to be served, with particular emphasis on
9         HIV/AIDS.
10             (C) The number of persons residing in the area to
11         be served whose annual personal income is less than
12         150% of the established State income standard and any
13         other generally available statistical data that
14         indicate that the area to be served is economically or
15         otherwise disadvantaged.
16             (D) The high school drop out rate in the area.
17             (E) Any other generally available statistical data
18         that indicate that the area to be served is in need of
19         an age-appropriate sex education program.
20             (F) The success realized by an eligible applicant
21         in reducing unintended pregnancies and cases of
22         sexually transmitted diseases, as well as reducing
23         risky behavior, in programs previously or currently
24         conducted.
25             (G) An assessment of current community programs
26         and services directed to the prevention of teen
27         pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and
28         HIV/AIDS.
29             (H) Any other information as the Department may
30         request.
31     (c) In considering applications submitted by eligible
32 applicants, the Department shall give special attention and
33 priority to applications submitted by an eligible applicant
34 that is a public school district working in consortium or

 

 

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1 partnership with one or more community based organizations,
2 especially when the community based organization or
3 organizations have a demonstrated record of success in the
4 conduct of sex education programs of a similar nature to the
5 sex education program provided for in this Act.
 
6     Section 25. Annual reports by grant recipients.
7     (a) Every eligible applicant that has been awarded a grant
8 under this Act shall file an annual report with the Department,
9 in a form and with the data as the Department prescribes,
10 detailing the expenditure of grant funds, together with an
11 analysis of the age-appropriate sex education grant program it
12 conducted, and a summary of its success or failures in altering
13 attitudes and the acquisition of knowledge regarding the merits
14 of sexual abstinence and methods of preventing unintended
15 pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
16     (b) The Department shall, on or before February 1 of each
17 year, submit a report on the program to the Governor and the
18 General Assembly containing its findings and recommendations.
 
19     Section 30. Grants for curriculum development and
20 innovative programming. The Department may award grants to
21 eligible applicants for the development of age-appropriate,
22 comprehensive sex education curriculum and innovative
23 programming. The curriculum and programming developed under
24 these grants must include the components outlined in Section 15
25 of this Act.
 
26     Section 35. Notification to potential applicants. The
27 Department shall at least 90 days prior to the application
28 deadline send to every public school district and to every
29 requesting community based organization a copy of this Act and
30 general information relating to the age-appropriate sex
31 education grant program and the grant application process.
 

 

 

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1     Section 40. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules
2 reasonably necessary to implement and administer the
3 provisions of this Act.
 
4     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5 becoming law.".