Bill Text: NY S03798 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes an age-appropriate sex education grant program through the department of health to be a comprehensive age-appropriate program conducted by an eligible applicant; authorizes the commissioner to determine certain topics of instruction and makes provisions for the application of grants.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S03798 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03798-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3798 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the age-appropriate sex education grant program, to be referred to as the healthy teens act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares 2 that New York state's teen pregnancy rate, 56.2 per 1000 female 15-19 3 year olds as compared to the Healthy People 2010 goal of 43 cases per 4 1000 female 15-19 year olds falls far too short of the public health 5 expectation set by the Surgeon General. New York state had 40,000 teen 6 pregnancies in 2006. In addition, according to the centers for disease 7 control, 1 in 4 teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection. 8 This is true in New York state as well. Current research documents that 9 individuals who receive early, comprehensive, age-appropriate, and 10 scientifically accurate education in the health and other benefits of 11 sexual abstinence, family planning, and birth control are more likely to 12 delay sexual activity and engage later in such activity with a higher 13 degree of responsibility and safety. Comprehensive sex education 14 programs which complement parental involvement and instruction respect 15 the diversity and values of our state and provide our youth at risk with 16 the foundation to make responsibly informed choices. The earlier such 17 programs are commenced on an age-appropriate curriculum basis, the more 18 responsible will be the sexual activity decisions. 19 Statistics within New York state communities show an increase in rates 20 of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents over the past several 21 years. Adolescents are the fastest growing population of new HIV/AIDS 22 cases. These increases place greater demand on the state's health care 23 delivery system and require that we take immediate action and embark on 24 a dedicated mission to provide targeted at-risk adolescents with a more EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08602-01-9S. 3798 2 1 concentrated sex education program with a significant parental compo- 2 nent, designed to inform and instruct them on abstinence, protection and 3 pregnancy prevention. Approximately 25 percent of new cases of sexually 4 transmitted diseases each year occur among teenagers and two-thirds of 5 such new cases occur among persons 15 to 24 years old. By age 24, at 6 least one in three sexually active persons are estimated to have had a 7 sexually transmitted disease. By way of example, the highest age-specif- 8 ic gonorrhea rates among women and the third highest rates among men are 9 in the 15 to 19 year old group. 10 It is the intent of the legislature that the age-appropriate sex 11 education grant program established in this act provide at-risk adoles- 12 cents with the information, assistance, skills and support to enable 13 them to make responsible decisions, including abstaining from sexual 14 intercourse and for those who do become sexually active, the use of 15 condoms or contraceptives effectively. 16 It is also the intent of the legislature to reduce the current teenage 17 pregnancy rate to 36.2 among 15 to 17 year olds and 105.9 among 18 to 19 18 year olds by the year 2020 to meet the federal government initiative 19 known as Healthy People 2020. 20 § 2. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "healthy teens 21 act". 22 § 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 14-A to 23 read as follows: 24 ARTICLE 14-A 25 AGE-APPROPRIATE SEX EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM 26 Section 1450. Definitions. 27 1451. Establishment of age-appropriate sex education grant 28 program; general components. 29 1452. Age-appropriate sex education grant program awards. 30 1453. Application for grants; age-appropriate sex education 31 grant program plan. 32 1454. Maintenance of effort. 33 1455. Annual reports by grant recipients. 34 1456. Notification to potential applicants. 35 1457. Regulations. 36 § 1450. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 37 terms shall have the following meanings: 38 1. "Eligible applicant" means (a) a public school district, (b) a 39 board of cooperative educational services, (c) a school-based health 40 center, (d) a community based organization which may be a for-profit 41 corporation or entity or not-for-profit corporation or organization, or 42 (e) a consortium or partnership formed by a public school district, a 43 board of cooperative educational services and/or a school-based health 44 center and one or more community based organizations which qualifies for 45 the award of an age-appropriate sex education grant by the commissioner 46 under this article. 47 2. "Grant program plan" means the plan submitted to the commissioner 48 by an eligible applicant under section fourteen hundred fifty-one of 49 this article. 50 3. "State income standard" means the most recent federal income offi- 51 cial poverty line as defined annually and revised by the federal office 52 of management and budget adjusted for family size. 53 4. "Age-appropriate sex education grant program" means a comprehensive 54 age-appropriate sex education program conducted by an eligible applicant 55 under section fourteen hundred fifty-one of this article.S. 3798 3 1 5. "School-based health center" means a clinic licensed under article 2 twenty-eight of this chapter, or sponsored by a facility licensed under 3 article twenty-eight of this chapter, which provides primary care 4 services within an elementary or secondary public school setting. 5 § 1451. Establishment of age-appropriate sex education grant program; 6 general components. 1. There is hereby established within the department 7 an age-appropriate sex education grant program. The program shall be 8 formulated by the commissioner after consultation with the commissioner 9 of education. The purpose of the program shall be to provide grants to 10 eligible applicants to support age-appropriate sex education grant 11 programs for young people which provides them with topics of instruction 12 in the components set forth in subdivision two of this section. 13 2. In order for an eligible applicant to receive an award of an annual 14 grant under subdivision three of this section, such an applicant shall 15 submit with its application the components of instruction which shall be 16 offered in its age-appropriate sex education grant program. The commis- 17 sioner shall determine certain topics of instruction to be optional for 18 age-appropriate reasons as shall be specified by the commissioner in 19 application instructions made available by the department for the 20 purposes of implementing this article. It is not necessary to provide 21 equal emphasis on each component of instruction, however a project may 22 not be inconsistent with any of the components. The components of 23 instruction shall include whether such instruction: 24 (a) is age-appropriate and medically-accurate; 25 (b) does not teach or promote religion, provided that this paragraph 26 shall not preclude discussion of moral, ethical or religious views 27 related to sex or sexual relationships; 28 (c) teaches that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy or 29 sexually transmitted diseases; 30 (d) stresses the value of abstinence while not ignoring those adoles- 31 cents who have had or who are having sexual intercourse; 32 (e) provides information about the health benefits and side effects of 33 all contraceptives and barrier methods as a means to prevent pregnancy; 34 (f) provides information about the health benefits and side effects of 35 all contraceptives and barrier methods as a means to reduce the risk of 36 contracting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and other diseases; 37 (g) provides information about the vaccine for human papilloma virus, 38 which may prevent cervical cancer, genital warts, infertility, and other 39 reproductive health problems, when administered prior to becoming sexu- 40 ally active; 41 (h) encourages family communication about sexuality among parents, 42 other adult household members and children; 43 (i) teaches skills to make responsible decisions about sexuality, 44 including how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical and sexual advances, 45 and how not to make unwanted verbal, physical and sexual advances; 46 (j) teaches how alcohol and drug use can affect responsible decision 47 making; 48 (k) helps young people to gain knowledge about the physical, biolog- 49 ical and hormonal changes of adolescence and subsequent stages of human 50 maturation; 51 (l) develops the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure and protect 52 young people with respect to their sexual and reproductive health; 53 (m) assists young people in gaining knowledge about the specific 54 involvement of, and responsibility of both males and females in sexual 55 decision making;S. 3798 4 1 (n) develops healthy attitudes and values concerning growth and devel- 2 opment, body image, gender roles, sexual orientation and other subjects; 3 (o) encourages young people to practice healthy life skills including 4 goal setting, decision making, negotiation, and communication and stress 5 management; 6 (p) promotes self-esteem and positive interpersonal skills focusing on 7 relationship skills, including platonic, romantic, intimate and family 8 relationships and interaction and how to avoid relationship abuse; and 9 (q) is based on theoretical projects that have been demonstrated to 10 influence health behavior. 11 It is not necessary for the grantee to address every component of 12 instruction, however, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision are 13 required of all applicant programs. No program may include information 14 or messages that contradict any of the components. 15 3. Any eligible applicant may apply for, and upon approval of the 16 application by the commissioner, shall be awarded an annual sex educa- 17 tion grant provided it demonstrates in the grant program plan submitted 18 to the commissioner that: 19 (a) it is capable of providing young persons with an effective sex 20 education program that shall be meaningful, substantially involve 21 parents and other adults as feasible and appropriate, and shall be 22 conducted in accordance with this article and any regulations under this 23 article; 24 (b) if such applicant is a community based organization, that it has a 25 proven record and experience in conducting meaningful and successful 26 age-appropriate sex education programs for at least five years prior to 27 the calendar year in which application for the grant is made, and that 28 it is capable of providing an age-appropriate sex education program to a 29 broad based segment of the youth population with specific emphasis on 30 targeted at-risk youths in such organization's service area. The commis- 31 sioner may seek and he or she shall receive any pertinent information or 32 request and receive recommendations as to such community based organiza- 33 tion's interactions or prior dealings with any other state or local 34 governmental entity, including, but not limited to, any public school 35 district or board of cooperative educational services in making the 36 determination required by this paragraph. 37 4. All monies provided in grants under this article shall be in addi- 38 tion to, and not in lieu of, any moneys historically appropriated for 39 the same or similar purposes and shall not be used to offset or reduce 40 moneys previously expended for similar programs. 41 § 1452. Age-appropriate sex education grant program awards. 1. Within 42 amounts appropriated therefor, the commissioner shall be authorized to 43 grant awards for the support of approved age-appropriate sex education 44 grant programs. 45 2. Grants to support an approved age-appropriate sex education grant 46 program shall be awarded on a competitive basis in accordance with 47 criteria established by the commissioner. 48 3. The department shall, from within amounts appropriated to the 49 department, undertake all activities necessary to plan for and prelimi- 50 narily provide for the timely implementation of the age-appropriate sex 51 education grant program authorized by this article for the state fiscal 52 year commencing one year following the effective date of this article. 53 4. Not more than five percent of any amounts made available by appro- 54 priation in any single fiscal year for the age-appropriate sex education 55 grant program shall be annually retained by the commissioner for the 56 administrative purposes of the department.S. 3798 5 1 5. Of the amounts made available by appropriation for the sex educa- 2 tion grant program, not more than five percent of any funds made by such 3 appropriation for the state fiscal year commencing three years following 4 the effective date of this article shall be made available for payment 5 to a nationally recognized and accredited organization with experience 6 in analyzing the efficacy and benefits of sex education grant programs 7 for purposes of enabling such organization to evaluate the totality of 8 the grant program and grants awarded in the two years following the 9 effective date of this article. Similarly, not more than four percent 10 of any funds for the state fiscal year commencing four years following 11 the effective date of this article shall be made available for payment 12 to the same organization which was awarded the initial contract to so 13 analyze the age-appropriate sex education grant program for the purpose 14 of providing necessary funds to them to analyze the age-appropriate sex 15 education grant program from its inception through and including all the 16 grant year periods authorized under this article. The contract to be 17 awarded to such organization shall be let only after a request for 18 proposal has been issued by the department in the manner provided for by 19 law, and the award of such contract shall be subject to competitive 20 bidding requirements as also required by law. The department shall 21 include within the request for proposal detailed criteria of evaluation 22 to be employed by the organization to be awarded the bid. The request 23 for proposal shall also allow for a bidding organization to submit addi- 24 tional evaluative criteria that may be utilized by the organization 25 awarded the bid if approved by the department. Notwithstanding any 26 inconsistent provision of this subdivision, the request for proposal 27 shall include a provision authorizing the commissioner to terminate the 28 awarded contract to the successful bidder with respect to the conduct of 29 the second evaluation of the grant program for the entire grant period 30 authorized under this article if the commissioner is not satisfied with 31 the quality of effort demonstrated by such bidder in the first evalu- 32 ation of the grant program period. In such case, a similar request for 33 proposal procedure shall be utilized for the purpose of making the 34 second evaluation. 35 6. Beginning with the school year in July two years following the 36 effective date of this article and every school year thereafter, from 37 any annual appropriations and/or reappropriations made therefor, the 38 commissioner shall set aside eighty percent of the money so appropriated 39 (minus any amounts necessary to pay adjustment expenses pursuant to 40 subdivisions three, four and five of this section) for the purpose of 41 awarding grants for sex education grant program plans approved by the 42 commissioner pursuant to section fourteen hundred fifty-three of this 43 article to be conducted by public school districts and/or boards of 44 cooperative educational services including those programs which are 45 going to be conducted in accordance with a program plan pursuant to 46 consortiums or partnerships formed by a public school district and/or 47 board of cooperative educational services and a school-based health 48 center or one or more community based organizations. Priority, substan- 49 tial consideration and weight shall be accorded by the commissioner in 50 the awarding of grants to such consortiums or partnerships. Similarly, 51 the commissioner shall set aside twenty per centum of any appropriation 52 for the purpose of awarding grants for age-appropriate sex education 53 grant program plans approved by the commissioner for eligible applicants 54 who are community based organizations or school-based health centers 55 which are not conducting such program as part of a consortium or part- 56 nership.S. 3798 6 1 7. In making grants under this article, the commissioner shall also 2 give special consideration and weight to: (a) the number of reported 3 adolescent pregnancies by persons residing in such area over the previ- 4 ous ten years and the number of adolescent parents, including where 5 feasible, the number of single parents, who currently reside in such 6 area, (b) the number of reported occurrences of sexually transmitted 7 diseases and HIV/AIDS among residents of the area to be served, with 8 particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS, (c) the number of persons residing in 9 the area to be served whose annual personal income is less than one 10 hundred fifty percent of the established state income standard or who 11 participate in the free and reduced price lunch program as defined in 12 subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of the education law, 13 and any other generally available statistical data which indicates that 14 the area to be served is economically or otherwise disadvantaged, (d) 15 the high school drop out rate in the area as determined by the education 16 department, and (e) any other generally available statistical data which 17 indicates that the area to be served is in need of an age-appropriate 18 sex education program. 19 § 1453. Application for grants; age-appropriate sex education grant 20 program plan. 1. The commissioner shall establish an application proce- 21 dure by which eligible applicants may apply for a grant pursuant to this 22 article, and the manner and method including specified objective crite- 23 ria consistent with this article by which the commissioner shall deter- 24 mine the eligibility of an applicant. 25 2. The eligible applicant shall submit with its age-appropriate sex 26 education grant application its grant program plan to the commissioner, 27 which shall include a detailed description of the proposed age-appropri- 28 ate sex education program, including but not limited to: 29 (a) the manner in which parents and other adults will be included in 30 the program; 31 (b) an outline for the curriculum to be covered in the eligible appli- 32 cant's program, including the instructional materials, books, videos or 33 other instructional tools to be used and the training which will be 34 provided to teachers, personnel and volunteers who will conduct the 35 program. Such curriculum shall include, but need not be limited to, a 36 comprehensive block of instruction that stresses abstinence as the most 37 effective and appropriate protection against HIV/AIDS and pregnancy and 38 which contains written and oral instruction on the prevention of sexual- 39 ly transmitted diseases. The other core elements shall satisfy a signif- 40 icant number of, or preferably all of, the components of an age-appro- 41 priate sex education grant program as established in section fourteen 42 hundred fifty-one of this article; 43 (c) any special, or unusual or innovative services, programs or educa- 44 tion methods to be utilized; 45 (d) the number and types of teaching or other personnel to be 46 employed, or volunteers to be used, together with their professional or 47 academic credentials; 48 (e) the geographic area in which the proposed program will be offered 49 and a description of the categories and age groupings of at-risk adoles- 50 cents included in such program, along with an estimate of the number of 51 adolescents who the applicant estimates will participate in such 52 program; 53 (f) a demonstration that the proposed program is adequate in terms of 54 course length and in terms of both short term and long-range goals; 55 (g) the need for such program in the proposed area to be served. In 56 determining such need the commissioner shall specifically consider theS. 3798 7 1 following factors and give special attention to programs servicing areas 2 which have a higher than average incidence in one or more of the follow- 3 ing enumerated life experiences: (i) the number of reported adolescent 4 pregnancies by persons residing in such area over the previous ten years 5 and the number of adolescent parents, including where feasible, the 6 number of single parents, who currently reside in such area, (ii) the 7 number of reported occurrences of sexually transmitted diseases and 8 HIV/AIDS among residents of the area to be served, with particular 9 emphasis on HIV/AIDS, (iii) the number of persons residing in the area 10 to be served whose annual personal income is less than one hundred fifty 11 percent of the established state income standard or who participate in 12 the free or reduced price lunch program as defined in subdivision one of 13 section thirty-six hundred two of the education law, and any other 14 generally available statistical data which indicates that the area to be 15 served is economically or otherwise disadvantaged, (iv) the high school 16 drop out rate in the area as determined by the education department, and 17 (v) any other generally available statistical data which indicates that 18 the area to be served is in need of an age-appropriate sex education 19 program; 20 (h) the success realized by an eligible applicant in reducing unwanted 21 pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as 22 reducing risk behavior, in programs previously, or currently, conducted; 23 and 24 (i) any other information as the commissioner may request. 25 3. In considering applications submitted by eligible applicants, the 26 commissioner shall give special attention, and grant priority to appli- 27 cations submitted by an eligible applicant which is a public school 28 district or board of cooperative educational services working in consor- 29 tium or partnership with one or more community based organizations or 30 school-based health centers, especially where the community based organ- 31 ization, organizations or school-based health centers has a demonstrated 32 record of success in the conduct of sex education programs of a similar 33 nature to the sex education program provided for in this article. 34 § 1454. Maintenance of effort. Any monies made available to an eligi- 35 ble applicant shall not be used to offset or reduce the amount of moneys 36 previously expended for the same or similar programs in a prior year, 37 but shall be used to supplement any prior years' expenditures. No eligi- 38 ble applicant shall reduce any subsequent years' expenditures for the 39 same or similar programs as a result of receiving any grant, or increase 40 in the amount of any prior awarded grant, pursuant to this article. 41 § 1455. Annual reports by grant recipients. 1. Every eligible appli- 42 cant that has been awarded a grant under this article shall file an 43 annual report with the commissioner, in such form and with such data as 44 the commissioner prescribes detailing the expenditure of grant funds, 45 together with an analysis of the age-appropriate sex education grant 46 program it conducted, with a summary of its success or failures in 47 altering attitudes regarding the merits of sexual abstinence as well as 48 in preventing unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and 49 HIV/AIDS. 50 2. The commissioner shall on or before February first in each year, 51 submit a report on the program to the governor, the temporary president 52 of the senate and the speaker of the assembly containing his or her 53 findings and recommendations. In the report submitted in the fourth year 54 and the sixth year following the effective date of this article respec- 55 tively, the commissioner shall also include the evaluation of theS. 3798 8 1 program as presented by the accredited organization in accordance with 2 section fourteen hundred fifty-two of this article. 3 § 1456. Notification to potential applicants. The commissioner shall 4 timely send to every public school district and board of cooperative 5 educational services and to every requesting community based organiza- 6 tion or school-based health center a copy of this article and general 7 information relating to the age-appropriate sex education grant program 8 and the application process therefor. 9 § 1457. Regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations as 10 shall be reasonably necessary to effectuate the provisions of this arti- 11 cle. 12 § 4. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application 13 of any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not 14 affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, 15 or of any other application of any provision of this act. 16 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the 17 school year which commences on or after July first in the year next 18 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law. The commission- 19 er of health shall promulgate such regulations as shall be necessary to 20 implement the provisions of this act not later than 90 days after such 21 effective date.
