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1995 SESSION

LD5862812
SENATE BILL NO. 1074
FLOOR AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by Senator Stolle
on January 31, 1995)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Saslaw)
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-207.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to guidance counseling and family life education programs.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 22.1-207.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-207.1. Family life education.

A. The Board of Education shall develop by December 1, 1987, standards of learning and curriculum guidelines for a comprehensive, sequential family life education curriculum in grades K through 12. Such curriculum guidelines shall include instruction as appropriate for the age of the student in family living and community relationships, the value of postponing sexual activity, human sexuality, human reproduction, and the etiology, prevention and effects of sexually transmitted diseases. All such instruction shall be designed to promote parental involvement, foster positive self concepts and provide mechanisms for coping with peer pressure and the stresses of modern living according to the students' developmental stages and abilities. The Board shall also establish by December 1, 1987, requirements for appropriate training for teachers of family life education.

By December 1, 1987, the Board of Education shall provide the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance an analysis of the state and local fiscal impact of implementing a mandatory statewide family life education program and a recommended apportionment of state and local funding for such programs if not otherwise determined by law.

B. A local school board may, at its option, implement a family life education program. Upon deciding to implement a family life education program, the school board may adopt, in whole or in part, the Board's standards of learning and curriculum guidelines or, upon obtaining public comment from the community, adopt locally developed objectives and curricula. No pupil under the age of eighteen shall, however, be required or permitted to participate in any family life education program without written authorization from the pupil's parent.

C. Every school board shall inform the parents of the procedures for participation in guidance counseling programs as follows:

1. All parents shall be informed that participation in academic guidance counseling programs and career education guidance counseling is required of all students.

2. All parents shall be informed that, if they object to all or any part of group guidance counseling instruction that is not academic or career education guidance counseling, they may return, within a reasonable time designated by the school board, a written note, requiring that their child be excused from all or part of the group guidance counseling program and that the child be given other instruction.

3. All parents shall be informed that, except for an initial contact on an issue, their permission will be required for participation in individual or small-group structured counseling of a personal nature.

D. Other grade-level-appropriate instruction shall be provided to students not participating in the programs in accordance with B or C above. Parents may reverse participation decisions by providing to the principal written notification of their new decision.

E. For the purposes of this section, “parent” means the biological parent, adoptive parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of a child.