HBA-MPM H.B. 1122 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1122
By: Coleman
Public Education
4/12/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 74th Texas Legislature enacted legislation which created local school
health advisory councils (councils) that were representative of the
community and included teachers, school administrators, students, health
care professionals, the business community, law enforcement, senior
citizens, and clergy members.  The purpose of the councils was to recommend
a health education curriculum reflective of the local community values and
health issues to local school districts.  The language of the legislation,
however, was such that many school districts interpreted the role of the
councils as only dealing with sex education issues, rather than the whole
range of health education issues.  H.B. 1122 clarifies existing code
regarding the role of the councils in addressing all health education and
programming issues.  This bill also requires the district to consider a
council's recommendations before changing its health education curriculum
and instruction and requires the district to notify its students' parents
of the district's human sexuality instruction and parents' right to remove
their children from this instruction. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 28.004, Education Code, as follows:

Sec. 28.004.  New title:  LOCAL SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
AND HEALTH EDUCATION INSTRUCTION.  Deletes "human sexuality" from title.
(a)  Requires the board of trustees (board) of each school district
(district) to establish a local school health education advisory council
(council) to assist in ensuring that local community values are reflected
in the district's health education instruction. 

(b)  Provides that a district must consider the council's recommendations
before changing its health education curriculum and instruction.  

(c)  Sets forth the council's duties, including recommending the number of
hours of health education instruction to be provided, the health education
curriculum appropriate for specific grade levels, and appropriate grade
levels and methods of instruction for human sexuality instruction.  

(d)  Requires the board to appoint members to the council, the majority of
whom must be parents of children enrolled in the district.  Requires the
board to appoint additional members in a certain composition. 

(e)  Authorizes the board to appoint to the council a representative from a
group other than that specified under Subsection (d).  Deletes existing
text regarding the establishment of a local health education advisory
council (rather than a local "school" health advisory committee). 

(f)  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.  Creates subdivision (f)
from existing  text. Deletes existing text regarding duties of the local
health education advisory committee. 

(g)  Redesignated from existing Subdivision (b).  Deletes existing text
regarding the composition of the local health education advisory committee. 

(h)  Redesignated from existing Subdivision (c).

(i)  Redesignated from existing Subdivision (d).  Makes conforming and
nonsubstantive changes. 

(j)  Requires a district to notify a parent of each student enrolled in the
district of the basic content of the district's human sexuality instruction
and the parent's right to remove the student from any part of this
instruction. 

(k)  Created from existing Subdivision (i).

SECTION 2.  Makes this Act prospective beginning with the 1999-2000 school
year. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.