Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1524 To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people, including the promotion of lifelong sexual health and healthy relationships, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2019 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BROWN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, Ms. BALD- WIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people, including the promotion of lifelong sexual health and healthy relationships, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Education for 4 Healthy Youth Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1524 IS SEC. 2. PURPOSES; FINDING; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro- 2 vide young people with comprehensive sex education pro- 3 grams that— 4 (1) promote and uphold the rights of young 5 people to information in order to make healthy deci- 6 sions about their sexual health; 7 (2) provide the information and skills all young 8 people need to make informed, responsible, and 9 healthy decisions in order to become sexually healthy 10 adults and have healthy relationships; 11 (3) provide information about the prevention of 12 unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infec- 13 tions, including HIV, dating violence, sexual assault, 14 bullying, and harassment; and 15 (4) provide resources and information on topics 16 ranging from gender stereotyping and gender roles 17 and stigma and socio-cultural influences surrounding 18 sex and sexuality. 19 (b) FINDING ON REQUIRED RESOURCES.—In order 20 to provide the comprehensive sex education described in 21 subsection (a), Congress finds that increased resources are 22 required for sex education programs that— 23 (1) substantially incorporate elements of evi- 24 dence-based programs or characteristics of effective 25 programs; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1524 IS (2) cover a broad range of topics, including 1 medically accurate and complete information that is 2 age and developmentally appropriate about all the 3 aspects of sex, sexual health, and sexuality; 4 (3) are gender and gender identity-sensitive, 5 emphasizing the importance of equality and the so- 6 cial environment for achieving sexual and reproduc- 7 tive health and overall well-being; 8 (4) promote educational achievement, critical 9 thinking, decision making, self-esteem, and self-effi- 10 cacy; 11 (5) help develop healthy attitudes and insights 12 necessary for understanding relationships between 13 oneself and others and society; 14 (6) foster leadership skills and community en- 15 gagement by— 16 (A) promoting principles of fairness, 17 human dignity, and respect; and 18 (B) engaging young people as partners in 19 their communities; and 20 (7) are culturally and linguistically appropriate, 21 reflecting the diverse circumstances and realities of 22 young people. 23 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 24 gress that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1524 IS (1) federally funded sex education programs 1 should aim to— 2 (A) provide information about a range of 3 human sexuality topics, including— 4 (i) human development, healthy rela- 5 tionships, personal skills; 6 (ii) sexual behavior including absti- 7 nence; 8 (iii) sexual health including preventing 9 unintended pregnancy; 10 (iv) sexually transmitted infections in- 11 cluding HIV; and 12 (v) society and culture; 13 (B) promote safe and healthy relation- 14 ships; 15 (C) promote gender equity; 16 (D) use, and be informed by, the best sci- 17 entific information available; 18 (E) be culturally appropriate and inclusive 19 of youth with varying gender identities, gender 20 expressions, and sexual orientations; 21 (F) be built on characteristics of effective 22 programs; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1524 IS (G) expand the existing body of research 1 on comprehensive sex education programs 2 through program evaluation; 3 (H) expand training programs for teachers 4 of comprehensive sex education; 5 (I) build on programs funded under section 6 513 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 713) 7 and the Office of Adolescent Health’s Teen 8 Pregnancy Prevention Program, funded under 9 title II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 10 2010 (Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 3253), 11 and on programs supported through the Cen- 12 ters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); 13 and 14 (J) promote and uphold the rights of 15 young people to information in order to make 16 healthy and autonomous decisions about their 17 sexual health; and 18 (2) no Federal funds should be used for health 19 education programs that— 20 (A) withhold health-promoting or life-sav- 21 ing information about sexuality-related topics, 22 including HIV; 23 (B) are medically inaccurate or have been 24 scientifically shown to be ineffective; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1524 IS (C) promote gender or racial stereotypes; 1 (D) are insensitive and unresponsive to the 2 needs of sexually active young people; 3 (E) are insensitive and unresponsive to the 4 needs of survivors of sexual violence; 5 (F) are insensitive and unresponsive to the 6 needs of youth of all physical, developmental, 7 and mental abilities; 8 (G) are insensitive and unresponsive to the 9 needs of youth with varying gender identities, 10 gender expressions, and sexual orientations; or 11 (H) are inconsistent with the ethical im- 12 peratives of medicine and public health. 13 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION 14 FOR ADOLESCENTS. 15 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, in co- 16 ordination with the Associate Commissioner of the Family 17 and Youth Services Bureau of the Administration on Chil- 18 dren, Youth, and Families of the Department of Health 19 and Human Services, the Director of the Office of Adoles- 20 cent Health, the Director of the Division of Adolescent 21 and School Health within the Centers for Disease Control 22 and Prevention and the Secretary of Education, shall 23 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 24 to enable such eligible entities to carry out programs that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1524 IS provide adolescents with comprehensive sex education, as 1 described in subsection (f). 2 (b) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this section 3 shall be for a period of 5 years. 4 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el- 5 igible entity’’ means a public or private entity that focuses 6 on adolescent health and education or has experience 7 working with adolescents. 8 (d) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desiring a 9 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 10 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 11 such information as the Secretary may require, including 12 an assurance to participate in the evaluation described in 13 section 6. 14 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 15 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 16 that— 17 (1) are State or local public entities; 18 (2) are entities not currently receiving funds 19 under— 20 (A) section 513 of the Social Security Act 21 (42 U.S.C. 713); 22 (B) the Office of Adolescent Health’s Teen 23 Pregnancy Prevention Program, funded under 24 title II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1524 IS 2010 (Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 3253), 1 or any substantially similar successive program; 2 or 3 (C) the Centers for Disease Control and 4 Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School 5 Health; and 6 (3) address health inequities among young peo- 7 ple that face systemic barriers resulting in dis- 8 proportionate rates of not less than one of the fol- 9 lowing: 10 (A) Unintended pregnancies. 11 (B) Sexually transmitted infections, includ- 12 ing HIV. 13 (C) Dating violence and sexual violence. 14 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re- 16 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant 17 funds to carry out an education program that pro- 18 vides adolescents with comprehensive sex education 19 that— 20 (A) is age and developmentally appro- 21 priate; 22 (B) is medically accurate and complete; 23 (C) substantially incorporates elements of 24 evidence-based sex education instruction; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1524 IS (D) creates a demonstration project based 1 on characteristics of effective programs. 2 (2) CONTENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDU- 3 CATION PROGRAMS.—The comprehensive sex edu- 4 cation programs funded under this section shall in- 5 clude instruction and materials that address— 6 (A) the physical, social, and emotional 7 changes of human development including, 8 human anatomy, reproduction, and sexual de- 9 velopment; 10 (B) healthy relationships, including friend- 11 ships, within families, and society, that are 12 based on mutual respect, and the ability to dis- 13 tinguish between healthy and unhealthy rela- 14 tionships, including— 15 (i) effective communication, negotia- 16 tion and refusal skills, including the skills 17 to recognize and report inappropriate or 18 abusive sexual advances; 19 (ii) bodily autonomy, setting and re- 20 specting personal boundaries, practicing 21 personal safety, and consent; and 22 (iii) the limitations and harm of gen- 23 der-role stereotypes, violence, coercion, bul- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1524 IS lying, harassment, and intimidation in re- 1 lationships; 2 (C) healthy decision making skills about 3 sexuality and relationships that include— 4 (i) critical thinking, problem solving, 5 self-efficacy, stress-management, self-care, 6 and decision making; 7 (ii) individual values and attitudes; 8 (iii) the promotion of positive body 9 images; 10 (iv) developing an understanding that 11 there are a range of body types and en- 12 couraging positive feeling about students’ 13 own body types; 14 (v) information on how to respect oth- 15 ers and ensure safety on the internet and 16 when using other forms of digital commu- 17 nication; 18 (vi) information on local services and 19 resources where students can obtain addi- 20 tional information related to bullying, har- 21 assment, dating violence and sexual as- 22 sault, suicide prevention, and other related 23 care; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1524 IS (vii) encouragement for youth to com- 1 municate with their parents or guardians, 2 health and social service professionals, and 3 other trusted adults about sexuality and 4 intimate relationships; 5 (viii) information on how to create a 6 safe environment for all students and oth- 7 ers in society; 8 (ix) examples of varying types of rela- 9 tionships, couples, and family structures; 10 and 11 (x) affirmative representation of vary- 12 ing gender identities, gender expressions, 13 and sexual orientations, including individ- 14 uals and relationships between same sex 15 couples and their families; 16 (D) abstinence, delaying age of first sexual 17 activity, the use of condoms, preventive medica- 18 tion, vaccination, birth control, and other sexu- 19 ally transmitted infection prevention measures, 20 and the options for pregnancy, including par- 21 enting, adoption, and abortion including— 22 (i) the importance of effectively using 23 condoms, preventive medication, and appli- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1524 IS cable vaccinations to protect against sexu- 1 ally transmitted infections, including HIV; 2 (ii) the benefits of effective contracep- 3 tive and condom use in avoiding unin- 4 tended pregnancy; 5 (iii) the relationship between sub- 6 stance use and sexual health and behav- 7 iors; and 8 (iv) information about local health 9 services where students can obtain addi- 10 tional information and services related to 11 sexual and reproductive health and other 12 related care; 13 (E) through affirmative recognition, the 14 roles that traditions, values, religion, norms, 15 gender roles, acculturation, family structure, 16 health beliefs, and political power play in how 17 students make decisions that affect their sexual 18 health, using examples of various types of races, 19 ethnicities, cultures, and families, including sin- 20 gle-parent households and young families; 21 (F) information about gender identity, 22 gender expression, and sexual orientation for all 23 students, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1524.IS S1524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1524 IS (i) affirmative recognition that people 1 have different gender identities, gender ex- 2 pressions, and sexual orientations; and 3 (ii) community resources that can pro- 4 vide additional support for individuals with 5 varying gender identities, gender expres- 6 sions, and sexual orientations; and 7 (G) opportunities to explore the roles that 8 race, ethnicity, immigration status, disability 9 status, economic status, homelessness, foster 10 care status, and language within different com- 11 munities affect sexual attitudes in society and 12 culture and how this may impact student sexual 13 health. 14 SEC. 4. 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