SB196 - Relating to the development and use of instructional modules and training for public schools on the prevention of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

  89R3060 RDR-D     By: Menéndez S.B. No. 196       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the development and use of instructional modules and   training for public schools on the prevention of sexual abuse and   sex trafficking.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 28.017, Education Code, as added by   Chapter 762 (S.B. 2039), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular   Session, 2017, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:          Sec. 28.017.  INSTRUCTION ON PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND   SEX TRAFFICKING. (a) The commissioner, in cooperation with the   human trafficking prevention task force created under Section   402.035, Government Code, and any other persons the commissioner   considers appropriate, shall develop one or more sexual abuse and   sex trafficking instructional modules that a school district may   use in the district's health curriculum. The modules must [ may ]   include:                (1)  information on the different forms of sexual abuse   and assault, sex trafficking, and risk factors for sex trafficking;                (2)  the procedures for reporting sexual abuse and sex   trafficking or suspected sexual abuse or sex trafficking;                (3)  strategies for sexual abuse and assault prevention   and overcoming peer pressure;                (4)  information on establishing healthy boundaries   for relationships, recognizing potentially abusive or harmful   relationships, and avoiding high-risk activities;                (5)  the recruiting tactics of sex traffickers and peer   recruiters, including recruitment through the Internet;                (6)  the legal aspects of sexual abuse and sex   trafficking under state and federal law; and                (7)  the influence of culture and mass media on   perceptions of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, including   stereotypes and myths about victims and abusers, victim blaming,   and the role of language.          (b)  The module or modules developed under Subsection (a)   must emphasize compassion for victims of sexual abuse or sex   trafficking and the creation of a positive reentry experience for   survivors of sexual abuse or sex trafficking into schools.          (c)  Before the beginning of each school year, a school   district that elects to use a module developed under Subsection (a)   in the district's health curriculum shall provide written notice to   the parent of each student enrolled in the district that includes   the following:                (1)  a statement that the district will provide   instruction relating to sexual abuse and sex trafficking awareness   to students enrolled in the district;                (2)  a description of the material that will be used in   providing instruction to students; and                (3)  a statement that the parent has the right to review   the material and remove the parent's student from the instruction.          (d)  If a school district does not comply with the   requirements of Subsection (c), a parent of a student enrolled in   the district may file a complaint in accordance with the district's   grievance procedure developed under Section 26.011.          SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026   school year.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2025.