HB 19-1032: Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education (House 3rd reading)

The bill moves provisions of the statutory legislative declaration to a nonstatutory legislative declaration. The bill clarifies content requirements for public schools that offer comprehensive human sexuality education and prohibits instruction from explicitly or implicitly teaching or endorsing religious ideology or sectarian tenets or doctrines, using shame-based or stigmatizing language or instructional tools, employing gender norms or gender stereotypes, or excluding the relational or sexual experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals. Current law provides for a comprehensive human sexuality education grant program. The bill amends certain provisions of the grant program to: Require the department of public health and environment to submit an annual report concerning the outcomes of the grant program indefinitely; Add 8 representatives to the oversight entity and require membership of the oversight entity to be comprised of at least 7 members who are members of groups of people who have been or might be discriminated against; Require grant applicants to demonstrate a need for money to implement comprehensive human sexuality education; and Require that rural public schools or public schools that do not currently offer comprehensive human sexuality education receive priority when selecting grant applicants. The bill provides a general appropriation of at least $1 million annually for the grant program. The bill prohibits the state board of education from waiving the content requirements for any public school that provides comprehensive human sexuality education. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)  

CEA supports the idea of comprehensive instruction based on standards developed by educators and other experts for instruction in Colorado, as well as national best practices. In both cases abstinence only fails to meet these benchmarks in health and human sexuality instruction. Further, health educators and CEA members have been advocating that if they teach human sexuality they do so in the same way as other instruction. Based on standards that are developed out or best practices, research (and in this case medically) accurate and validated ways.

NOTE: CEA supports comprehensive human sexuality curriculum however the decision to allow for waivers to this law is in conflict with CEA's support of transparency and accountability for all schools. As well as ensuring that all schools are held to the same standards.