Arizona Laws 15-711. Sex education instruction; minimum grade; parental review of curricula; sexual conduct with a minor; review and approval of course of study; public hearings and input
A. School districts and charter schools may not provide sex education instruction before grade five.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-711
- Charter school: means a public school established by contract with the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts pursuant to article 8 of this chapter to provide learning that will improve pupil achievement. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Course: means organized subject matter in which instruction is offered within a given period of time and for which credit toward promotion, graduation or certification is usually given. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Course of study: means a list of required and optional subjects to be taught in the schools. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Governing board: means a body organized for the government and management of the schools within a school district or a county school superintendent in the conduct of an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Minor: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Parent: means the natural or adoptive parent of a child or a person who has custody of a child. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or public or private organization of any kind. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
B. Before a parent provides written permission for the parent’s child to participate in any sex education curricula, the school district or charter school shall make the sex education curricula available for the parent’s review online and in person pursuant to section 15-102, subsection A, paragraph 2. The school district or charter school shall notify parents where the sex education curricula are available for review at least two weeks before any instruction is offered pursuant to this section.
C. Each school district or charter school with existing sex education curricula shall include instruction on the laws relating to sexual conduct with a minor for pupils in grades seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve.
D. Each school district or charter school may develop its own sex education course of study or adopt an existing sex education course of study to meet the requirements of this section.
E. Before a school district or charter school offers sex education instruction, the school district governing board or charter school governing body shall review and approve the sex education course of study that is developed, adopted, revised or updated pursuant to this section. The governing board or governing body:
1. Shall provide parents with a meaningful opportunity to participate in, review and provide input on any proposed sex education course of study before it is adopted.
2. May not approve a course of study unless it complies with this section.
F. Before approving any sex education course of study developed, adopted, revised or updated pursuant to this section, the school district governing board or charter school governing body shall do all of the following:
1. Require that all meetings of committees that are authorized for the purposes of reviewing and selecting the sex education course of study be publicly noticed at least two weeks before occurring and be open to the public pursuant to Title 38, Chapter 3, Article 3.1.
2. Make any proposed sex education course of study available and accessible for review and public comment for at least sixty days before the governing board or governing body decides whether to approve that course of study.
3. Conduct at least two public hearings within the sixty-day period before the governing board or governing body decides whether to approve any course of study. Public comment may include written comments, oral comments and comments submitted through email.
G. A school district or charter school is not required to provide sex education instruction to pupils. If a school district or charter school decides to provide sex education instruction after school hours, this section and section 15-102 apply.
H. This section does not prohibit age and grade appropriate classroom instruction regarding child assault awareness and abuse prevention.