AN ACT Relating to family life education; adding new sections to chapter 28A.120 RCW; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature intends through the family life education program to provide formal instruction to equip children with basic life skills and comprehensive health information to provide for their protection and well-being.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The superintendent of public instruction shall develop training materials and suggested procedures for developing family life education programs in local school districts, for dissemination and use beginning in the 1989-90 school year. Whenever possible, the superintendent of public instruction shall coordinate the development of family life education curricula with the implementation of AIDS prevention education programs established under section 402 and 403, chapter ..., Laws of 1988 (Substitute House Bill No. 1527). The superintendent of public instruction shall provide technical assistance and in-service teacher training for developing and implementing family life education programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) During the 1989-90 school year, each school district board of directors shall develop and adopt a comprehensive plan on family life education, and a proposed family life education program for implementation in kindergarten through grade twelve during the 1990-91 school year. The goals of this program shall be to:

(1) Aid students in the development of skills that will assist them in making informed decisions concerning their health and interpersonal relationships;

(2) Contribute to the development and support of responsible personal behavior, and strengthen family life for children and youth in the present and when they are adults;

(3) Contribute to the enrichment of the community;

(4) Provide comprehensive information and a skill development curriculum including but not limited to: Health education, acquired immune deficiency syndrome education, education on sexual abstinence, substance abuse education, child abuse and neglect prevention, and social skills development; and

(5) Develop an understanding of the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, and psychological aspects of interpersonal relationships; the physiological, psychological, and cultural foundations of human development, sexuality, and reproduction, at various stages of growth.

Instruction should be appropriate to each student's level of maturity and take place within existing curriculum where possible. The program should be sensitive to diverse cultural and religious values.

The process for developing the comprehensive plan and program shall include appropriate consultation and participation of teachers, school administrators, parents and guardians, students, physicians, members of community organizations, and members representative of the community.

(2) Each school district board of directors shall appoint a school and community family life education advisory committee. Members of the advisory committee shall include but not be limited to representatives of: Certificated instructional staff, school administrators, parents and guardians, students, physicians, community organizations, and the community. The advisory committee shall help coordinate the family life education program and provide for community participation and support.

(3) Each school district shall conduct at least one presentation each year during evening and weekend hours for the parents and guardians of students concerning the curriculum and materials that will be used for family life education. The parents and guardians shall be notified by the school district of the presentation and that the curriculum and materials are available for inspection. No student may be required to participate in family life education if the student's parent or guardian, having attended one of the district presentations, objects in writing to the participation.

(4) School districts shall evaluate the effectiveness of the district's family life education program. Beginning in 1991, school districts shall report to the superintendent of public instruction by August 1 of each year on the implementation and effectiveness of their family life education programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a family life education advisory committee composed of: Representatives of certificated and noncertificated school district staff; school administrators; parents; students; school directors; and persons working in the fields of health care, mental health, substance abuse prevention, and child abuse and neglect prevention. The committee shall advise the superintendent of public instruction on matters of local program development, coordination, and evaluation. The advisory committee shall be representative of the diversity of the population of Washington, both culturally and geographically.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The superintendent of public instruction, through the state clearinghouse for educational information, shall collect and disseminate to all school districts and other interested parties information about effective family life education programs, reflecting a variety of methods and programs, in order to assist school districts in developing plans which will meet their unique and individual needs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The superintendent of public instruction shall report to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate by November 1, 1991, on the implementation of sections 1 through 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The sum of fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the superintendent of public instruction from the general fund for the remainder of the 1987-89 biennium to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.120 RCW.