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  80R8897 YDB/KKA-F
 
  By: Strama H.B. No. 1842
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of certain services and information
related to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act may be cited as the Texas
Prevention First Act.
       SECTION 2.  PURPOSES AND FINDINGS.  (a)  The goal of this
bill is to decrease the number of unintended pregnancies and
abortions in Texas.
       (b)  In 2003, 51.6 percent of the 374,836 total births in
Texas were paid for by Medicaid. In other words, one out of every
two births in Texas is paid for by Medicaid (Source: State of Texas
1115(a) Research and Demonstration Waiver, submitted to the federal
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the Health and Human
Services Commission, p. 9).
       (c)  For the state fiscal year 2003, the Texas Department of
Health, the predecessor of the Department of State Health Services,
found that the state's family planning program averted 193,502
pregnancies, for an estimated $472 million in cost savings
(Source: TMHP, Family Planning Ad Hoc Request Performance Measures
2/9/2004. Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Women's Health).
       (d)  The projections for the Women's Health Program
specifically show a cost savings of $467 million over the five-year
demonstration timeline, $278 million in state savings and $189
million in federal savings, by reducing the number of Medicaid-paid
births and associated costs (Source: Women's Health Program
Demonstration Budget, State of Texas 1115(1) Research and
Demonstration Waiver).
       (e)  In addition to averted costs, Texas receives federal
dollars at the highest possible matching ratio for all Medicaid.
The federal government will pay $9 for every $1 of state funds spent
on family planning services and supplies (Source: Medicaid: A
Critical Source of Support for Family Planning in the United
States, Issue Brief, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2005).
       (f)  According to the Department of State Health Services, in
2005, a total of 102,011 sexually transmitted disease cases,
excluding HIV/AIDS, were reported in Texas.  At the end of 2005,
approximately 67,629 AIDS cases have been reported in Texas
(Source: 2005 Texas HIV/STD Surveillance Report, Department of
State Health Services).
       SECTION 3.  OUTREACH CAMPAIGN.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531,
Government Code, is amended by adding Section 531.093 to read as
follows:
       Sec. 531.093.  UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES AND SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED DISEASES: OUTREACH CAMPAIGN AND SERVICES PROVIDED.  (a)  
To the extent money is available for the purposes provided by this
section, the commission shall provide adequate and sufficient
funding to conduct a comprehensive marketing and outreach campaign
to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and lower the rates
of sexually transmitted diseases.  The campaign must include print
and broadcast media, Internet websites, and a toll-free telephone
number.
       (b)  The commission, the Legislative Budget Board, or the
governor, in providing adequate and sufficient funding for the
campaign as required by Subsection (a), may not take any action to
decrease the level of programs and services designed to reduce the
number of unintended pregnancies and lower the rates of sexually
transmitted diseases to below the level of programs and services
provided on September 1, 2007.
       SECTION 4.  EDUCATION.  Section 28.004, Education Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (e) and (i) and adding Subsections
(m) and (n) to read as follows:
       (e)  Any course materials and instruction relating to human
sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or human
immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome
shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the
local school health advisory council and must:
             (1)  present abstinence from sexual activity as the
preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual activity
for unmarried persons of school age;
             (2)  devote more attention to abstinence from sexual
activity than to any other behavior;
             (3)  emphasize that abstinence from sexual activity, if
used consistently and correctly, is the only method that is 100
percent effective in preventing pregnancy, sexually transmitted
diseases, infection with human immunodeficiency virus, [or]
acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and the emotional trauma
associated with adolescent sexual activity;
             (4)  direct adolescents to a standard of behavior in
which abstinence from sexual activity before marriage is the most
effective way to prevent pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases,
[and] infection with human immunodeficiency virus, and [or]
acquired immune deficiency syndrome; and
             (5)  [teach contraception and condom use in terms of
human use reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates,]
if instruction on contraception and condoms is included in
curriculum content, teach contraception and condom use in terms of
typical use rates and perfect use rates, with an emphasis on the
reasons those rates differ.
       (i)  Before providing human sexuality instruction to
students, a [A] school district shall provide written notice to
[notify] a parent of each student enrolled in the district. The
notice must include [of]:
             (1)  a summary of the basic content of the district's
human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student, with a
statement informing the parent that the instruction is required by
state law to:
                   (A)  present abstinence from sexual activity as
the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual
activity for unmarried persons of school age; and
                   (B)  devote more attention to abstinence from
sexual activity than to any other behavior; [and]
             (2)  a statement of whether the instruction is
considered by the district to be abstinence-only instruction or
comprehensive instruction, including an explanation of the
difference between those types of instruction and a specific
statement regarding whether the student will receive information on
contraception and condom use;
             (3)  if the instruction will include information on
contraception and condom use, a statement that state law requires
the information to be taught in terms of typical use rates and
perfect use rates, with an emphasis on the reasons those rates
differ;
             (4)  a statement of the parent's right to:
                   (A)  review curriculum materials under Subsection
(j); and
                   (B)  remove the student from any part of the
district's human sexuality instruction, without subjecting the
student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other
sanction; and
             (5)  information describing the opportunities for
parental involvement in the development of curriculum to be used in
the instruction, including information regarding the council
established under Subsection (a).
       (m)  The board procedure adopted under Section 26.011
applies to a complaint filed regarding a right guaranteed by this
section.
       (n)  In this section:
             (1)  "Abstinence-only instruction" means instruction
that does not include information about preventing pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases, infection with human
immunodeficiency virus, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome
through any means other than total abstinence from sexual activity.
             (2)  "Perfect use rate" means the rate of failure for a
method of contraception when that method is used by a person for
each act of sexual intercourse and is used by the person for each
act according to the instructions for the method. The rate is
identical to the rate defined as the lowest expected success rate by
the United States Food and Drug Administration.
             (3)  "Typical use rate" means the rate of failure for a
method of contraception when that method is not used by a person for
each act of sexual intercourse or when that method is not used by a
person for each act according to the instructions for that method.
The rate is identical to the rate defined as the typical use rate by
the United States Food and Drug Administration.
       SECTION 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect September
1, 2007.