CO Code § 22-1-128 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 22 - Education|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 22-1-128. Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education - Legislative Declaration - Definitions - Guidelines and Content Standards

     The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:   Colorado youth have a right to receive medically and scientifically accurate information to empower them to make informed decisions that promote their individual physical and mental health and well-being;    This right applies to all youth, regardless of geographic location, ethnic or racial background, family income, physical or intellectual ability, sexual orientation, or gender expression;    Parents, caregivers, community organizations, and other trusted adults serve as an essential part of the education process and may rely on health, education, and other professionals to provide evidence-based information that empowers youth to make decisions that are consistent with their own values and life goals;    The information, education, and skills that Colorado youth receive during their formative years provide the foundation for responsible decision-making about personal behaviors and important life decisions throughout the rest of their lives;    It is important for youth to understand the consequences of the inconsistent or improper use of sexual abstinence, birth control, or condoms. All comprehensive human sexuality education must stress the importance of the correct and consistent use of sexual abstinence, birth control, and condoms to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections;    The decisions an individual makes regarding his or her sexual and reproductive health impact the public health and welfare of the community in which the individual lives;    When compared to the national average, Colorado has a lower rate of teen births and a lower rate of certain sexually transmitted infections, according to the centers for disease control and prevention and the Colorado department of public health and environment. In spite of this data, Colorado youth still face many barriers in obtaining the medically accurate information and resources they need to make informed and responsible decisions and lead healthy lives.    According to the centers for disease control and prevention, evidence-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive sexuality education programs have been proven to help youth delay the onset of sexual activity, decrease the frequency of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use;    Sexual violence and teen dating violence is a pervasive and serious public health issue, placing teen victims at increased risk for adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, low academic performance, truancy, dropout, and other harmful behaviors;    According to the centers for disease control and prevention, these changes in behavior help prevent unintended pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections;    The Colorado general assembly passed House Bill 07-1292, enacted in 2007, to establish content standards for the provision of human sexuality courses taught in public schools throughout the state;    The Colorado general assembly passed the “Public Health Reauthorization Act”, Senate Bill 08-194, enacted in 2008, to create a statewide public health improvement plan to eliminate geographic-based and other disparities in the accessibility and availability of services through the state's public health agencies;    The Colorado general assembly passed the “Preschool to Postsecondary Education Alignment Act”, Senate Bill 08-212, enacted in 2008, which states that all school district standards must meet or exceed established state standards, and that school districts must adopt curriculum and assessments that are consistent with these standards; and    In 2009, the Colorado state board of education adopted academic content standards for comprehensive health education that support youth in making informed and responsible decisions about their health and in having access to the tools they need to live healthy lives.       The general assembly further finds and declares that:   There is a need to continue and expand efforts to ensure that all young people in Colorado have access to evidence-based, medically accurate, culturally sensitive, and age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, information, and resources to guide them in making informed decisions about their health and relationships. Additionally, schools need to promote healthy relationships through age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive human sexuality education, including providing information and resources for early intervention and response strategies to teen dating violence.    The state of Colorado and eligible state agencies and other organizations must pursue funding and other federal support to implement comprehensive human sexuality education programs;    The provisions of sexual and reproductive health education that incorporate comprehensive, evidence-based, culturally sensitive, and age-appropriate standards can result in youth delaying sexual activity until they are ready, avoiding unwanted consequences of sexual behavior, learning medically accurate information about their health, and promoting positive youth-friendly messages concerning growth, development, body image, gender roles, and all aspects related to healthy, safe relationships and sexual behavior; and    Broad-based community partnerships are essential when developing policies and implementing programs that affect the sexual and reproductive health of Colorado's youth.          As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:   “Age-appropriate” means topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to a particular age or age group, based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age or age group.    “Comprehensive human sexuality education” means medically accurate information about all methods to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and the link between human papillomavirus and cancer, and other types of cancer involving the human reproductive systems, including prostate, testicular, ovarian, and uterine cancer. Methods must include information about the correct and consistent use of abstinence, contraception, condoms, other barrier methods, and other prevention measures. Additional contents of comprehensive human sexuality education must include:   Encouraging family communication about sexuality;    Focusing on the development of safe relationships, including the prevention of sexual violence in dating and teaching young people how to recognize and respond safely and effectively in situations where sexual or physical violence may be occurring or where there may be a risk for these behaviors to occur; and    Teaching young people how alcohol and drug use can affect responsible decision-making.  (b.5) “Consent” means the affirmative, unambiguous, voluntary, continuous, knowing agreement between all participants in each physical act within the course of a sexual encounter or interpersonal relationship.        “Culturally sensitive” means the integration of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, requirements, policies, practices, and attitudes used to increase the quality of services. “Culturally sensitive” includes resources, references, and information that are meaningful to the experiences and needs of communities of color; immigrant communities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities; people who are intersex; people with physical or intellectual disabilities; people who have experienced sexual victimization; and others whose experiences have traditionally been left out of sexual health education, programs, and policies.    “Evidence-based program” means a program that:   Was evaluated using a rigorous research design, including:   Measuring knowledge, attitude, and behavior;    Having an adequate sample size;    Using sound research methods and processes;    Replicating in different locations and finding similar evaluation results; and    Publishing results in a peer-reviewed journal;       Research has shown to be effective in changing at least one of the following behaviors that contribute to early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV:   Delaying sexual initiation;    Reducing the frequency of sexual intercourse;    Reducing the number of sexual partners; or    Increasing the use of condoms and other contraceptives.  (d.3) “Gender stereotype” means a generalized view or preconception about what attributes, characteristics, or roles are, or ought to be, taught, possessed by, or performed by women and men.   (d.5) “Healthy relationship” means an interpersonal relationship that is free of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, coercion, and violence.   (d.7) “Human sexuality instruction” or “instruction” means an oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation given by school staff or nonschool staff that teaches about abstinence or sexual activity in the context of student health or healthy relationships. Instruction does not include student speech.   (d.9) “Medically accurate” means verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate, objective, and unbiased by the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.           “Positive youth development” means an approach that emphasizes the many positive attributes of young people and focuses on developing inherent strengths and assets to promote health. Positive youth development is culturally sensitive, inclusive of all youth, collaborative, and strength-based.    “Sexual abstinence” means not engaging in oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse or genital skin-to-skin contact.       Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6) of this section, a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school that offers a planned curriculum that includes comprehensive human sexuality education shall provide to the parent or guardian of each student, prior to commencing the planned curriculum:   Written notification of the ability to excuse a student, without penalty or additional assignment, from that portion of the planned curriculum that includes comprehensive human sexuality education, upon the written request of the student's parent or guardian; and    A detailed, substantive outline of the topics and materials to be presented in that portion of the planned curriculum related to comprehensive human sexuality education.       Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an act or procedure in addition to the signature of the parent or guardian to excuse a student from a planned curriculum related to comprehensive human sexuality education.    Each school district board of education, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school is encouraged to disseminate policies or instructions to the public schools of the school district, or board of cooperative services, or appropriate staff of the charter school or institute charter school to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this section in a manner that will not draw undue attention to, nor cause undue embarrassment for, students excused from a planned curriculum related to comprehensive human sexuality education.    Human sexuality instruction is not required. However, if a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school offers human sexuality instruction, the instruction must be comprehensive and meet the comprehensive human sexuality education content requirements. These requirements must:   Encourage parental involvement and family communication;    Include medically accurate information about methods to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, and the link between human papillomavirus and cancer. Methods taught shall include information about the correct and consistent use of abstinence, contraception, including all FDA approved forms of contraception, condoms, and other barrier methods and must be taught in a cohesive, integrated, objective manner so that youth learn the full scope of preventive methods available to them and are empowered to decide for themselves which preventive methods are best suited for their individual needs, beliefs, and values.    Promote the development of healthy relationships by providing human sexuality instruction on:   How to communicate consent, recognize communication of consent, recognize withdrawal of consent, and understand age of consent as it relates to section 18-3-402;    How to avoid making unwanted verbal, physical, and sexual advances;    How to avoid making assumptions about a person's supposed sexual intentions based on that person's appearance or sexual history; and    How to avoid pursuing a sexual encounter with a person or persuading a person to participate in a sexual encounter when that person has not provided consent or has withdrawn consent;       Include discussions and information on how to recognize and respond safely and effectively in situations where sexual or physical violence may be occurring or where there may be a risk for these behaviors to occur;    Include discussion of how alcohol and drug use impairs responsible and healthy decision-making;    Be comprehensive, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, inclusive of a positive youth development framework, and medically accurate;    Provide instruction about the health benefits and potential side effects of using contraceptives and barrier methods to prevent pregnancy, including instruction regarding emergency contraception and the availability of contraceptive methods;    For school districts that have established a character education program pursuant to section 22-29-103, promote the guidelines of behavior established in the character education program;    Not emphasize sexual abstinence as the primary or sole acceptable preventive method available to students. A school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school shall not engage the instructional services of an organization or individual that is a direct or indirect recipient of money from the federal government pursuant to 42 U.S.C. sec. 710, as amended, because the guidelines of 42 U.S.C. sec. 710 are inconsistent with the provisions of this section.    Provide age-appropriate information concerning sections 18-6-401 (9) and 19-3-304.5, or any successor laws, referred to generally as “safe haven laws”, relating to the safe abandonment of a child to a firefighter at a fire station or to a staff member at a hospital or a community clinic emergency center within the first seventy-two hours of the child's life. (6.5) Comprehensive human sexuality education does not require instruction on pregnancy outcome options. However, if a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school opts to provide instruction on pregnancy outcome options, the instruction must cover all pregnancy outcome options, including but not limited to adoption, abortion, parenting, and information concerning sections 18-6-401 (9) and 19-3-304.5 , or any successor laws, referred to generally as “safe haven laws”. Instruction on pregnancy outcome options must be provided in an objective, unbiased manner and must not endorse or favor one or more pregnancy outcome options.         Nothing in subsection (6) or (6.5) of this section shall be interpreted to prohibit discussion of health, moral, ethical, or religious values as they pertain to comprehensive human sexuality, healthy relationships, or family formation. Such discussion is encouraged.    However, human sexuality instruction must not explicitly or implicitly:   Use shame-based or stigmatizing language or instructional tools;    Employ gender stereotypes; or    Exclude the health needs of intersex individuals or lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals.          Public schools, school districts, boards of cooperative services, charter schools, and institute charter schools are encouraged to involve teachers, school nurses, parents, and community members in the development of the requirements for comprehensive human sexuality curriculum required by subsection (6) of this section and to integrate available community resources into programs related to comprehensive human sexuality education.    A school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school that has received, prior to July 1, 2013, direct or indirect funding from the federal government for the provision of an abstinence education program pursuant to 42 U.S.C. sec. 710 is not required to adopt requirements for comprehensive human sexuality curriculum for the provision of such instruction as described in this section for the year or years for which the school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school received such funding. On July 1, 2013, or thereafter, a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school shall not use any direct or indirect funding from the federal government for the provision of an abstinence education program pursuant to 42 U.S.C. sec. 710. A school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school may use federal moneys for human sexuality education, as long as the human sexuality program of the school district board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school meets the comprehensive human sexuality education model set forth in this section.    Nothing in this section shall require amending any content standards related to comprehensive human sexuality education developed by the department and adopted by the state board prior to July 1, 2013.    The provisions of this section shall not apply to students in kindergarten through third grade.    A school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or institute charter school may seek grant money pursuant to article 44 of title 25 to implement the comprehensive human sexuality education content requirements set forth in this section. However, compliance with this section is not contingent upon receipt of grant money pursuant to article 44 of title 25, nor is it contingent on receipt of any other state or federal funds, or public or private gifts, grants, or donations.      History. Source: L. 2013: Entire section added,(HB 13-1081), ch. 303, p. 1600, § 2, effective May 28. L. 2016: (1)(a)(IX) and IP(2)(b) amended,(SB 16-146), ch. 230, p. 919, § 15, effective July 1. L. 2019: (2)(b.5), (2)(d.3), (2)(d.5), (2)(d.7), (2)(d.9), (6)(i), (6)(j), (6.5), and (12) added and (2)(c), IP(6), (6)(b), (6)(c), (6)(f), (7), and (11) amended,(HB 19-1032), ch. 408, p. 3596, § 2, effective May 31.    Cross references:   For the legislative declaration in HB 19-1032, see section 1 of chapter 408, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.