Bill > S342

This bill mandates that the advisory council on violence prevention, a group established to advise on preventing violence, will recommend a model curriculum for child exploitation awareness education to the board of education for approval, with this education to be integrated into the health curriculum for students in grades two through eight. For the purposes of this law, "child exploitation" is defined to include child abduction or child sexual abuse. The curriculum will cover defining child exploitation, recognizing its various forms, and identifying warning signs, and the advisory council, in collaboration with an organization focused on child exploitation, will create guidelines for school districts to use within their existing health classes, with the department of education also providing age-appropriate educational materials. Parents will have the right to review these instructional materials and can request that their child be excused from the program, with schools required to notify parents of this opt-out option. Additionally, all educational staff and consultants will undergo yearly certification and training on topics such as child sexual assault, sex offender profiles, healthy sexual behaviors, and the responsibilities of mandated reporters.