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SB3 INTRODUCED
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SB3
PS5Q7GE-1
By Senator Shelnutt
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 22-May-25
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PS5Q7GE-1 05/21/2025 GP (L)GP 2025-1970
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PFD: 22-May-25
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, any program or curriculum in
a public K-12 school that includes sex education or the
human reproductive process must emphasize abstinence as
the only effective protection against unintended
pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
This bill would require any sex education or
human reproductive curriculum or program in a public
K-12 school to exclusively teach sexual risk avoidance
and encourage abstinence from all sexual activity.
This bill would further provide for the sex
education and human reproductive curriculum or program
in public K-12 schools, including the provision of
information about state laws relating to the financial
cost of pregnancy and child care, abortion, and
adoption, and instruction about parenting
responsibilities.
This bill would prohibit any sex education or
human reproductive curriculum or program from: (i)
providing a referral to or information about how to
acquire an abortion; (ii) misrepresenting the efficacy
of or demonstrating the use of contraceptives; and
(iii) using images that are sexually explicit.
This bill would prohibit any local board of
education from using the services of any individual or
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education from using the services of any individual or
organization that does not endorse sexual risk
avoidance or that advocates for or performs abortions.
This bill would require each parent or guardian
to be provided with notice before sex education or
information about the human reproductive process is
provided to students, and would provide each parent or
guardian with the ability to opt his or her child out
of the curriculum or program.
This bill would also allow the Attorney General
to enforce the requirements of this bill.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to sex education in public K-12 schools; to
amend Section 16-40A-2, Code of Alabama 1975, to require sex
education and human reproductive process curricula and
programs to teach sexual risk avoidance and encourage
abstinence from all sexual activity; to prohibit the promotion
of abortions or any sexual activity in sex education or human
reproductive process curricula; to prohibit demonstrations of
contraceptives in sex education or human reproductive process
curricula; to authorize parents or guardians to opt their
child out of sexual education or human reproductive process
curricula or programs; and to authorize the Attorney General
to enforce the act.
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to enforce the act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 16-40A-2, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§16-40A-2
(a) Any program or curriculum in the public schools in
Alabama that includes sex education or the human reproductive
process shall teach sexual risk avoidance content and , at a
minimum, include and emphasize each of the following:
(1) Abstinence from sex all sexual activity is the only
completely 100 percent effective protection against way to
prevent unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases
and infections, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) when
transmitted sexually.
(2) Abstinence from sex all sexual activity outside of
marriage is the expected social standard best health practice
for unmarried school-age persons individuals .
(3) The advantages of avoiding nonmarital sexual
activity and the potential physical and emotional negative
outcomes associated with youth and teen sexual activity.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "sexual risk
avoidance" refers to a primary prevention approach to sex
education that seeks to achieve the most favorable health
outcomes for all Alabama youth by providing information and
skills needed to achieve the benefits of avoiding sexual
activity.
(c) Course materials and instruction that relate to
sexual health education or sexually transmitted diseases and
infections shall be age-appropriate and medically accurate.
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infections shall be age-appropriate and medically accurate.
For purposes of this section, the term "age-appropriate" means
topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular
ages or age groups of children and adolescents, based on
developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity
typical for the age or age group.
(c)(d) Course materials and instruction that relate to
sexual health education or sexually transmitted diseases and
infections , if available, shall include all of the following
elements:
(1) An emphasis on sexual abstinence as the only
completely reliable method of avoiding unintended teenage
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
(2) The emphasis shall be on the importance of delaying
sexual activity by and discouraging risky sexual behavior ,
providing skills to avoid sexual risk, and developing
awareness among students of how sexual activity can impact the
whole person, including physical, social, emotional,
psychological, economic, and educational life outcomes .
(3) Statistics and data based on the latest accurate
medical information that indicate the degree of reliability
and unreliability real life usage regarding the efficacy and
limitations of various forms of contraception among the youth
population , while also emphasizing the increase in protection
against pregnancy and protection against sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV infection, which is afforded by the
use of various contraceptive measures ; provided, that the
content: (i) is aligned with the exclusive message of sexual
risk avoidance; (ii) does not encourage or promote sexual
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risk avoidance; (ii) does not encourage or promote sexual
behavior among youth and teens; and (iii) is presented in the
context that while contraception may reduce the risk of
pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV, it does not eliminate the risk .
(4) Information Accurate and current information
concerning the laws relating to all of the following:
a. The the financial responsibilities impact associated
with pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing.
b. Abortion, including medically accurate information
regarding the procedure and risks associated with the
procedure, and abortion law in Alabama.
c. The process of domestic infant adoption, including
the availability of relevant resources.
d. The process for surrendering a newborn infant
pursuant to Chapter 25 of Title 26.
(5) Information concerning the laws prohibiting sexual
abuse, the need to report such abuse to a parent, guardian, or
law enforcement , and the legal options available to victims of
sexual abuse.
(6) Information on how to identify and avoid unhealthy
relationships, including factors predictive of physical,
emotional, or sexual abuse and exploitation, coercion, or
assault, and how to cope with and rebuff unwanted physical and
verbal sexual exploitation by other persons individuals .
(7) Psychologically sound methods of resisting
Knowledge and skills to resist unwanted peer pressure and
avoid cyberbullying, sexting, pornography, and online sexual
predators, and the potential legal implications of
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predators, and the potential legal implications of
participating in any of the preceding activities .
(8) Comprehensive instruction in all of the following:
a. Parenting parenting skills and responsibilities,
including the benefits of a child being raised by both
parents, responsibility to pay child support by non-custodial
a noncustodial parent or parents, the penalties for
non-payment nonpayment of child support, and the legal and
ethical responsibilities of child care and child rearing.
b. The impact of youth and teenage pregnancy on the
parent, child, and society.
c. The benefits of raising children within the context
of marriage.
d. The options for individuals experiencing unintended
pregnancy, the benefits of adoption for both the pregnant
youth or teenager and the child, and the associated challenges
of parenting, abortion, and adoption decisions.
e. Medically sound information relating to fetal growth
and development, maternal health, and infant health.
f. The educational and financial impact of youth and
teenage pregnancies.
(d)(e) Parents or guardians shall be given advanced,
written notification of the teaching of any sex education or
of the human reproductive process at least 14 days before the
content is taught to students . Upon the request of a parent or
guardian and prior to distribution to students, the school
shall make available to parents or guardians the sex education
curriculum in its entirety and provide each parent or guardian
with the opportunity to opt his or her child out from the
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with the opportunity to opt his or her child out from the
instruction, with no penalty to the student.
(f) Sex education and human reproductive curricula,
advice, or content offered by a public K-12 school may not
include any of the following:
(1) Information that misrepresents the efficacy of
contraception use or demonstrates the use of contraceptive
materials.
(2) Information on how to obtain, or that provides a
referral to, abortion services.
(3) Images, materials, or video footage that are
sexually explicit.
(g) Local boards of education may not use the services
of any individual or organization to assist in teaching about
sex education or the human reproductive process if that
individual or organization does not endorse sexual risk
avoidance as the primary means of sex education, or if the
individual or organization performs abortions, provides
referrals to abortion services, or provides funding, advocacy,
or other support for abortions.
(h) The Attorney General shall have the authority to
enforce this section by obtaining injunctive relief to require
compliance with this section ."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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