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4958S.02C
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SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 978
AN ACT
To repeal section 170.015, RSMo, and to enact in lieu
thereof two new sections relating to instruction in
human development.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 170.015, RSMo, is repealed and two new
sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections
170.015 and 170.313, to read as follows:
170.015. 1. Any course materials and instruction
relating to human sexuality and sexually transmitted
diseases shall be medically and factually accurate and shall:
(1) Present abstinence from sexual activity as the
preferred choice of behavior in relation to all sexual
activity for unmarried pupils because it is the only method
that is one hundred percent effective in preventing
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and the emotional
trauma associated with adolescent sexual activity, and
advise students that teenage sexual activity places them at
a higher risk of dropping out of school because of the
consequences of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned
pregnancy;
(2) Stress that sexually transmitted diseases are
serious, possible, health hazards of sexual activity.
Pupils shall be provided with the latest medical information
regarding exposure to human immunodeficiency virus, acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human papilloma virus,
hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases;
(3) Present students with the latest medically factual
information regarding both the possible side effects and
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health benefits of all forms of contraception, including the
success and failure rates for the prevention of pregnancy
and sexually transmitted diseases; or shall present students
with information on contraceptives and pregnancy in a manner
consistent with the provisions of the federal abstinence
education law, 42 U.S.C. Section 710;
(4) Include a discussion of the possible emotional and
psychological consequences of preadolescent and adolescent
sexual activity and the consequences of adolescent
pregnancy, as well as the advantages of adoption, including
the adoption of special needs children, and the processes
involved in making an adoption plan;
(5) Teach skills of conflict management, personal
responsibility and positive self-esteem through discussion
and role-playing at appropriate grade levels to emphasize
that the pupil has the power to control personal behavior.
Pupils shall be encouraged to base their actions on
reasoning, self-discipline, sense of responsibility, self-
control, and ethical considerations, such as respect for
one's self and others. Pupils shall be taught not to make
unwanted physical and verbal sexual advances or otherwise
exploit another person. Pupils shall be taught to resist
unwanted sexual advances and other negative peer pressure;
(6) Advise pupils of the laws pertaining to their
financial responsibility to children born in and out of
wedlock and advise pupils of the provisions of chapter 566
pertaining to statutory rape;
(7) Teach pupils about the dangers of sexual
predators, including online predators when using electronic
communication methods such as the internet, cell phones,
text messages, chat rooms, email, and instant messaging
programs. Pupils shall be taught how to behave responsibly
and remain safe on the internet and the importance of having
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open communication with responsible adults and reporting any
inappropriate situation, activity, or abuse to a responsible
adult, and depending on intent and content, to local law
enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's
CyberTipline;
(8) Teach pupils about the consequences, both personal
and legal, of inappropriate text messaging, even among
friends; [and]
(9) Teach pupils about sexual harassment, sexual
violence, and consent:
(a) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term
"consent" shall mean a freely given agreement to the conduct
at issue by a competent person. An expression of lack of
consent through words or conduct means there is no consent.
Lack of verbal or physical resistance or submission
resulting from the use of force, threat of force, or placing
another person in fear does not constitute consent. A
current or previous dating or social or sexual relationship
by itself or the manner of dress of the person involved with
the accused in the conduct at issue shall not constitute
consent;
(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term
"sexual harassment" shall mean uninvited and unwelcome
verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature especially by
a person in authority toward a subordinate;
(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term
"sexual violence" shall mean causing or attempting to cause
another to engage involuntarily in any sexual act by force,
threat of force, duress, or without that person's consent;
and
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(10) For the 2026-27 school year and all subsequent
school years, include a human growth and development
discussion, which shall include:
(a) A high-definition ultrasound video at least three
minutes in duration that shows the development of the brain,
heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal
development; and
(b) A video that shows the process of fertilization
and every stage of human development inside the uterus and
notes significant markers in cell growth and organ
development throughout pregnancy until birth.
2. Policies concerning referrals and parental
notification regarding contraception shall be determined by
local school boards or charter schools, consistent with the
provisions of section 167.611.
3. A school district or charter school which provides
human sexuality instruction may separate students according
to gender for instructional purposes.
4. Except for the videos required under subdivision
(10) of subsection 1 of this section and the information
required under section 170.313, the board of a school
district or charter school shall determine the specific
content of the district's or school's instruction in human
sexuality, in accordance with subsections 1 to 3 of this
section[, and]. The school board of a school district or
the governing board of a charter school shall ensure that
all instruction in human sexuality is appropriate to the age
of the students receiving such instruction.
5. A school district or charter school shall notify
the parent or legal guardian of each student enrolled in the
district or school of:
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(1) The basic content of the district's or school's
human sexuality instruction to be provided to the student;
and
(2) The parent's right to remove the student from any
part of the district's or school's human sexuality
instruction.
6. A school district or charter school shall make all
curriculum materials used in the district's or school's
human sexuality instruction available for public inspection
pursuant to chapter 610 prior to the use of such materials
in actual instruction.
7. No school district or charter school, or its
personnel or agents, shall provide abortion services, or
permit a person or entity to offer, sponsor, or furnish in
any manner any course materials or instruction relating to
human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases to its
students if such person or entity is a provider of abortion
services.
8. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) "Abortion", the same meaning as such term is
defined in section 188.015;
(2) "Abortion services":
(a) Performing, inducing, or assisting in the
performance or inducing of an abortion which is not
necessary to save the life of the mother;
(b) Encouraging a patient to have an abortion or
referring a patient for an abortion[, which] that is not
necessary to save the life of the mother; or
(c) Developing or dispensing drugs, chemicals, or
devices intended to be used to induce an abortion which is
not necessary to save the life of the mother;
(3) "Human growth and development discussion", an
oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation
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about human biology related to pregnancy and human
development inside the womb.
9. The attorney general may bring a civil action,
including an action for damages or injunctive relief, or
both, on behalf of the citizens of this state against any
person or entity that violates this section or section
170.313.
170.313. 1. For the 2026-27 school year and all
subsequent school years, each school board of a school
district and governing board of a charter school shall
require instruction in human growth and development
beginning no later than grade three. Such instruction shall
be accomplished by means of a lesson, lecture, or
presentation about human biology related to pregnancy and
human development inside the womb. Such instruction may be
presented in an oral, written, or digital format or some
combination of such formats.
2. The requirements of section 160.514 shall not apply
to this section.
3. The instruction required under subsection 1 of this
section shall include, but shall not be limited to, the
following scientific facts and information:
(1) A high-definition ultrasound video, at least three
minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain,
heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal
development;
(2) A video showing the process of fertilization and
every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting
significant markers in cell growth and organ development
throughout pregnancy until birth;
(3) At conception, a new genetically distinct human
being is formed, and abortion ends the life of an unborn
child;
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(4) In medicine, a special emphasis is placed on the
heartbeat. The heartbeat is a discernible sign of life at
every stage of human existence. During the fifth week of
gestational age, an unborn child's heart begins to beat, and
blood flow begins during the sixth week;
(5) Depending on the ultrasound equipment being used,
the unborn child's heartbeat can be visually detected as
early as six to eight weeks gestational age. By about
twelve weeks gestational age, the unborn child's heartbeat
can consistently be made audible through the use of a
handheld Doppler fetal heart rate device;
(6) Confirmation of a pregnancy can be indicated
through the detection of the unborn child's heartbeat, while
the absence of a heartbeat can be an indicator of the death
of the unborn child if the child has reached the point of
development when a heartbeat should be detectable;
(7) Heart rate monitoring during pregnancy and labor
is utilized to measure the unborn child's heart rate and
rhythm, at an average rate of between one hundred ten and
one hundred sixty beats per minute, and helps determine the
health of the unborn child;
(8) The placenta begins developing during the early
first trimester of pregnancy and performs a respiratory
function by making oxygen supply to and carbon dioxide
removal from the unborn child possible later in the first
trimester and throughout the second and third trimesters of
pregnancy;
(9) By the fifth week of gestation, the development of
the brain of the unborn child is underway. Brain waves have
been measured and recorded as early as the eighth week of
gestational age in children who were removed during an
ectopic pregnancy or hysterectomy. Fetal magnetic resonance
imaging, or "MRI", of an unborn child's brain is used during
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the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and brain
activity has been observed using MRI;
(10) Unborn children at eight weeks gestational age
show spontaneous movements, such as a twitching of the trunk
and developing limbs. It has been reported that unborn
children at this stage show reflex responses to touch. The
perioral area is the first part of the unborn child's body
to respond to touch at about eight weeks gestational age and
by fourteen weeks gestational age most of the unborn child's
body is responsive to touch;
(11) Peripheral cutaneous sensory receptors, the
receptors that feel pain, develop early in the unborn
child. They appear in the perioral cutaneous area at around
seven to eight weeks gestational age, in the palmar regions
at ten to ten and a half weeks gestational age, the
abdominal wall at fifteen weeks gestational age, and over
all of the unborn child's body at sixteen weeks gestational
age;
(12) Substance P, a peptide that functions as a
neurotransmitter, especially in the transmission of pain, is
present in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord of the unborn
child at eight to ten weeks gestational age. Enkephalins,
peptides that play a role in neurotransmission and pain
modulation, are present in the dorsal horn at twelve to
fourteen weeks gestational age;
(13) When intrauterine needling is performed on an
unborn child at sixteen weeks gestational age or later, the
reaction to this invasive stimulus is blood flow
redistribution to the brain. Increased blood flow to the
brain is the same type of stress response seen in a born
child and an adult;
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(14) By sixteen weeks gestational age, pain
transmission from a peripheral receptor to the cortex is
possible in the unborn child;
(15) Physicians provide anesthesia during in utero
treatment of unborn children as early as sixteen weeks
gestational age for certain procedures, including those to
correct fetal urinary tract obstruction. Anesthesia is
administered by ultrasound-guided injection into the arm or
leg of the unborn child because the unborn child can feel
pain;
(16) A leading textbook on prenatal development of the
human brain states, "It may be concluded that, although
nociperception (the actual perception of pain) awaits the
appearance of consciousness, nociception (the experience of
pain) is present some time before birth. In the absence of
disproof, it is merely prudent to assume that pain can be
experienced even early in prenatal life (Dr. J. Wisser,
Zürich): the fetus should be given the benefit of the
doubt". Ronan O'Rahilly & Fabiola Müller. The Embryonic
Human Brain: An Atlas of Developmental Stages (3d ed.
2005); and
(17) By fourteen or fifteen weeks gestational age or
later, the predominant abortion method in Missouri is
dilation and evacuation (D&E). The D&E abortion method
includes the dismemberment, disarticulation, and
exsanguination of the unborn child, causing the unborn
child's death.
4. The board of a school district or charter school
shall ensure that all instruction in human development is
appropriate to the age of the students receiving such
instruction.
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5. A school district or charter school shall notify
the parent or legal guardian of each student enrolled in the
district or school of:
(1) The basic content of the district's or school's
human development instruction to be provided to the student;
and
(2) The parent's right to remove the student from any
part of the district's or school's human development
instruction.