[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2365 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2365

   To require educational institutions that receive Federal funds to 
 obtain the affirmative, informed, written consent of a parent before 
 providing a student information regarding sex, to provide parents the 
    opportunity to review such information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2007

  Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Brownback, Mr. DeMint, Mr. 
 Ensign, and Mr. Coburn) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require educational institutions that receive Federal funds to 
 obtain the affirmative, informed, written consent of a parent before 
 providing a student information regarding sex, to provide parents the 
    opportunity to review such information, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Parents' Rights Empowerment and 
Protection Act'' (PREP Act).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Schools and other public education facilities are 
        critical societal institutions for the education of children, 
        and parents are primarily responsible for the care, health, and 
        education of their children.
            (2) Teachers, administrators, and other educational 
        laypersons may significantly impact the educational development 
        of the children in their care. The responsibility of teachers, 
        administrators, and other educational laypersons is limited to 
        their instructional interaction with the child, while a 
        parent's responsibilities do not end with the ring of a bell or 
        the end of the school year.
            (3) Schools and other public education facilities serve a 
        wide array of children, each with their own unique social 
        maturity level. Schools are not adequately equipped to properly 
        ascertain an individual child's readiness for certain types of 
        information.
            (4) Parents are primarily responsible for the educational, 
        societal, and personal development of their children, and 
        parents are best suited for determining the appropriate time, 
        manner, and context for conveying sensitive information to 
        their children.
            (5) Schools, in the discharge of their educational duties, 
        may impart information of a sensitive nature to children 
        regarding a variety of issues. Parents should be informed by 
        the schools as to the full content of the information to be 
        conveyed, the context of the instruction, and methods for 
        conveying the information.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--In this Act, the terms ``elementary school'', 
``local educational agency'', ``parent'', ``secondary school'', and 
``State educational agency'' have the meanings given the terms in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801).
    (b) Additional Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Child.--The term ``child'' means a human being who has 
        not reached the age of majority as determined under applicable 
        State law.
            (2) Educational institution.--The term ``educational 
        institution'' means any public or private preschool, elementary 
        school, or secondary school, except that in the case of an 
        educational institution composed of more than 1 school or 
        department which are administratively separate units, such term 
        means each such school or department.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF INSTRUCTION WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF A PARENT.

    (a) Consent Required.--Each educational institution that receives 
Federal funds or Federal financial assistance shall obtain the 
affirmative, informed, written consent of the parent of a child in the 
care of the educational institution prior to requesting information 
from the child, or conveying information to the child, on subjects 
concerning sex, sexuality, or related topics, regardless of whether 
such information--
            (1) is gender specific;
            (2) is related to sexual orientation; or
            (3) conforms with other elements of the instructional 
        materials of the educational institution.
    (b) Notice.--Upon the request of a parent of a child attending such 
an educational institution, the educational institution shall provide 
to the parent--
            (1) an opportunity to review the information described in 
        subsection (a); and
            (2) a description of--
                    (A) the context and setting in which the 
                information will be requested, broached, discussed, or 
                otherwise conveyed to the child; and
                    (B) the educational necessity of the information.
    (c) Prohibition Regarding Absence of Consent.--In no event shall an 
educational institution consider a parent's lack of denial of the 
consent required by subsection (a), or lack of such consent, to be 
consent.
    (d) Immediate Health Issues.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to limit a school nurse or another school health official 
from responding to a child's immediate health issues.
    (e) Civil Action for Failure To Obtain Parental Consent.--Every 
person or educational institution who or that, under color of any 
statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or 
territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, violates 
this section, shall be liable to the party injured in a civil action in 
an appropriate district court of the United States. For the purposes of 
this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the 
District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the 
District of Columbia.
    (f) Notification.--Upon a finding by a court of appropriate 
jurisdiction that a person or educational institution has violated this 
section, the court shall immediately notify the appropriate local 
educational agency, the State educational agency, and the Department of 
Education.
    (g) Cut Off of Federal Funding.--Each educational institution found 
by a court to have violated this section shall be ineligible to receive 
Federal funds or Federal financial assistance until the educational 
institution reapplies for such funds or assistance not earlier than 1 
year after the violation.
    (h) Penalties, Damages, and Fees.--
            (1) Civil penalty.--Any person or educational institution 
        that violates this section shall be subject to a civil fine of 
        $5,000 for each violation.
            (2) Treble damages.--For each instance of a knowing 
        violation of this section the fine shall be 3 times the fine 
        described in paragraph (1).
            (3) Legal fees.--In any action brought under this section, 
        the court may award a prevailing parent reasonable attorney's 
        fees.

SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF PUPIL RIGHTS.

    Section 445(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1232h(b)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``be required, as part of any 
                applicable program, to''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``relating to an applicable 
                program'' after ``evaluation''; and
            (2) in the matter following paragraph (8)--
                    (A) by inserting ``the administrator of the survey, 
                analysis, or evaluation obtaining'' before ``the prior 
                consent''; and
                    (B) by striking ``minor, without'' and inserting 
                ``minor,''.
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