Long Beach : AIDS Schooling Bill Backed
The Long Beach Board of Education has unanimously endorsed pending legislation that would require California school districts to provide AIDS education to all students in grades 7 through 12. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), proposes that the curriculum include the viewing of a film to be supplied by the state Department of Education.
Currently, the Long Beach Unified School District teaches students about AIDS in two required health courses given in the 7th and 10th grades. The discussion of AIDS, according to Sandra French, the district’s consultant for health education, is part of a larger unit on sexually transmitted diseases.
If enacted, Hart’s bill, SB 136, would expand the Long Beach AIDS education effort, as well as introduce the use of the state film.
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