File No. 437

House of Representatives, April 6, 2006

The Committee on Education reported through REP. FLEISCHMANN of the 18th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING STEROID USE BY STUDENTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-19 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2006):

(a) The knowledge, skills and attitudes required to understand and avoid the effects of alcohol, of nicotine or tobacco and of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, including, but not limited to, anabolic steroids, on health, character, citizenship and personality development shall be taught every academic year to pupils in all grades in the public schools; and, in teaching such subjects, textbooks and such other materials as are necessary shall be used. Annually, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Education shall request, each local and regional board of education shall attest to the State Board of Education that all pupils enrolled in its schools have been taught such subjects pursuant to this subsection and in accordance with a planned, ongoing and systematic program of instruction. The content and scheduling of instruction shall be within the discretion of the local or regional board of education. Institutions of higher education approved by the State Board of Education to train teachers shall give instruction on the subjects prescribed in this section and concerning the best methods of teaching the same. The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors of Higher Education in consultation with the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Commissioner of Public Health shall develop health education or other programs for elementary and secondary schools and for the training of teachers, administrators and guidance personnel with reference to understanding and avoiding the effects of nicotine or tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2006):

(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) the nature and the relationship of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, including, but not limited to, anabolic steroids, and alcohol to health and personality development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health and mental health risk reduction education which includes, but need not be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in section 19a-581, violence, child abuse and youth suicide, (3) the growth and development of exceptional children, including handicapped and gifted and talented children and children who may require special education, including, but not limited to, children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities, and methods for identifying, planning for and working effectively with special needs children in a regular classroom, (4) school violence prevention and conflict resolution, (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, (6) computer and other information technology as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management, (7) the teaching of the language arts, reading and reading readiness for teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive, and (8) second language acquisition in districts required to provide a program of bilingual education pursuant to section 10-17f, as amended. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (A) Holocaust education and awareness; (B) the historical events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland; (C) African-American history; (D) Puerto Rican history; (E) Native American history; (F) personal financial management; and (G) topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or regional boards of education as part of in-service training programs pursuant to this subsection.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2006) The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Public Health and an organization or association that sponsors or organizes interscholastic sports, shall develop and make available to each local and regional board of education a protocol for random testing of teams and individuals qualifying for annual state athletic championship tournaments for anabolic steroids. The protocol shall specify the types of steroid drugs the program will test for, possible testing methods, dosage levels, the consequences of a positive test result and test fees and costs. The organization shall implement the steroid testing program using the protocol starting with the state tournaments for the 2007-2008 school year.

Sec. 4. (Effective July 1, 2006) The State Board of Education, in consultation with an organization or association that sponsors or organizes interscholastic sports and an organization or association of high school athletic directors, shall revise health and physical education curriculum guides for grades seven to twelve, inclusive, to incorporate information on the use of anabolic steroids. The information shall include steroid prevention strategies, strength building alternatives and keys to aid in the understanding and interpretation of nutritional supplement labels. Not later than July 1, 2007, the board shall make new curriculum guides available to local and regional boards of education.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact:

Explanation

This bill results in a cost to the State Department of Education of approximately $25,000 as it requires the agency along with the assistance of the Department of Public Health and others to develop a protocol for the random testing of steroid use by high school athletes in championship tournaments. The cost is due to the lack of an expert in either state agency in the use of steroids or steroid use testing which necessitates the use of contracted experts. Funding for such an expert is not included in the FY 07 budget as passed by the Appropriations Committee.

Beginning in FY 08 there would be a cost to local and regional school districts for the random testing. The exact cost of testing would be determined by the adopted protocol which is yet to be determined. Nationally the cost of a single test for steroid use by athletes ranges from $50 to just over $100 per individual.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.



OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 5761

AN ACT CONCERNING STEROID USE BY STUDENTS.

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE), in consultation with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and an organization that sponsors or organizes interscholastic sports in the state (the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Association or CIAC), to develop a protocol for randomly testing individuals and teams qualifying for state championship tournaments for anabolic steroid use. It requires CIAC to implement the random testing program starting with state tournaments occurring in the 2007-08 school year.

The bill also requires:

1. the State Board of Education, in consultation with CIAC and a high school athletic directors association, to revise the health and physical education curriculum guides for grades 7 through 12 to incorporate information on anabolic steroids and how to avoid them;

2. public schools to include anabolic steroids in the instruction on the effects of drugs they must provide annually to every student in every grade; and

3. boards of education to include information on anabolic steroids in the in-service programs they offer to teachers and other certified school personnel about the effects of drugs on health and personality development and procedures for discouraging abuse.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2006

RANDOM TESTING AT STATE TOURNAMENTS

The bill requires SDE to consult with DPH and CIAC in developing the anabolic steroid testing protocol. The protocol must state the types of steroid drugs the program will test for, possible testing methods, dosage levels, the consequences of a positive test, and test fees and costs. SDE must make the protocol available to each local and regional school board. CIAC must implement random testing under the protocol for individual students and teams who qualify for state high school athletic championship tournaments beginning with the 2007-08 school year.

REVISED HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM GUIDES

The bill's required revisions to the state's health and physical education curriculum guides for the 7^th through 12^th grade must incorporate information about anabolic steroids, steroid prevention strategies, strength building alternatives, and keys to understanding and interpreting nutritional supplement labels. The State Board of Education must make the new guides available to local school boards by July 1, 2007.

STUDENT INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER IN-SERVICE PROGRAMS

By law, public schools must, as part of a planned, ongoing, and systematic instructional program, teach students to understand and avoid the effects of drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco on health, character, citizenship, and personality development. The bill expressly requires this instruction to cover anabolic steroids.

The bill makes the same change in the scope of the in-service training programs school boards must offer for certified teachers, administrators, and pupil personnel. The programs must already cover the nature and relationship of drugs and alcohol on health and personality development and procedures for discouraging their use. The bill expressly includes anabolic steroids as one of the covered drugs.

BACKGROUND

Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, resulting in the growth of muscle tissue and, sometimes in bone size and strength. Many steroids are injected but some are swallowed. Most sports ban the use of these substances.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Education Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute