(a) The department, in consultation with school districts, shall develop and approve a program relating to teen dating violence and abuse awareness and prevention for grades seven through 12. The program must
- (1) include training for employees and students;
- (2) provide parent notices; and
- (3) be reviewed periodically by a qualified individual or committee for consistency with generally accepted standards for a teen dating violence and abuse awareness and prevention program.
(b) The training, notices, and instruction adopted under this section must include
- (1) age-appropriate information;
- (2) the warning signs of dating violence and abusive behavior;
- (3) characteristics of healthy relationships;
- (4) measures to prevent and stop dating violence and abuse;
- (5) community resources available to victims of dating violence and abuse; and
- (6) a procedure allowing a student to be excused from participating in training or from receiving notices under this section at the written request of a parent or guardian of the student, or of the student if the student is emancipated or 18 years of age or older.
- (c) The training required for teachers under this section may be provided as a part of the continuing education required under AS 18.66.310.
(d) In this section,
- (1) “dating violence and abuse” means a pattern of behavior in which one person threatens to use, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or psychological abuse to control the person's dating partner;
- (2) “school district” has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350.