boston — For the fifth time, the state Senate passed the Healthy Youth Act, which updates and codifies sex education guidelines.
However, the chances of passage in the House remain low.
The measure would require school districts that choose to teach sex education to follow state guidelines and consider forming healthy relationships. Gender identity and sexual orientation. Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Discuss safe sex. more.
State Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham), one of the bill's co-sponsors, said the bill would provide students with “age-appropriate, medically accurate, and comprehensive information about their bodies and relationships.” It will provide an opportunity to discuss “comprehensive information”.
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The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education created an updated sex education framework last year. The bill would require school districts that choose to teach sex education to follow that framework. Parents will still have the right to let their children opt out.
“The Healthy Youth Act makes those minimum standards,” said state Sen. Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett). “This will give teeth to the framework and ensure that children do not receive inaccurate and harmful information. This will prevent bad things from being taught in schools.”
Critics say the bill allows content that may not be age-inappropriate
Critics say the new guidelines will require “comprehensive sex education” and introduce “concerning” content that may not be age-appropriate for younger students.
“We don't want children to be treated as sexual objects,” said Mary Ellen Siegler of the Massachusetts Family Institute. She said, “We don't want our students to be exposed to graphic content, and we want local school districts to continue to control the curriculum.”
Siegler, the institute's director of communications, research and operations, also said the bill would create “an extra layer and barrier” for non-family members to access curriculum materials.
Another version of the bill filed in the House by state Rep. James O'Day (D-West Boylston) is unlikely to be voted on. House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) said in a statement that he wants school districts to take time to integrate before the state framework becomes law.
Ziegler said she believes sex education should take place at home. However, she said that if it were to be taught in schools, it should be through a sexual risk avoidance curriculum that teaches avoiding the risks of sexual activity through abstinence, rather than the comprehensive sex education reflected in the national framework.
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Sam Jean, communications and outreach manager for OUTMetroWest, a Framingham-based organization that organizes programs for LGBTQ youth, said people will engage in sexual activity regardless of the sexual activity, and that There is no reason to deny people the information they need to engage safely.
She said schools can be more open about these conversations, but at home, parents “may not be ready” to talk about sex education.
Mr Jean said the current curriculum could be “outdated” and that teaching about same-sex relationships in the classroom could help end prejudice against homosexuals and reduce bullying and harassment.
“Queer people have always been here,” she says. “We've always been here, and those views deserve to exist in a safe environment just like everyone else.”
