Jess Richardson, director of research and engagement at the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), says An Act Relative to Healthy Youth (H.656/S.340) mandates schools provide resources and support for students' deviant behaviors.
"It gives permission to define these topics to a group that's called the Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth in Massachusetts, a very radical group," she details.
MFI warns it would result in an increase in controversial topics like gender identity, which it mandates be taught by any school that offers a sexual health program.
As the state legislature considers the bill, Richardson believes it is essential for local school districts to maintain control over sex-ed curriculum.
"If you live in a community where you elect conservative school committee members, because those are the people whose ideals best represent the bulk of the people that live in your town, then they should be able to put in place curriculum that is what the parents want," Richardson relays.
This bill would eliminate that right.
California's Healthy Youth Act (AB 329), enacted in 2016, likewise mandates and establishes comprehensive standards for sex education in public schools. The instruction is supposed to be medically accurate, age-appropriate, and inclusive of LGBTQ+ students, but conservatives say it is inappropriate, sexually explicit, and medically inaccurate.
In The Bay State, MFI has successfully mobilized against the Healthy Youth Act for several years now. It has previously cleared the Senate but has not made it through the House.
Richardson is unsure what the outcome will be this session, but she says the measure remains a threat and could be more dangerous than ever.
Ahead of the public hearing the Joint Committee on Education held at the State House in Boston this morning, MFI encouraged people to testify virtually, in person, or in writing.
