When the state is trying to gather information related to sexual activities among middle schoolers, you know America has gone off the deep end. Yet, this is precisely what is taking place in school districts all across the country and has elicited no small measure of criticism from parents and others decrying the effort to introduce inappropriate concepts to children.
Parents of pre-teen students at Eliot K-8 Innovation School in Boston are outraged after the school presented their children with a sexually explicit survey earlier this week. The survey, administered to some sixth- and seventh-graders, inquired about the students’ sexual history, including whether they’ve engaged in oral sex. The survey also asked students if they identify as transgender.
The principal of the school acknowledged the concerns in a letter to parents on Thursday, stating that the survey was part of a district-wide project by Boston Public Schools. The controversy over the explicit survey is not unique to Eliot K-8, as schools across the country have faced criticism from parents over inappropriate content in the classroom. In 2021, thousands of parents in Worcester, Massachusetts, withdrew their children from the district’s sex education classes over concerns of “dangerous” content.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered to students at Eliot is part of a district-wide survey project by Boston Public Schools. The school’s principal in the Thursday letter said Eliot would direct parents’ concerns about the appropriateness of the survey to the school district.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States. The survey is designed to monitor health behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the U.S.
The survey is conducted every two years and collects data from students in grades 9-12 on a variety of health behaviors, including substance use, sexual behavior, physical activity, and nutrition. The YRBS is used by schools, health agencies, and other organizations to develop and evaluate programs to reduce health risks among youth.
Deirdre Hall, a mother of a student at the school, told the Washington Free Beacon that the questions were “entirely inappropriate.” She found out about the survey when her daughter told her about the “really weird survey” she was given during history class.
The mother said she has “concerns over who access to the students’ responses and whether the information is truly anonymous,” according to the report, which also noted that Hall complained about her child “being exposed to the explicit concepts before students had had ‘a single ounce of sex education.’”
“She said half her class didn’t even know what any of this stuff meant,” she recalled. “Now they’re coming home and asking their parents and their friends, ‘What’s oral sex?'”
Other questions asked the children about the number of sexual partners they have had and whether they have ever considered committing suicide.
Another mother was incensed about the school district presenting a survey with these sexual questions. She told the Free Beacon that “parents had no idea these questions would be asked.”
“To go on field trips the district has parents sign permission slips, but for the district to ask our children private explicit sexual questions they are able to do so without consent?” the mother said. “This makes no sense.”
One mother of an Eliot student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed her anger and disbelief that the school district could ask such private and personal questions without parental consent. She pointed out the irony that the district requires permission slips for field trips but not for surveys that touch on such sensitive topics.
“To go on field trips the district has parents sign permission slips, but for the district to ask our children private explicit sexual questions they are able to do so without consent?” the mother argued. “This makes no sense.”
So, the obvious question is: What business is it of the government’s to ask your children and grandchildren these questions – especially if they are not even in high school yet?
The fact that the district did not communicate with parents about the content of this survey speaks volumes. There have been numerous reports of these surveys being given by government and private entities. These state-run schools are essentially farming out children’s data without parents knowing or consenting to it.
Of course, the government claims it is doing so for a good purpose – to safeguard the wellbeing of children. But since when was this the purview of government and not parents? This is a prime example of taking the “nanny state” to another extreme.
What is also scary about this situation is where this procedure could ultimately lead. What happens when the government wants to know even more intimate details about your child’s life? What if they start asking about parents’ attitudes on issues that authoritarian progressives hold dear?
I hate to break it to you, but it is already starting.
The slippery slope is real, folks.
At some point, it would not be surprising if state-run schools began seeking data about political beliefs children and parents hold to find out where they stand on particular issues. Indeed, the federal government is already looking to ramp up its efforts to squash dissenting viewpoints on the internet. It is not a stretch to imagine that they may get it into their authoritarian heads to start doing this in schools as well.
