Massachusetts State Profile

Massachusetts’ Sex Education Snapshot

Advocates in Massachusetts have worked tirelessly to advance the Healthy Youth Act. First introduced in 2011, the Healthy Youth Act would ensure youth receive research-based, medically accurate, and culturally competent sex education in districts that require sex education. Broad public support for the bill is often met with opposition from the Massachusetts Family Institute. While the Healthy Youth Act has successfully passed the Senate in the past two legislative sessions, it has routinely been blocked from being introduced in the House. In 2019, Representative Paul Brodeur and Representative James J. O’Day introduced House Bill 410 in another unsuccessful attempt to pass the Healthy Youth Act. Additional sustained efforts to advance sex education have been implemented in varying manners. Funding through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Public Health assist districts in selecting and accessing training on high quality sex education in partnership with organizations such as ANSWER, ETR, Planned Parenthood League of MA, and Advocates for Youth.

Since Massachusetts schools are not required to provide sex education to students, school districts are left to decide what type of sex education–if any at all–they provide to youth. Mandating local control over sex education presents unique challenges that have resulted in a glaring disparity regarding the quality of sex education that students receive. Many districts, including Boston Public Schools, use the Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3R’s) curriculum, but over 70 percent of districts use “abstinence-plus” instructional materials. Advocates are working to provide sex education curriculum that is not delivered in a gender-segregated manner, which is often alienating to transgender, nonbinary, and/or gender nonconforming young people. Additional efforts by the DESE are being made to update the Health Curriculum Framework to ensure that discussion of consent is gender inclusive and trauma informed. Addressing these barriers in sex education curriculum will ensure that all youth receive affirming instruction.

Right now, advocates can take action to ensure young people in their community have access to quality sex education. After contacting their local school board, advocates can determine what topics are missing from sex education instruction, such as instruction on consent, sexual orientation and gender identity, and contraceptives. Local initiatives to address sex education are present across the state, and advocates can use initiatives such as the Holyoke Adolescent Sexual Health and Pregnancy Prevention Task Force Accountability Committee to guide efforts to improve their community’s sex education. In addition to local efforts to improve sex education curriculum, advocates must continue to contact their representatives and urge them to support the Healthy Youth Act during the 2020 legislative session and take part in local action to raise awareness concerning this critical opportunity to advance sex education in Massachusetts. Advocates are encouraged to use the SIECUS Community Action Toolkit to guide local efforts to advance sex education.

State Sex Education Policies and Requirements at a Glance

Massachusetts schools are not required to teach sex education.
Curriculum must explain the benefits of abstinence.
If sex education is offered, curriculum is not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.
If sex education is offered, curriculum is not required to include instruction on consent.
Parents and guardians can exempt their children from any portion of sex education instruction through written notification to the school principal. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.

State House Highlights

This section highlights sex education bills that were introduced during the 2020 state legislative session as well as bills that have been introduced thus far in 2021. These proposed bills provide a brief overview of both recent and current legislative action taken to advance or restrict sex education. For a more comprehensive look at relevant legislation concerning sex education and related topics such as reproductive health care, LGBTQ rights, and HIV/AIDS, continue reading on to the “State Legislative Activity” section of Massachusetts’s profile.

2021 Legislative Session

House Docket 2240 (pending): Aims to require districts to obtain parental consent prior to providing students referral to, the contact information of, or other informational materials of an individual or organization if the materials involve information or counseling about health, psychological problems, reproduction, abortion, sexual education, sexual orientation, gender identity, bullying, or similar issues. No student, without prior written consent of a parent or guardian, shall participate in a survey or evaluation concerning personal issues included sexual behavior or attitudes, birth control or abortion, or additional health behaviors.

House Docket 2677 (pending): Aims to require schools to provide parental notification prior to providing sex education or instruction on sexual orientation.

House Docket 3454 (pending): Aims to require school districts that provide sex education to teach comprehensive sex education. An identical, companion bill was introduced in the Senate.

House Docket 934 (pending): Aims to require schools to implement age appropriate instruction on consent in grades K-12.

Senate Docket 2231 (pending): Aims to require sex education to include instruction on child exploitation awareness education.

2020 Legislative Session
House Bill 410 (failed): Sought to require schools that teach sex education to utilize research-informed curriculum that offers medically accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education.

House Bill 484 (failed): Sought to require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, with the Department of Public Health, to assist districts and charter schools in developing and implementing a consent program that is evidence-based and age-appropriate.

House Bill 503 (failed): Sought to require every school that teaches sex education to establish a policy ensuring parental or guardian notification. If successful, sex education can only be offered as a non-mandatory elective in which parents and guardians provide written consent for their children to participate in the instruction.

Senate Bill 2459 (failed): Sought to require schools that teach sex education to establish a policy ensuring parents and guardians receive notification of the curriculum and the right of the parent or guardian to remove their children from the instruction.

Senate Bill 2475 (failed): Sought to require school districts that offer sex education to provide comprehensive sex education.

More on sex ed in Massachusetts…

State Law

Massachusetts does not require sex education but instead allows local school boards to make such decisions. If a community decides to implement sex education, General Law of Massachusetts, Chapter 71 §§38O requires that standards be developed with the guidance of community stakeholders, including parents and at least one physician. In 1990, the Massachusetts Board of Education approved a policy that:

[U]rges local school districts to create programs which make instruction about [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome] (AIDS)/[human immunodeficiency virus] (HIV) available to every Massachusetts student at every grade level. These programs should be developed in a manner which respects local control over education and involves parents and representatives of the community. The Board believes that AIDS/HIV prevention education is most effective when integrated into a comprehensive health education and human services program.

Every district implementing or maintaining curriculum which primarily involves human sexual education or human sexuality issues is required to adopt a policy ensuring parental/guardian notification. This policy must afford parents or guardians the flexibility to exempt their children from any portion of said curriculum through written notification to the school principal.

State Standards

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Framework, currently set to be updated in early 2020, suggests that curricula include information about “abstaining from and postponing sexual intercourse,” and approaches reproduction and sexuality “in an appropriate and factual fashion”.In addition, it states that human sexuality instruction should discuss HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, family violence, sound health practices, and “define sexual orientation using the correct terminology (such as heterosexual and gay and lesbian).”

State Legislative Activity

State legislative activity related to sex education does not take place in isolation from the broader embroiled political and policy climate. Attacks on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, and efforts to limit access to abortion care and other reproductive health care services prevent students from receiving comprehensive sex education and accessing sexual and reproductive health care services. Below are highlights of current legislative activity related to these topics. Massachusetts’ 2021-2022 session convened on January 6, 2021

Title	Description	Status	Legislative Topic	Link / Url
House Bill 587	Changes sex education instruction from opt-out to opt in and establishes procedures to get this consent.	Introduced (2023)	Sex Education	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H587.pdf
House Bill 509	Requires that curriculum programs and activities which primarily involve human sexual education, human sexuality issues, or sexual orientation, shall be offered only in clearly identified non-mandatory elective courses which parents can choose to enroll their children in through written notification to the school. Also prohibits schools from requiring public school teachers or administrators to participate in this instruction if it violates their religious beliefs.	Introduced (2023)	Parental Rights, Curriculum Transparency, and Book Bans	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H509.pdf
House Bill 542	Requires public schools to teach instruction inclusive of all racial and ethnic groups and shall require the teaching of accurate histories, writings, and contributions of racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented or marginalized	Introduced (2023)	Racial Equity and Justice	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H542.pdf
Senate Bill 240	Adds mental health education as a requirement in public schools for all grades	Introduced (2023)	Mental Health	https://app.govpredict.com/state/bills/1596159
Senate Bill 1273	Allows for excused absences for mental health reasons	Introduced (2023)	Mental Health	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S1273
Senate Bill 288	Promotes racially inclusive education in schools by requiring school instruction to be inclusive of all racial and ethnic groups and require accurate teachings of diverse communities in addition to further standards	Introduced (2023)	Racial Equity and Justice	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S288
Senate Bill 259	Add to educational standards "sufficient instruction on the histories, roles, and contributions, of LGBTQ people in Massachusetts and US history"	Introduced (2023)	Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S259
Senate Bill 268	Requires sex education, if taught, to be medically accurate, age-appropriate, and comprehensive. Outlines topics that should be included in sex education instruction, including the benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity, the effective use of contraceptives and barrier methods, relationship and communication skills, consent, gender identity and sexual orientation, including affirmative education that people have different sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. Also goes into more detail regarding what and how parents should be notified that sex education instruction is going to be taught.	Introduced (2023)	Sex Education	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S268.pdf

Youth Sexual Health Data

Young people are more than their health behaviors and outcomes. While data can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the sex education and sexual health care needs of young people, it is important to be mindful that these behaviors and outcomes are impacted by systemic inequities present in our society that affect an individual’s sexual health and well-being. To learn more about Massachusetts’ Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results, click here.

Massachusetts School Health Profiles Data

In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the School Health Profiles, which measure school health policies and practices and highlight which health topics were taught in schools across the country. Since the data were collected from self-administered questionnaires completed by schools’ principals and lead health education teachers, the CDC notes that one limitation of the School Health Profiles is bias toward the reporting of more positive policies and practices. In the School Health Profiles, the CDC identifies 20 sexual health education topics as critical for ensuring a young person’s sexual health. Below are key instruction highlights for secondary schools in Massachusetts as reported for the 2017–2018 school year.

Reported teaching all 20 critical sexual health education topics

27.6% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
61.6% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching about the benefits of being sexually abstinent

72.1% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
91.4 % of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about the benefits of being sexually abstinent in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy

66.7% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
90.5% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to access valid and reliable information, products, and services related to HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships

76.4% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
92.7% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health

63.5% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
87.4% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about preventive care that is necessary to maintain reproductive and sexual health in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching how to correctly use a condom

36.7% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to correctly use a condom in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
79.3% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students how to correctly use a condom in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching about methods of contraception other than condoms

51.6% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
86.5% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about methods of contraception other than condoms in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching about sexual orientation

63% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about sexual orientation in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
82.9% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about sexual orientation in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported teaching about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression

62.8% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression in a required course in any of grades 6, 7, or 8.
82.8% of Massachusetts secondary schools taught students about gender roles, gender identity, or gender expression in a required course in any of grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Reported providing curricula or supplementary materials relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth

68.3% of Massachusetts secondary schools provided students with curricula or supplementary materials that included HIV, STD, or pregnancy prevention information relevant to LGBTQ youth.

(Visit the CDC’s School Health Profiles report for additional information on school health policies and practices.)

***The quality of sex education taught often reflects funding available for sex education programs. To learn more about federal funding streams, click here.

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