Massachusetts Schools Give Students Intrusive Survey About Sex, Alcohol and Drugs

Warning, this article includes sensitive sexual content.

Massachusetts parents were upset to learn their high school and middle school children – some as young as 11 years old – were given government surveys asking intrusive and explicit questions about their sexual experiences; alcohol, drug and tobacco usage; and “gender identity.”

Many Burlington Public School (BPS) students were given the surveys, even though their parents had opted them out of taking the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a national survey created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The survey was first conducted in 1991, primarily to track behaviors related to HIV infection. But it’s broadened in scope since then, and many parents find the questions inappropriate for minors.

In early April, irate BPS parents alerted Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), a Focus on the Family ally, about the nature of the surveys, as well as the fact that some students were required to take it against their parents’ wishes.

MFI posted a video of concerned parents, grandparents and other citizens complaining about the YRBS at a school board meeting. One grandmother, whose granddaughter took the survey against her parents’ wishes, said,

“Every child has the right to go to school being loved, cared for and treated with respect. We have the right to send our children to school and not have this stuff shoved down their throats.”

“You can’t undo the damage. You can’t undo the damage that was done.”

She went on to explain that even if a child didn’t take the survey, they would be exposed to the topics anyway because children throughout the school were discussing the questions, with some students looking up survey topics on the internet.

Another video shows an angry mother, whose special needs son came home and told her he took a “weird test” at school with questions he didn’t know how to answer.

After looking at survey questions online, she said, “This was a calculated and deliberate attack on our children’s innocence and denial of our parental right to protect our minor children. With this survey, you have exposed our innocent children to mental pornography.”

She called the descriptions of sexual acts “sexual grooming and downright sexual assault.”

Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center, an initiative of MFI, sent a letter to the BPS school board and superintendent, explaining parents’ concerns,

“This extensive, 45-minute survey asked students about numerous sensitive topics such as their drug and alcohol use, mental health issues, sexual encounters (including whether they had been victims of sexual assault), sexual orientation and gender identity, and more.”

“Although many parents exercised their legal right to opt their children out of the inappropriate survey, the school still told students that they had to take the survey – even if they didn’t want to. This egregious violation of parental and student rights transgressed federal law.”

The legal center listed some of the sexually oriented questions:

• “Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?
  • Straight or heterosexual
  • Lesbian or gay
  • Asexual
  • Bisexual
  • Pansexual
  • Queer…”

• “Which of the following terms best describes your current gender identity?
  • Cisgender girl or woman
  • Cisgender boy or man
  • Transgender girl or woman
  • Transgender boy or man
  • Nonbinary or genderqueer…”

• “The next question asks about sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse includes vaginal sex which is when a penis goes inside of a vagina, oral sex which is contact between the mouth and genitals, anal sex which is when the penis goes inside an anus (butt), and use of toys or props (vaginal or anal).
  • Have you ever had sexual intercourse?”

• “Has anyone ever done sexual things to you or forced you to do sexual things that you did not want to?”

While some of the questions in the YRBS are more innocuous, such as asking students if they wear a seat belt in the car or use helmets when skateboarding, many ask for sensitive information. For example, students were asked if they’ve been bullied or discriminated against; self-harmed; experienced depression or suicidal thoughts; attempted suicide; or been involved in violence and fistfights.

Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center explained that federal law, specifically the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, requires schools that receive federal funds to notify parents about surveys that cover sensitive topics and to allow parents to opt their child out of taking such surveys.

The letter stated the school district has “violated the rights of parents and students” a number of times:

BPS has for years pushed controversial and divisive sexual, racial, and political ideologies upon impressionable students without providing parents with an opportunity to opt their children out.

BPS has gone all-out to celebrate “LGBTQ+ Pride,” decking the halls at school with flags and posters, while denying pro-life students the opportunity to fly the pro-life flag on the school flagpole for even a day in January 2024. It has shown students videos suggesting that all white people view black men as inherently dangerous.

“Gender nonconforming” BPS teachers have pressured students to use pronouns for the teacher that do not match their biological sex. BPS has attempted to hide the existence of an LGBTQ club from parents in order to keep them in the dark about their children’s sexuality.

Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center demanded those responsible be held accountable, “up to and including terminating them from their employment” for violating federal law, and that the district develop “policies to prevent inappropriate and intrusive surveys from being administered to students which cover sensitive topics.”

Two school board meetings and a month later, Massachusetts Family Institute stated, “Parents have remained unsatisfied with the district’s response to the growing controversy and are doubling down on demanding accountability.”

The family advocacy group also urged parents across the state to investigate what’s happening in their local schools:

“MFI also encourages parents across MA to reach out to their districts regarding the YRBS survey and other similar surveys. What happened in Burlington can happen in any city or town that institutes graphic and inappropriate surveys.”

“Find out if your district intends to implement a survey with sensitive topics. If so, opt your child out, and then advocate for a policy that puts a stop to the surveys altogether. “

Since this is a national survey, we encourage all parents to find out if it’s given in their local schools – and take appropriate action to protect their children.

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