By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
Christians opposing a sex education curriculum chosen for Worcester Public Schools are talking about ways to respond.
The school committee voted at its May 6 meeting to use the curriculum – “Rights, Respect, Responsibility”– for kindergarten through grade 12.
“A few people asked me if we have … any kind of activity” to continue asking that this be stopped, said Jacqueline Tran, who testified against it at school committee meetings. She said she did not know what can be done now.
“If they keep it, we have to opt out,” she said. “I think that God wants us to work from within, in the family.… You can stop one program, but they will come up with another program.” As director of religious education at Our Lady of Vilna Parish in Worcester, she is thinking about how to teach her students and parents about sexuality from a Catholic perspective.
Our Lady of Vilna’s pastor, Father Tam M. Bui, said he held eucharistic adoration during the May 6 meeting “to pray for that meeting.” He said he told his people, “We Catholics oppose this sinful” program and asked them to “be prepared to act further.” They had earlier delivered copies of an opposition letter with about 370 signatures, including some from non-Catholics, to school committee members, he said.
“It is clear that the 3 R’s curriculum from Advocates for Youth is not age appropriate!” Michael King, director of Community Alliances for the Massachusetts Family Institute, said in emails after the May 6 meeting. “In spite of this obvious fact, the Worcester school committee irresponsibly voted 5 to 2 to expose children in K-12 grades to this explicit curriculum. … Let’s start an Opt Out Movement … that will spread across this state.” He asked people to call the committee members who voted for the curriculum and “respectfully tell them your decision to opt out!”
A couple committee members were not consistent in statements about whether sex education would be taught in elementary school. They seemed to be using the terms “health education” and “sex education” interchangeably. “Rights, Respect, Responsibility” labels itself a K-12 sexual education curriculum, not a health curriculum.
Reporting on the April 26 meeting of the Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning and Student Supports, the May 6 minutes note that the standing committee voted 2-1 for member John Foley’s motions. One of those motions was: “Adopt Rights, Respect and Responsibility as a comprehensive K to 12 health curriculum for the 2021-22 school year and implement it with fidelity. Utilize a sexual education curriculum for middle and high school levels. Provide the necessary training for the teachers.”
At the May 6 meeting, standing committee chairwoman Molly McCullough offered this amendment to Mr. Foley’s motion: “To adopt Rights, Respect, Responsibility as a sexuality and health education curriculum for grades K-12 using health and sexual education lessons from the 3Rs, along with additional health lessons on social emotional wellness, physical wellness, nutrition, alcohol, drugs and tobacco, safety and media/tech literacy.”
After testimony from the public and school committee members for and against this curriculum, or sex education generally, the committee approved the amended motion 5-2. Mayor Joseph Petty, Ms. McCullough, Mr. Foley, Laura Clancey, and Tracy O’Connell Novick voted in favor, and Dianna Biancheria and John Monfredo opposed it.
Mr. Foley’s motion to “request that the administration communicate well and engage with parents about this curriculum” was approved by all seven members.
“Ms. McCullough stated that the 10 lessons that will be taught to students in grades K through 6 will cover anatomy, puberty, relationships and consent,” the May 6 meeting minutes say. “Parents can opt their child(ren) out of these lessons and also the specific sexual education components for middle and high school students.”