Burlington parents express outrage over detailed sex questions in middle school health survey

Boston Globe

17-04-2025

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The survey, which has been administered in grades 6-12 at the middle school and high schools for more than a decade, asked a wide range of questions regarding sexual behavior, mental health, substance abuse, bullying, discrimination, nutrition, and violence as part of a nationwide data collection effort by the
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Parents said this year's survey in Burlington
contained changes in wording, which were made by a private consultant working with Burlington officials, resulting in definitions of various sexual activities that were far too graphic for students as young as 11.
The survey for middle school students, for instance, asked students whether they had engaged in oral or anal sex and included detailed descriptions of each. It also asked students if they had used sex toys 'vaginal or anal.'
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Adrianne Simeone, whose eighth-grade son was given the survey last month over her objections, said she was shocked when he came home and told her about the 'weird' questions he was asked on the survey. He is one of the students represented in one of the complaints.
'I talk to my son about sex,' she said. 'It's not like it's a foreign concept to him, but anal sex, oral sex, sex toys — no. Even though my son is in eighth grade, that's pretty horrific to me.'
Superintendent Eric Conti declined an interview request. He instead referred to a statement the district posted on its website Wednesday that briefly addressed the issue and also included extensive information on the survey, including copies of questions posed to students this year and in previous years.
'Burlington Public Schools acknowledges that during the administration of the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), there were areas for improvement, particularly in the opt-out process and delivery of the proctor script,' the statement said. 'We recognize the importance of clear communication with families regarding student participation in surveys of this nature.'
Controversy over the Burlington youth risk survey comes as the Trump administration has been cracking down on federal data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity. In January, data from the youth risk surveys had been
The president also has been pushing to expand parental rights.
David Hanafin, whose son is at the center of the other federal complaint, said his concerns, as well as other parents', are unrelated to Trump's actions. Instead, they center on the values and sensibilities of individual parents and the kinds of information their children are exposed to. Hanafin said he opted his son out of the survey, but the school still gave it to him.
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Other parents, he said, didn't know about the survey and their right to opt out because the district notified them through Parent Square, an online communication platform the district uses to inform parents about a range of items during the day, making it easy for parents to miss critical information. Hanafin said there are days he receives between 20 to 25 notifications.
Even when parents do opt out, he said, the decision still doesn't fully shield their children from the survey because other students frequently talk about it afterward during lunch or on the bus. Some children also have been taking screenshots of the questions. He wants Burlington to stop administering the surveys.
'The surveys are wholly inappropriate,' he said. 'They push it way too early and way too much.'
He said the schools should stick with teaching reading, writing, math, history, and science.
The Burlington controversy erupted soon after the survey was given last month. The mother of another student who took screenshots of the questions later posted them on social media, asking other parents if they knew their children were taking a survey with those kinds of questions.
Sam Whiting, legal counsel for the legal center, said his organization anticipates filing additional complaints against Burlington schools from other parents with concerns about the survey's content and the district's mishandling of the opt-out requests.
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He
said even though the survey is administered as part of the federal data collection process and under the oversight of the state's education agency, districts have the discretion to adjust the survey for its specific student populations.
'I don't think I've ever seen one this graphic in the questions, and certainly we've never seen a school district not comply with parental opt-out,' he said.
James Vaznis can be reached at