A Massachusetts school district is at the center of a battle over parental rights after it administered a health survey to middle school students in late March that asked children as young as 11 sexually explicit questions despite parents opting their child out.
Burlington Public Schools (BPS) notified parents on March 6 via an app called ParentSquare about its plans to administer the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to students at Marshall Simonds Middle School.
The survey, which is part of a national initiative developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asked students sensitive questions about alcohol, drug use and gender identity.
One question in the 2025 survey asked students if they’ve ever had sexual intercourse, describing the act in detail and providing the definitions of oral and anal sex. It also asked about the use of sex toys.
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Fox News Digital spoke with three parents whose children took the controversial survey, two of whom opted their child out and have since filed federal complaints with the U.S. Department of Education with the help of the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center (MLLC), an organization that defends free speech, religious liberty and parental rights.
“I felt absolutely sick to think that they were asking such explicit questions to children,” said Adrianne Simeone, a Burlington mother who opted her 13-year-old son out of the survey. “I’ve talked to my kids about sex. My children know about sexual reproduction, but I have not talked to them about anal sex or oral sex or sex toys. I don’t think those were appropriate for minors of any age, let alone children as young as 11.”
MLLC alleges that BPS violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which stipulates that K-12 schools that receive federal funding must notify parents and allow them to opt their children out of surveys involving sensitive topics.
“In not opting out students who had been opted out by their parents, [they] actually violated federal law,” said Sam Whiting, legal counsel for MLLC. “We’re very hopeful that the Department of Education, especially under the Trump administration, will follow through and enforce that law against the district.”
Some students who had been opted out of the survey by their parents were still forced to take it, despite protesting, because their names were not on the opt-out list.
Teachers did not inform students that the survey was voluntary, according to a demand letter sent to members of the BPS School Committee by MLLC.
David Hanafin told Fox News Digital he’s furious with the school district after his 11-year-old son was also forced to take the survey despite being opted out.
“We don’t send our kids to school to be indoctrinated. We don’t send our kids to school to have these discussions. You don’t need to open their mind. You need to teach them to read, to write, math, accurate history, accurate science, and you send them home, and we’ll take care of the rest,” he said.
Hanafin, who has six children in the school district between elementary, middle and high school, said he had an agreement with Superintendent Eric Conti and Assistant Superintendent Laura Chen about opting his children out of all surveys that touch on sensitive topics.
“My daughter’s 11 years old. She still writes her list to Santa Claus every year and she can’t wait for Santa Claus to come and bring her presents. And then they’re asking her questions about anal sex and about sex toys and that — how anybody in their right mind could say this is in any way shape or form appropriate, or what information they’re trying to glean from it, makes no sense,” he told Fox News Digital.
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The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been used nationwide since 1991 to monitor health behavior changes over time and to collect data to guide policies on issues like teen substance abuse, suicide and sexual health.
The 2023 version had questions about alcohol and prescription drug use, as well as questions about gender identity, but the definition of sexual intercourse was changed in 2025 to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, according to JSI, the healthcare research and consulting organization that created the survey.
Simeone and Hanafin have both signed onto federal complaints filed with the Education Department. They also spoke out against the survey alongside more than a dozen other parents at a school committee meeting on April 1.
A third parent who spoke with Fox News Digital but requested anonymity out of fear of backlash said she hasn’t signed onto the federal complaint but plans to do so.
She missed the notification in ParentSquare about the survey due to the large number of messages the school sends in a day, so her daughter took it. She said she felt “sick” after seeing the questions.
Superintendent Conti apologized at the April 1 meeting for the opt-out policy not being honored, saying it was a “mistake.”
He claimed that some of the definitions in the survey were changed and added without BPS’ consent after their Wellness Committee had reviewed them.
Conti also stated that he was informed by Marshall Simonds Middle School Principal Tim McMahon that only four opt-out policies were not honored, a claim disputed by other parents and MLLC.
School Committee Member Christine Monaco told parents that she found some of the survey definitions “awful,” “inappropriate” and “disgusting.”
“Some students knew their parents’ wishes and advocated for themselves, only to be ignored, which is totally unacceptable. This cannot happen again. We as a committee need to revisit our policies and explore greater protections for our students and their families regarding student surveys and parental consent,” said another member.
The school committee voted unanimously on April 8 to suspend all student surveys until a new policy is adopted and to remove all funding for JSI from the upcoming budget.
BPS announced additional steps it was taking in the wake of the survey fallout, including hiring an independent consultant to review the administration of the 2025 survey.
“We remain committed to transparency, accountability, and the well-being of all students, and we value our continued collaboration with families and the broader community,” read an announcement on the district’s website.
One parent at the April 8 meeting made it clear that she didn’t have a problem with the survey questions, nor did she find them “disgusting,” only a little “surprising.”
“I believe in the positive information the survey provides,” she said, arguing for more representation of all groups of people.
Hanafin and Simeone told Fox News Digital the school district has a history of disrespecting parental rights and pushing inappropriate content on students, and they want someone to be held accountable.
“I’m really exhausted by the lack of respect for parents and our right to decide when and how we talk to kids about these things,” said Simeone.
She recalled her push for greater transparency from the school district regarding the Spectrum Club, a student organization that promotes LGBTQ+ rights. Simeone said the club was not listed publicly on the ParentSquare app and she had to fight to make it publicly listed and to require parental permission.
“I think what’s most important for parents to take home from this is that you need to be an advocate for your child. Don’t wait for something to go wrong,” she told Fox News Digital. “Take this lesson right here, this example, and bring it to your school system, your school committee, your superintendent, your principal, and say to them, ‘I want to know exactly what’s going on in our school system if you’re participating in activities like this.’”
Hanafin echoed similar sentiments about the power of parents’ voices, arguing they shouldn’t be afraid to speak up for their children.
“People are so afraid to speak out against the orthodoxy, and they make that very, very clear. And so, the school is always pushing this one side of the gender, and parents are afraid to speak out against it because they’re going to be labeled bigoted, they’re going to be labeled homophobic, transphobic, whatever it is,” he said.
Superintendent Conti and Assistant Superintendent Chen did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident.
Julie Hartman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the federal agency is committed to protecting parental rights:
“Children do not belong to the government; they belong to parents. Parents should be the primary decision makers when it comes to their child’s education. The Department will not tolerate abuse of parents’ rights – or of students who are victims of predatory behavior by adults who are supposed to protect them.”