To the editor:

On Sept. 16, the Joint Committee on Education will hold a hearing on “An Act Relative to Healthy Youth” (H.656/S.340). This bill would remove local control from elected school committees and require all schools to adopt the state’s Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework (CHPE).

If passed, the state — not local communities — would decide what children are taught about health. The standards include lessons on “gender identity.” Grades 3-5 would be taught that sex is “assigned” at birth, rather than observed based on biological reality, and that a person’s claimed “gender identity” may or may not match observable sex characteristics.

Introducing these ideas at young ages risks confusing children about their bodies and identities. It could lead them to believe they were “born in the wrong body” and need medical intervention to “fix” themselves. They would be taught that if a man claims he is a woman, they must accept his claim without question. Encouraging children to ignore their instincts, disregard boundaries and mistrust their own perceptions is not compassion — it is harmful.

Local school committees are elected to represent the values of their communities. This bill strips that authority and centralizes decision-making in the state. Parents and local educators should have the right to determine what is appropriate for their children, not be forced into one mandated curriculum.

The committee will accept written testimony on H.656/S.340 until Sept. 23. Testimony can be submitted by email to Fiona Bruce-Baiden ([email protected]) and Dennis Burke ([email protected]). Please include “Education Committee Testimony H.656 and S.340” in the subject line.

Sincerely,

Evelyn Ullman

Lynnfield