Vermont school gives fifth-graders sexuality survey, stoking outrage among parents
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Vermont elementary school’s decision to ask fifth-grade students about their sexual history and gender identity has left many parents furious.
Students at Windsor State Street School were given a survey that asked them about their sexual preferences, their biological sex and how they “identify” as and if they have had a “romantic relationship” in that past year that involved a “sexual partner.”
Vanessa Beach, who posted portions of the survey on Facebook, said it was “ridiculous and unnerving” that her 10-year-old daughter was asked to disclose such information.
Beach said in her post that she has no problem discussing sexuality, but that it’s shocking that fifth-grade students were asked about something they may not yet understand.
“It’s none of their business,” she wrote. “What if my child was having a hard time with her sexuality?”
The survey was given to students on behalf of a nonprofit domestic violence prevention and advocacy group, Women's Information Services (WISE).
Parents were supposedly given a notice allowing them to opt out of the questions on behalf of their children, but Beach says she never received anything and was only made aware of the survey when her daughter brought it home.
She says other parents also complained about never receiving any notice.
School Principal Tiffany Cassano told Fox News in a statement that the survey was given to approximately 10 fifth-grade students as a part of a research project at the University of New Hampshire.
"WISE and school guidance sent a letter home to families of 5th and 6th graders, informing them of the upcoming program that was being offered and the survey that would be distributed," Cassano said. "The letter gave parents the right to opt out of participating in the survey. Students were also given the right to opt out of participating in the survey after engaging in a conversation around consent and what it means to give consent."
Cassano said that administration did not see the survey before it was given to students and that it has been "suspended" since.
"While we recognize the content of the survey was very sensitive and caused unsettling feelings for some parents, it was most certainly not intended to harm or sway students to consider different beliefs about gender or relationships."
Attempts to reach WISE for comment were unsuccessful.
Beach said that the school district worked immediately to address her complaints and was apologetic from the start but she said that the situation is still troubling.
"A classroom is not the proper place to discuss a child's sexuality.”
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As an American I take this seriously.
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Sounds like a lot of outraged people! A lot of white outraged people. Why are they so outraged all the time?
I thought you liked suburban women. [deleted]
Don't put words in my mouth.
You are asking yourself to not put words in your own mouth?
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They are terrified of the answers they may get.
Who knows. Just a lot of whining about nothing.
What difference does it make if one is an American?
Another Faux 'news' sourced 'article'.
Get involved in your kids education people, before it's too late.
Do you not think that middle schoolers have knowledge of sex? What sort of Mayberry do you live in?
Setting your sophomoric, snarky insult aside ..... did i say that? No i did not.
The decision of if, when and how sex ed is taught in schools is the parents decision through their school boards not the school systems through the teachers and/or teacher unions.
As a parent i think fifth grade is definitely too soon and not the schools job at that point. At that point it's the parents business only and their job only. Let em at least hit puberty, which would be around middle school before you even think about teaching sex ed and then make it all about education. Not indoctrination.
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We had sex ed' starting in the late 1970s and we knew more than what they were telling us. It got to the point where we would gather in groups at recess and write down the most embarrassing questions as a way to see who could make the uptight teacher blush the most or refuse to outright answer the question. Asking questions about oral sex was the most fun.
Kids aren't as stupid as you think they are, especially in the age of the internet.
Good, then i guess you didn't need a sex ed course at that time did you?
I never said kids were stupid.
What is it with some folks need to put words in other people mouths. It's a pretty major malfunction for some folks, the psychological underpinnings of which are an interesting study.
The class was mandatory. We didn't have a choice. Stop being so sexually uptight. Maybe you think that teens won't be sexually active if they are not taught sex ed' but the facts prove otherwise. Leaving sex ed' to parents does not teach teens what they need to know to make good decisions.
I'm sure it was but that doesn't answer the question i asked
Lol
Wow, just wow. Is that how you felt with your kids? Have you has any kids?
Yes, it was. She went to a sex-ed cause at the local hospital taught by nurses and Ob-Gyn. She was taught medical facts and not opinions or beliefs.
So basically what you are saying is that you trusted a near stranger to teacher your daughter that, more than you trusted yourself?
I trusted qualified and experienced medical professionals who have made it their career to learn and care for rep[rodective issues. Who is more qualified to teach sex education than Drs and nurses? My knowledge is not half of what they know.
Your prerogative.
Many of us don’t want to abdicate such parental responsibilities to other people.
Sex Ed isn’t rocket engineering after all ......
Do you know as much as a Dr or a nurse about sexual health and reproduction?
People know more about their own kids than any doctor or nurse ever will. I for one have no problem accepting the responsibility of raising my on kids to be well adjusted people. No need to involve strangers for such things.
Again, sex Ed in this context is not rocket science and sure as shit doesn’t need to be learned in a public school, by god knows who teaching it.
It's sad that some don't see the problem with 2 states exposed as overstepping.
Its just more faux indignation from Faux 'news' and alleged conservatives. Its a nothingberder, as usual
They were too young to even comprehend what the survey meant. Maybe Canada's education system was really slow back in my day, but we didn't get sex education until it was given in our Health class in university freshman class (or is it necessary to now call that "freshperson class"?) - a video was shown and there was no teacher-to-student lesson. What I will never forget was the scene where a sperm was approaching an egg and someone shouted "KEEP AWAY" and the whole room exploded with laughter.
I didn't even masturbate or smoke crack until my 20's. Call me a late bloomer.
Better late than never, right?