Seekonk School Committee Members Escaler & Juckett Push for Parental Notification

Seekonk School Committee members Noah Escaler and Kyle Juckett would like parents to be given notification in a timely manner if they object to certain material being taught to their children.

The committee waived a first reading of the Health Education Parental Notification policy.

“I think we need to empower parents to be able to have control over specific pieces of education that’s coming before their kids,” Juckett said at the December 11 meeting.

“I just really want to give the transparency and the ability for those parents, any parent, with any safeguards that wants to challenge this, to have the opportunity to do it in a manner that they’re angered with time elapsing with no answers,” Escaler said. “I just want to see an expedited process to answer these questions civilly.”

Escaler and Juckett will send their revisions to the committee chair Meaghan Mahoney before the next meeting in January.

Last July, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released a 46 page draft of a new curriculum framework for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. DESE solicited feedback from parents and educators about what should be taught in schools.

Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell said the administration would review policies and procedures around parent communication and the ability for parents to “opt out” if they were uncomfortable with certain subject matters being taught in school.

DESE has outlined seven practices, including decision-making and problem solving, self-management and goal-setting, social awareness, relationship and communication skills, movement skills, and self-advocacy and health promotion.

DESE notes: “The standards are presented by grade span: Pre–K-2, grades 3–5, grades 6–8, and grades 9–12. The standards are considered learning goals that are intended to be achieved by the end of each grade span, respectively. Within each grade span, the standards are grouped by practice. This reflects the importance of the practices for students across the disciplines of health education, physical education, and in developing social emotional competencies.”

DESE’s CHPE report can be accessed at: https://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/healthframework/