Ready, Set, Go... Back to School with Massachusetts Informed Parents!
Use MIP's new tools to get your school year started right, and stay in-the-know all year long.
August is drawing to a close, and every mom or dad knows what that means - it’s time for another school year! Whether your kids have just started back or they will within the next few days, MIP is thrilled to announce a new resource that you’ll want to keep handy this month, and all year round.
Introducing the Massachusetts Informed Parents Back to School Checklist!
Print this checklist and hang it somewhere where you will see it, or download the pdf version below (it’s got links in it!).
Now here are our checklist recommendations, to start the school year off right, and stay in-the-know all year long.
✅ Get to know your teachers and district leadership
You probably know the name of your child’s teacher, but do they know yours? If not, start the year off with a friendly introduction via email. Tell them anything you would like for them to know about your child, mention any assistance or special skills you are willing to share in the classroom this year, and invite them to contact you going forward with any questions or concerns. Make sure to attend parents nights and teacher conferences as well, and make the most of every opportunity to get to know the adults who will be interacting closely with your child.
Who is your child’s principal? School nurse? Guidance counselor? Find out the names and contact information of anyone else who you may need to get in touch with regarding your child or an issue at the school. If there is anything you want them to know about your child, or any expectations you as a parent have of the school, contacting them proactively and opening up a line of communication early on is often your best bet.
Be sure to sign up for all school newsletters, principal’s update emails, and school social media pages. Make sure you are receiving all notifications from your school, if your school uses an online system like Parentsquare. Often district leadership communicates through these avenues, and you can follow up with them if you have any questions about any of the information they put out.
Finally, who are the members of your school committee, and when do they meet? Locate and bookmark the webpage where this information is posted (keep an eye out for your school committee’s policy manual and bookmark that too!). If your schedule permits, attend an upcoming school committee meeting. Even if you don’t have an item of interest on the agenda, attending a meeting will help you better understand how your school district works and who the leaders are that make the decisions that impact your child (and who to contact with questions or concerns when they arise). If you aren’t able to attend a meeting in person, find out if the meetings are streamed or recorded. Most Massachusetts districts now post recordings of their meetings online for the public to view.
✅ Review Syllabi and Curriculum
We know that many Massachusetts school districts embed controversial ideologies into subjects where parents would not normally expect to find them, or use politicized resources to teach topics that would otherwise be unobjectionable. The best way to engage this reality (or at least prepare your children for it) is by having an awareness of what topics are being discussed in class. Open up a positive line of communication with your child, asking them to share the syllabus with you or provide you access to their google classroom so you can view assignments for yourself. Keep the communication line open and ask them to tell you if certain topics come up in class as the year goes on (but don’t freak out or become visibly angry if they report something back to you that you don’t like. Keep a cool head and follow up with the teacher to ask for clarification.) Review any information provided about the curriculum or upcoming lessons via email, parents nights, through a classroom, department or district website, or through documents sent home. If you don’t see the information you are looking for, email your child’s teacher and request it.
Massachusetts state law provides parents the right to “inspect and review program instruction materials” for sex ed, and the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) provides “the right of a parent of a student to inspect, upon the request of the parent, any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student.” Public record requests are also a useful tool to gain information from your school district, but when it comes to your child’s curriculum, you shouldn’t need to file one. You have a right to know what is being taught to your child, and the school should accommodate your parental requests.
✅ Know your rights
As a public school parent, you have many rights. As mentioned above, you have the right to view your child’s curriculum and instructional materials under the PPRA, which also provides rights regarding surveys that ask kids about topics such as political affiliation, sex behavior or attitudes, religious affiliation, and more. Under the federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), you have the right to review your child’s official student record. Under Massachusetts law you have the right to opt your child out of sex education for any reason. And now thanks to the recent US Supreme Court decision Mahmoud v. Taylor, religious parents now have the right to opt their child out of instruction that substantially interferes with their ability to direct their children’s religious upbringing, such as LGBTQ-themed storybooks presented to young children. To learn more about this important case, read the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center (MLLC)’s advisory letter, or our previous post about Mahmoud v. Taylor.
And rights in school aren’t just for parents - they are for students, too! One such right is the ability to hold a religious club, like a Bible club, in Massachusetts public schools. To learn more about these rights, see this legal advisory letter.
This is not an exhaustive list of parent and student rights in the public schools. If you have questions about anything not mentioned here, drop them in the comments below! We also encourage you to check out the list of rights-related resources on the MLLC website HERE.
✅ Note your school calendar (and Sex on the School Calendar!)
Paying attention to your child’s school calendar is important. No parent wants to be surprised by a child getting dropped off when nobody is home due to an unexpected half-day, and it’s always good to know when the next three-day weekend or school vacation is coming so you can plan accordingly. But in addition to your child’s school calendar, there’s another calendar that may impact your child’s education - and you won’t find it on your district website.
For many years the activist organization GLSEN has been pushing sexuality-related observances into schools nationwide through their GLSEN School Calendar, encouraging school districts to celebrate events like National Coming Out Day and International Pronouns Day. As we began to see more and more observances from this calendar and other similar observances pop up locally, we decided that Massachusetts parents needed their own calendar to help them be aware of what sex-themed days might be coming to their child’s school.
Introducing MIP’s “Sex on the School Calendar,” 2025-2026 edition.
You can download a pdf version of this document below, or link to it directly HERE.
In some Massachusetts schools many of these events may be observed, where in others there might only be one or two. Familiarize yourself with these dates so you know what to look for, so that if these events are happening you can decide how to engage it. And if your school celebrates a sexuality-themed event not on this calendar, let us know and next year we’ll make sure to include it.
✅ Be book aware
Earlier this week rapper Snoop Dogg went viral for comments he made on a podcast about a same-sex relationship being portrayed in the Disney movie Lightyear. He had taken his grandson to see the ostensibly child-friendly movie, not expecting it to include a depiction of a lesbian relationship. One of the women was pregnant, which resulted in his inquisitive grandson asking him how two women can conceive a child… in the middle of the movie theater.
“It f‑‑‑ed me up. I’m, like, scared to go to the movies now. Y’all throwing me in the middle of s‑‑‑ that I don’t have an answer for,” Snoop said. “These are kids,” he added. “We have to show that at this age? They’re going to ask questions. I don’t have the answer.”
Snoop expressed the same frustration felt by many Massachusetts parents who have taken their children to the library or the local bookstore to pick out a new book, only to find out afterward that the book that looked innocent on the cover includes unexpected themes of gender confusion or sexuality. The same thing has happened with books that (even elementary-aged) kids have brought home from the school library - a book that looks like it’s about tennis or penguins turns out to have references to same-sex relationships, or a book with a teddy bear on the cover is actually about gender transition!
This is where MIP’s Parental Advisory Book List comes in. Our book list gives parents a heads-up on some of the most popular titles found in Massachusetts schools and libraries that contain themes parents may want to avoid - even when those themes aren’t visible on the front cover.
Download the book list below, or read it online HERE.
Once you know which books you want to avoid, you can see if these books are being used in your child’s classroom. You can also find out if these book are in the school library by looking your school up in the GoFollet database HERE. If there are books that you don’t want your child to take out of the school library, you can email your school librarian and let them know.
✅ Opt your child out
Now that you know your rights, be sure to submit your opt out letter! We suggest submitting your opt out letter as early as possible in the school year, sending one copy to your child’s teacher and another copy to the principal.
The updated opt-out letter below from the MLLC equips Massachusetts parents to exercise their rights under state and federal laws to remove their children from sex education and intrusive school surveys. In addition, in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor, it also opts children out of instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and name/pronoun changes related to social transition, based on sincerely held religious beliefs and fundamental parental rights.
This letter can be modified to fit your family’s needs. Cut and paste the text below into your own document, or download the letter directly from the MLLC HERE.
[Insert Date]
Dear [principal name],
Our child, [name], is very excited for the [insert year, i.e. 2025-2026] school year. We are writing to notify you that we will be exercising our right to opt our child out from the following:
1. Please exempt our child from all lessons, events, school assemblies or other instructional activities and programs which cover sex education or human sexuality issues, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 32A. Please also notify me in advance when such lessons, events, activities, etc. are scheduled.
2. Please exempt our child from lessons, events, school assemblies or other instructional activities and programs which cover issues of sexual orientation or gender identity, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor. Please also notify me in advance when such lessons, events, activities, etc. are scheduled. The school’s views on these issues conflict with our religious beliefs and instructing our child on these topics at school would substantially interfere with our constitutional right to instill our religious values in our child, as well as our fundamental parental rights.
3. Please exempt our child from any surveys, whether formal or informal, that ask about our child’s sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health, religion, political beliefs, sexual behavior, drug use, family issues, or racism or racial attitudes, pursuant to the PPRA, 20 U.S. Code § 1232h. Please notify me in advance about any such surveys.
4. Do not use an alternate name or pronouns for our child to reflect a different gender identity at school. Doing so would violate our religious beliefs and substantially interfere with our constitutional right to direct our child’s religious upbringing, as well as our fundamental parental rights.
As we are sure you know, state law also requires that no student shall be penalized by reason of any exemptions allowed by law, for example by denying him or her course credit. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education further advises that, “In order to ensure that all students receive the structured learning time due them, the school should make efforts to accommodate the exempted student in another class, assign an alternative educational project, or provide the student with a directed study period for the duration of the exemption.” See Commissioner of Education’s April 7, 1997 “Advisory Opinion on the Parental Notification Law.”
Thank you for understanding our position and for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions regarding this letter, you can contact us at [phone number] or [email]. We are looking forward to a great school year!
Respectfully,
[Insert parents’ names]
Note: MIP has learned that some Massachusetts schools are instructing parents to use a district-provided online form to submit opt out requests. While the school is free to request that parents use a specific form, and parents are welcome to use the form provided, neither party is legally required to do so. If the school does not provide an opt-out form, or if the form provided by the school asks questions that the parents are not comfortable answering or does not provide space to delineate all of the requests that the parents wish to make, we recommend that parents submit the letter above. Regardless of how you submit your opt out, if you have any problems with your school not honoring your request, let us know!
✅ Subscribe to Massachusetts Informed Parents
This one’s easy - hit the button below! If you’ve already subscribed, share MIP with a friend.
If you’re on Facebook, join the MIP facebook group here!
✅ Join the MERC Network
The Massachusetts Education Resource Center, or MERC, is a new resource for Massachusetts school committee members - but educators, parents, and school committee candidates can join too.
MERC offers sample policies, training, tools for professional development, and more. Joining the MERC network is free, and when you join, you will receive email updates to keep you in the know when new resources or upcoming events are posted. School committee members who join the network also receive priority access to free legal and strategy support, and they even get a free gift!
Click the button below to see what MERC has to offer, and be sure to join while you’re there. After you’re done, share MERC with any Massachusetts school committee member who would appreciate this resource.
Friends, keep in touch with MIP this school year. Tell us what you’re seeing in your local district, send us tips or suggestions for our next investigation (email us anytime at massinformedparents@gmail.com), and let us know how we can support you as you protect your kids from indoctrination and sexualization in Massachusetts public schools.
Let’s have a great school year, everyone! 🙌
Did you love this list? Check out these related resources from trusted partners!
Defending Education’s Back to School Checklist
Freedom in Education’s Back to School Toolkit
WILL’s Parental Toolkit (This just released document takes a deeper dive into many of the topics discussed in this post. We recommend it!)
First Liberty’s Religious Liberty Protection Kit for Students
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment: A Toolkit For Parents by America First Legal
I cant believe the amount of LGBT crap that has crept into the schools! Trans awareness month?Intersex awareness day ? And LL the crappy trans books …pure propaganda for the trans cult! What happened to education?
I would definitely pull my kids out of public school,and either home school or get together with sane parents and set up an alternative school where kids get educated , not indoctrinated!