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September 24, 2025Bishop McManus has raised serious concerns about a K-12 sex education program and asked priests to inform parents that they have the option to opt their children out of it.
“This fall the Worcester Public Schools will continue to implement ‘Rights, Respect, Responsibility,’” the bishop said in an Aug. 28 letter to parents. “I find the program to be morally unacceptable for our Catholic children or any child. It is age inappropriate, explicit and reflects a shallow, trivial, amoral view of sex. It is a radical program of indoctrination of children with views contrary to the Catholic understanding of sex, gender, and the dignity of the human person. …
“As parents, you are the first teachers of your children. Fortunately, state law in Massachusetts allows parents to opt their children out of sex-education programs. The Worcester Public Schools, however, have made it necessary for parents to opt their child out of the program each new school year.” Parents choosing to do that need to submit the form this fall even if they submitted forms other years.
The bishop invited parents to review the program at 3rs.org/3rs-curric-search.
This letter to parents was sent through Flocknote to priests, along with a letter to the priests themselves, parish bulletin announcements, samples of curriculum content and opt out forms in English and Spanish. The bishop asked the priests to send parents of their CCD students his letter and the forms. He asked the priests to make parents aware of their rights and to “strongly urge” them to opt their children out of “this dangerous curriculum.”
Information for bulletins included samples of curriculum content.
Parents can give the forms they got from their church to their children’s principals or access forms and other information on the Worcester Public Schools website
worcesterschools.org/o/wps/page/sexual-health-education-curriculum.
The Massachusetts General Law permitting parents to opt out can be found at malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chapter71/section32a.