Arlene Tessitore Files Complaint After Daughters Given Oral Sex Survey In Middle School

A Massachusetts mother of two middle school students was alarmed to discover her children had been forced to take a survey about sex in the classroom.

Arlene Tessitore is filing a formal complaint with the Department of Education over the survey, which she says asked her daughters inappropriate questions about oral sex, birth control and other topics.

WATCH:

Comments

[TheBaffler]

03:08 PM on 06/24/2011

I can't wait to see the look on her face after she finds out just how many knobs her daughters have been polishing. But it won't be her fault...oh no...it'll be the school's.

[proudohioconservative]

09:48 AM on 06/22/2011

I have a nephew who is 12, almost 13 years old. I could not even imagine what his response would be to questions like this.

I see typical liberal attitudes here - basically, the parents' rights are trumped by the schools and government. This is scary - liberals want you to basically hand over your kids to them as soon as you can - they will feed and educate them. At one time, parents fed their own kids, and were responsible for their education.
Liberalism is another way of saying lazy. The government can provide all that you need. God help us.....

[capt hastings]

03:12 PM on 06/21/2011

Parental consent should be obtained and/or information about the content of the survey sent home BEFORE it's given to students. This is standard procedure with Human Growth and Development/Sexuality curriculum in most districts. Matierial, including videos and handouts, should be available for parents to preview.

There is value for "The Whole" in collecting this type of data, but parents are responsiblity for making decisions for their child based upon his or her best interests - you can't ask parents to be more involved and responsible for their student's school experience and then cut them out of the picture in select areas.

[GandenT]

04:40 PM on 06/20/2011

Ignorance of reality and society is a fundamental right of all students, educators, and parents. Thank you Ms. Tessitore for standing up for this important principle and keeping our schools and school system free from knowledge!

[Somerglesias]

12:47 AM on 06/20/2011

i still don't see the problem. who cares it was about sex? are we really a nation of 6 year olds that overreact everytime we see or talk about pee-pee parts?

[ka0226]

05:27 PM on 06/18/2011

This is Bush's fault.

I like the principals response that they did it for a grant survey. Grant survey = liberal government handouts.

[novabird]

02:35 PM on 06/18/2011

Many kids 12-14 are engaging in sexual practices with each other. We don't like to think about this but it is happening. We have to find an enlightened way of discussing sexuality so young people are empowered to say no and wait until they are older. Ignorance, silence and shame results in many young girls being subtly peer pressured into having sex too early when it is in their best interests to wait.

[sdmcmla]

07:39 PM on 06/18/2011

So what? That does not make it the business of the school to get into explicit questions of a sexual nature without prior notice to the families. Parents may want to be a part of these discussions. The school could have simply sent home a note explaining what they were going to do, so the parents would have been informed. It would not have taken much work, and would have prevented a whole lot of misunderstandings.

[4 KBH]

10:59 AM on 06/19/2011

they did send home information. the issue is that 1) this mother "claims" to not have received the notice (um...perhaps her daughter didn't give it to her? not the school's fault) and 2) the survey uses "passive consent", in the absence of no "opt out" from the parents. perhaps she should begin with a conversation with her daughters by insisting that ALL NOTES COME HOME!. but that's too easy, and doesn't make for good news coverage or manufactured outrage.

[abbienormal]

09:38 AM on 06/18/2011

Surveys such as these have higher than minimal risk and require written informed consent:

http://sciserv.org/isef/rules/rules7.pdf

[abbienormal]

09:31 AM on 06/18/2011

The lawyer is right, but does not go far enough. There are clear rules requiring active consent when using human subjects for experimentation or surveys. And, more importantly, the rules for children say that the children themselves can opt out of any experiment or survey at any time - even in the middle of the manipulation. The wishes of the children trump the wishes of the parents in the decision to decline to participate.

Parents should advise children of these rules for their own protection.

[4 KBH]

09:29 AM on 06/18/2011

these "inappropriate questions" are part of the youth risk behavior survey, developed by the CDC. the purpose of the survey is to collect data on adolescent risk behavior (including injury, violence, substance use, mental health and suicide risk, unhealthy eating behaviors, physical inactivity and yes, sexual behavior). the fact that folks have targeted on section of the survey is laughable. perhaps if parents would READ THE RESULTS of the survey, they'd understand why this is being administered. in addition, there is an option to opt out. of which these girls could have done, without penalty. no student is FORCED to take this survey. yet, when parents wish to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that "no, not my child" they will be the one's on the news slap-faced surprised when something happens in their town.

the YRBS has one purpose: to track adolescent health trends in order to influence public health research and targeted interventions to address these risk trends.

ever wonder why there was a big push to get vending machines out of schools? partly because data provided by the YRBS indicated a high incidence of "self-reported" unhealthy eating habits.

wonder why we know that >70% of teens are sexually active by the 12th grade? the YRBS.

get over it folks...

[4 KBH]

09:51 AM on 06/18/2011

typo:

"the fact that folks have targeted ONE section of the survey is laughable.

[sdmcmla]

07:33 PM on 06/18/2011

You do understand that minor children are not actually capable of giving consent, right?

[4 KBH]

11:31 PM on 06/18/2011

yes i do. but they are required to give "assent" of which, if she was not "comfortable" could have simply left the room. i also need to revisit the point of the survey (which i think is missed here): the survey asks questions to determine adolescent health trends. the same surveys are used in european countries without all the outrage. seriously, can we talk about the RESULTS of the survey? now that's the part that should outrage folks...

[caesarf]

08:37 AM on 06/18/2011

The huffingtonpost news reader's faux prudery is annoying. I hope HP is not planning to do continue reporting news in this Fox news-esque manner.

[armstrong st]

04:45 AM on 06/18/2011

I'm not sure how it is in Massachusetts but if there's a sex education course in the curricular what's wrong with such a survey then? Children should be instructed on the major issues concerning sex in order to be aware. But it of course depends what kind of questions there were in the survey.

Steve from www.essaytask.com

[O K Ali]

08:27 PM on 06/17/2011

To this day, I'm glad my mother caught me in the basement with the neighbors daughter. I was only 12 years old and about to do something I had no business experimenting with as such a young age. Instead of shaming me, she gave the talk, a couple of books on the subject of sexuality, and a deadline for a detailed book report, which killed my summer. By the time sex-ed was introduced in my class, it was a few years too late for some of my classmates.

[miamorphos]

05:09 PM on 06/17/2011

Tessitore's anti-psychiatry/anti-psychology orientation may stem from involvement in Scientology, as she was publicly listed as having completed some of the introductory levels in the organization. She participated in a film entitled "Making a Killing," which was intended to expose how the "psychs" were attacking humanity. (The "psychs" are generally the bad guys in the space opera that Scientologists believe we are all a part of.) Some of Tessitore's anti-psych work can be found all over the web. Here she is giving expert testimony to the FDA about the downside of psychiatric meds:
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/05n0354/05N-0354-EC331.htm
While they sound a little off at times, the Scientologists are not wrong about the off-label use of these meds. Still, it helps to contextualize the intensity of Tessitore's complaints about her children. I agree that the school should send a letter home announcing that the survey will be administered, so that people whose families believe themselves to be engaged in an ongoing war with "psychs" can politely decline.

[miamorphos]

07:17 PM on 06/17/2011

I'm sure she's a good mother, and I think that she's acting because she legitimately believes that her children's rights were compromised. I'm just a little wary of some of the other things here. The Rutherford Institute's involvement, for example. Her seemingly over-the-top contempt for the psychological profession as well.

[HeresaClue]

03:13 PM on 06/18/2011

I'm sure she's trying to be a good mother, but shielding 12-14 year old children from any mention or information about sex is not responsible parenting.

[MetzyMom]

12:40 PM on 06/18/2011

I think she saw a chance for 15 minutes of fame...

[imusintheevening]

04:36 PM on 06/17/2011

mom sticks head in sand while daughters give it