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Burlington's School Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to delay adoption of updated health and physical education standards until January 2027, when the district expects to present a complete framework including standards on sexual health, gender identity, and sexual orientation that require additional review.

The 5-0 vote came after Superintendent Dr. Eric Conti recommended the delay, reversing the approach the district had suggested at the committee's June 9 meeting. At that meeting, Assistant Superintendent Lisa Chen had urged the committee to approve the 267 completed standards so teachers could begin working on curriculum while the remaining ones were still under development.

"There's no intention of shortchanging any of the human sexuality or the identity or the LGBTQ conversations," Conti told the committee Tuesday, explaining that sexual health standards are unique due to their opt-out nature. Lessons must be available for families to review when deciding whether or not to opt their students out of instruction regarding human sexuality, which means that work needs to be done ahead of curriculum adoption.

The decision follows a close 2-2 vote at the June 9 meeting in which the committee declined to approve the partial framework. With the full committee present Tuesday, consensus around waiting emerged quickly.

"I like that we're just slowing down," said School Committee member Melissa Massardo, who is also a member of the Wellness Committee. "I want to see the whole thing together."

Even member Meghan Nawoichik (also on the Wellness Committee), who had voted against the delay at the June 9 meeting, supported it on June 22. "I understand that some people really feel that this is sending a message that is completely unintentional," she said, adding that she remains personally disappointed that students won't have access to the updated standards sooner.

School Committee Chair Christine Monaco was direct about her confidence in the final outcome. "There is no doubt in my mind that when the time comes, you have my vote on accepting the standards that have already been completed, plus the ones that still need to be done," she told Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lisa Chen.

The Wellness Committee will resume meetings on October 8, with sessions planned through the fall to complete review of the remaining 21 standards. Those meetings are public, and community members are welcome to attend. All meeting agendas, minutes, and standards documents are posted on the district website.

Chen said teachers will spend the summer reviewing five state-recommended curricula.

Health and PE Department Chair Amy Doughty said once lessons are developed, they will be made available online for parents to preview before any vote — consistent with the district's existing practice for sexual health content, which currently requires advance parental notification and allows opt-out in grades 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.

School Committee member Jeremy Brooks raised the point that the updated standards are not, in fact, state-mandated. Physical education is required, and basic health education is addressed in a school committee policy, but the sexual health and gender identity standards are subject to local control. Doughty confirmed that the state leaves framework implementation to districts. Burlington has chosen to pursue the updated standards — and the full committee appears committed to seeing that process through to completion.

The district remains on 1999 health and PE standards in the meantime. A first reading of the complete framework is expected before the January 2027 vote.

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