Share This Article
In 2023, 23.2% of Massachusetts high school students identified as LGBT or reported being unsure of their sexual orientation or gender identity according to a recent report from The Fenway Institute and the Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation.
In Sudbury that year, only 62% of gender diverse Curtis Middle schoolers reported feeling welcome by their peers most of the time, significantly lower than their peers.
The Trevor Project released the results of their 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People and the findings are bleak. The Massachusetts data tells a story of children in desperate need of help:
- 39% of LGBTQ+ young people in Massachusetts seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 47% of transgender and nonbinary young people.
- 20% of LGBTQ+ young people in Massachusetts were physically threatened or harmed based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year.
- 54% of LGBTQ+ young people in Massachusetts experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year.
On October 3rd, 2024, Worcester School District launched their LGBTQ+ Family Advisory Council (FAC), making them the first district in MA to create a FAC/PAC for this protected class. Worcester went above and beyond current MA state requirements to meet the needs of their LGBTQ+ students and families. In October, 2025, Sudbury Public Schools School Committee followed Worcester’s lead becoming the second district in MA to take this step.
Later the same month, Sudbury Public Schools received state recognition for their work on the gender identity support policy and establishment of the LGBTQ+ Parent Advisory Council (PAC).
Parent Advisory Councils are not a new concept in Massachusetts. Special Education Parent Advisory Councils became mandated by MA state law in 1986. English Learner Parent Advisory Councils became part of MA state law in 2017, mandating the creation of an ELPAC if the district had 100 English Learner students or if 5% of the student body are English Learners.
PACs have continued to be part of the legislature because the evidence is clear – student outcomes, school connectedness, attendance, and well-being are strengthened when schools, families, and students work together in meaningful partnership.
Beginning in 2026, the Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ+ Students, a joint initiative of DESE and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ+ Youth, has begun uplifting LGBTQ+ PACs/FACs as an emerging best practice across the commonwealth to strengthen family engagement and support for LGBTQ+ students and families. The Worcester and SPS School Committees took bold and inclusive action and both are helping to shape best practices across Massachusetts.
Other school districts, like Beverly Public Schools, are now looking to SPS as a model to follow.
What’s next for PACs? The SPS School Committee should develop guidelines for making data-driven decisions when determining if a protected class needs the added level of district support from a PAC.
These guidelines should take into consideration academic achievement, attendance, high risk mental health symptoms, feelings of belonging at SPS, bullying incidence rates, discrimination or hate incidents toward the community, and other similar metrics. In April 2026, SPS presented the results of the 2025 School Connectedness Survey. The data showed that beyond gender diverse students, students of color (Black/African American and Multi-Racial) and students that “Live outside of Sudbury” felt significantly less connected to SPS than their peers. I believe there are other groups of students that need direct support and I believe the available data would substantiate the establishment of additional PACs, just like they did for the LGBTQ+ PAC.
I support the Sudbury Public Schools School Committee, their data-driven approach, and their responsiveness to students and families calling for action to ensure equity. I hope that they continue leading Massachusetts by expanding support for protected classes in the 2026-2027 school year.