Polish Catholic Church protests new mandatory health education curriculum

From the 2026/2027 school year, Poland's Ministry of Education will introduce a compulsory health‑education subject for primary and secondary schools, while lessons on sexual health will be optional and may be attended only if parents or adult students choose. The regulations set specific weekly hour limits that decrease each year.

The Catholic Commission of Education (KEP) has denounced the programme, describing it as "very concerning". It argues that the new curriculum removes sexual education from the context of marriage and family, ignores the input of the Polish Episcopal Conference, and fails to address prenatal life and family values. The commission says the approach marginalises the role of the family in sexual education.

The Ministry maintains that the changes comply with existing laws on family planning and prenatal life, and that the optional nature of the sexual‑health component resolves the controversy, though the Church remains opposed.