What To Do If Your Child Takes a Non-Academic Survey In School Without Your Consent - Granite Grok

What To Do If Your Child Takes a Non-Academic Survey In School Without Your Consent

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New Hampshire law requires that parents are informed and consent to any non-academic survey given to their children in public schools. The only exception is, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Parents have reported that their child has taken a non-academic survey and that they never consented. This could be a direct violation of state law which says:

The policy shall provide that no student shall be required to volunteer for or submit to a non-academic survey or questionnaire, as defined in this paragraph, without written consent of a parent or legal guardian unless the student is an adult or an emancipated minor. The policy shall include an exception from the consent requirement for the youth risk behavior survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The policy shall also allow a parent or legal guardian to opt-out of the youth risk behavior survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The school district shall make such surveys or questionnaires available, at the school and on the school or school district’s website, for review by a student’s parent or legal guardian at least 10 days prior to distribution to students. In this paragraph, “non-academic survey or questionnaire” means surveys, questionnaires, or other documents designed to elicit information about a student’s social behavior, family life, religion, politics, sexual orientation, sexual activity, drug use, or any other information not related to a student’s academics.

Has your child taken a non-academic survey at school, and does the staff follow the law that requires the district to make it available on the district website 10 days prior to distribution? Did you consent? If not, you can take this information to the New Hampshire Department of Education, and file a complaint.

If you need to first access information to present to the NH DoE, I would suggest filing a 91-a Right to Know Request. Here is an example that you can use.  Make sure you copy all of your School Board Members.
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Dear Superintendent________________,

Pursuant to the Right to Know Law (RSA. 91-A), I am requesting public access, within 5 business days, to the governmental records: For the District. 

1) Copies of all surveys/questionnaires/ etc. given to students to complete that include questions on: identity, sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, bullying, personality, traits, nationality, values, political affiliations, mental status, sexual behavior, illegal, anti-social, demeaning behavior, religious practices, and privilege. 

2) A copy of the parental/guardian notification and permission slip that had to be completed prior to their child’s participation. 

FROM the school year ______to present

Per RSA 91-A:4 IV(c) If you deny any portion of this request, please cite the specific exemption used to justify the denial to make each record, or part thereof, available for inspection along with a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the information withheld.

Please let me know when these records are available for inspection or you may email the records to me at EMAIL Address.

Sincerely,

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When the information you request is not provided because they did not make the survey available for review or issue a consent form, you can then forward all of this to Diana Fenton, attorney, who works for the New Hampshire Department of Education.
You can ask her to open up an investigation and let her know that a non-academic survey was given to the students but you never consented.
DIANA.FENTON@doe.nh.gov

 

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