Summary:
HB 182 establishes guidelines for conducting student surveys and mandates parental approval for certain types of surveys within public schools. Parents must be notified in advance about upcoming surveys that may require consent, have sufficient time to review the content, and be told that they can decide their child's participation.
Rationale:
HB 182 53E-9-203 Student Survey Amendments. The amended Section 53E-9-203 outlines the requirements concerning student surveys. This ensures transparency and parental control over sensitive student information collected by schools.
Requirements for Implementation:
Prior Written Consent:
- LEAs must obtain prior written consent from a student's parent before administering any psychological, psychiatric examination, test, treatment, or any survey, analysis, or evaluation that seeks personal information. This includes data related to:
- Political affiliations or philosophies
- Mental or psychological issues
- Sexual behavior, orientation, or attitudes
- Illegal or self-incriminating behavior
- Critical appraisals of close family members
- Religious affiliations or beliefs
- Privileged relationships (e.g., with lawyers or medical personnel)
- Family income (unless required by law) 2. Annual Consent: LEAs must obtain annual written consent for students to opt in during registration for specific surveys, including those related to:
- Early warning systems
- Social-emotional learning
- School climate
Unless otherwise agreed to by a student's parent and the person requesting written consent, the authorization is valid only for the activity for which it was granted. Failing to respond will be considered opting out of the survey.
3. Applicability: This requirement applies to all grades (K-12) and extends to all curriculum and school activities unless consent has been given.
4. Restrictions: LEAs cannot use consent from a previous school if a student transfers, nor can they reward or penalize students for participation or non-participation in such surveys or examinations. A written withdrawal of authorization submitted to the school principal by the authorizing parent terminates the authorization. A general consent used to approve admission to school or involvement in special education, remedial education, or a school activity does not constitute written consent
5. Parental Notification: The local educational agency shall directly notify the parent of a student, at least annually at the beginning of the school year, of the specific or approximate dates during the school year when activities described in item #2 are scheduled or expected to be scheduled. Consent is valid only if parents are first given written notice, including access to the survey questions, information on how the data will be used, who will have access to it, and the purpose of the data collection. Surveys must also be made available online for parents to review.
- A school may administer a survey to students that does not request personal information or address on sensitive topics (e.g., political beliefs, religious affiliations, sexual orientation, mental health, etc.), or early warning systems, social-emotional learning, or school climate without prior written parental consent.
6. External Surveys. It is the right of a parent to inspect, upon the request of the parent, a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to a student (20 USC §1232h - Protection of Pupil Rights (PPRA)). All surveys from external partners, stakeholders, or agencies must be approved through the district’s external research request approval process first. Only surveys that have been approved for use in the district can be provided to parents to review and provide opt-in approval for their student’s participation. If an external party requests permission to administer a survey, direct them to the external research link.
Expectations for Implementation:
1. Communication:
o Administrators will communicate to all staff that surveys cannot be administered to students without review and administrator approval.
o If a survey goes out without approval, the administrator is responsible for addressing the issue with the teacher, including documented progressive discipline.
o Administrators should direct external participants who want a school to administer a survey to the external research approval process.
o Administrators are responsible for seeking clarity by asking questions when unclear.
o Administrators are responsible for sharing the information with impacted staff and the general school community in a clear and timely fashion.
2. Collaboration:
o If you have a question about the content of a survey, please contact Tiffany Hall and/or Sam Quantz before administering the survey.
3. Evaluation:
o The district will regularly assess the impact of any changes to our current practice by seeking feedback and will adjust as needed based on that information.
Conclusion:
For any survey related to sensitive topics, early warning systems, social-emotional learning, or school climate, the school must provide detailed information to parents, including the purpose, content, and how the data will be used. Additionally, parents must be allowed to review the survey and must provide written consent before their child participates.
Without parental consent, schools are limited to administering non-sensitive surveys that do not intrude into personal, familial, or confidential areas of a student's life.
Your cooperation and support in this endeavor are greatly appreciated.
For 2024-2025 ONLY:
Surveys that have not been approved through the registration process and that fall into one of the categories listed above as needed parental approval may go through a post-registration process this year only. If a school or external third party with an approved application wishes to administer a school climate or an SEL survey, they must complete the following:
1. Provide all parents with a description of (1) the purpose of the survey, (2) what information will be collected about the respondents, (3) how the information about the respondents and the information from the survey will be used, (4) who will have access to the data, and (5) how the data will be protected. Include the full text of the survey so parents can review all questions.
2. Inform parents that they must respond and agree to opt-in their student or to opt their student out of taking the survey. Failing to respond will be considered opting out of the survey.
3. Send this information to parents using an appropriate method: work with IT to setup a parent opt-in form that will allow the invitations and responses to be tracked and recorded.
4. After the deadline, which should be at least two weeks and include at least one reminder, schools may send the survey to anyone who has responded and opted-in their student for participation in the survey.
Questions? Tiffany Hall, Sam Quantz, Kristina Kindl
