TRI In The News
School Board: Explicit Survey Unnecessary
9/19/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: SCHOOL BOARD: EXPLICIT SURVEY UNNECESSARY
From One News Now
Original article available here.
Because one mother stood her ground, public schools in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, have decided to stop administering a sex survey to young students.
Arlene Tessitore was upset that her middle-school daughters were being subjected to the "Youth Risk Behavior Survey" without her permission. When she learned about the explicit content of the questionnaire, which asked students as young as 10 or 11 years old about sexual behavior, she asked The Rutherford Institute to step in with legal advice.
"We appealed to the [Massachusetts] Department of Education, and the school decided it didn't want to fight this anymore," reports John Whitehead, president of the legal group. "But it's a reasoned decision, because kids really, in my opinion, don't need to be asked these kinds of questions. And if they [are], federal law requires written consent."
Because the schools receive federal funds for conducting these surveys, Whitehead expects other districts to be reluctant about changing their policies. "So, it's a matter of money," he concludes. "What it will take, in my opinion, is parents objecting."
In response to the legal attention, the Fitchburg district superintendent and principals have decided that the survey is not necessary to gather information about students who practice at-risk behaviors.
