This fact sheet details the laws that apply to administering surveys to students in schools and school districts using passive parental consent. The Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health Student Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) all use passive parental consent when they are administered in the schools.
Passive parental consent is when parents are informed about the survey and are given the opportunity to opt-out of having their child participate in the survey. If a parent does not return the portion of the information letter indicating that they are opting-out of the survey, then the student is assumed to have parental consent. Because the surveys are voluntary, students still have the option to participate in the survey or not. They can skip any question they do not want to answer.
This fact sheet addresses the legislation on parental consent for school-based surveys.
In general, active parental consent is needed for a survey when all of the following items occur:
- The survey is developed or administered using U.S. Department of Education money,
- The survey requires student participation, and
- It includes one or more of the categories from the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.
The student surveys listed above are not federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education and do not require student participation (participation is voluntary), therefore active consent is not required for these surveys and they can use passive parental consent.
| Federal Legislation on Parent Permission for School-Based Surveys | ||||
| Name | Citation | Enacted | Details | Impact on the PFS Youth Survey, YRBS and YTS |
| Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
(a.k.a. the Hatch Amendment or Grassley Amendment) |
Goals 2000: Education America Act, Public Law No. 103-227 §1017, 108 Stat. 125 (1994). | 1994 | This requires written consent for required surveys funded by the U.S. Department of Education on seven topics. The topics are political affiliation or beliefs; mental or psychological problems; sexual behaviors or attitudes; illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behaviors; close family relationships; legally recognized privileged relationships; and income. | None. The three surveys are not required, they are voluntary. Parents and choose to withdraw or opt-out of having thier child participate. Students can choose not to participate in any part of the surveys. |
| Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (a.k.a. the Tiahrt Amendment) | No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public Law No. 107-110 §1061, 115 Stat. 2083 (2002). | 2002 | Reauthorizes PPRA and adds an additional topic for the requirement of written consent – religious practices. It also adds three new requirements: (1) schools must have a policy to protect student privacy, (2) parents must be able to inspect questionnaire, and (3) parents must be able to “opt the student out.” | Some.The surveys listed above have protocols in place for all three requirements.
(1) The students are advised to not put their name or any other identifying information on the survey. The students will be placed around the classroom such that other students cannot see their responses. The teacher is instructed to stay in the front of the classroom and not walk around the room while students complete the surveys. When finished, the students will place their surveys in a common classroom envelope which will be sealed immediately after the survey administration. (2) The parents are able to view a blank copy of the questionnaire. It is available in each principal’s office and on the internet. (3) Schools will inform parents about the survey and provide a method for parents to “opt” the student out of the survey. This may be done via a school newsletter, letters sent to parents, or any other method chosen by the school. These forms will allow the parents to “opt” the student out of the surveys. |
| FERPA (a.k.a. Buckley Amendment) | 20 U.S.C. § 1232g | 1974 | This is a federal law that protects the privacy of a student’s educational records. It applies to all educational agencies or institutions that receive funds under any program administered by the Secretary of Education. The specific concern of this Act was the ability to personally identify the students of the survey. “Personally identifiable information” includes, but is not limited to: (a) The student’s name; (b) The name of the student’s parent or other family member; (c) The address of the student or student’s family; (d) A personal identifier, such as the student’s Social Security number or student number; (e) A list of personal characteristics that would make the student’s identity easily traceable; or (f) Other information that would make the student’s identity easily traceable. |
Some. The three surveys do not ask the student for any identifying information. The instructions specifically request the students to not include their name or identifying characteristics on the survey booklet or bubble sheet. The surveys are placed and shipped in a sealed envelope. Upon being returned to the researchers, the surveys will be scanned and analyzed. The analyzed results will only be released as a compilation and there will not be any capability to connect individual students to the data. To further protect confidentiality, the results are not broken down by gender or ethnicity in the rural schools with small populations of students. |