Wisconsin schools change policy on controversial surveys

Wisconsin schools change policy on controversial surveys

A public school district in Wisconsin admits that it goofed when it gave a sex and drug survey to students without parental consent.

The case came to light after Gary Sowin, whose daughter Shannon attended the tenth-grade at Mayville High School, was given a copy of the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey that had been given to Shannon and her classmates. That survey contained ten explicit questions about sexual activities, many of which presumed the student had already engaged in premarital sex more than once. Other questions on the survey were about alcohol, illegal drug use, and suicide.

After attempting for several months to resolve the issue with school officials, Gary Sowin contacted Liberty Counsel, which then sent a demand letter to the district. Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver says the district has now revised its policy.

"This new policy will say that any time they have a survey such as this, first of all, they will notify the parents and then allow the parents to opt their children out of school," says Staver. "I think it's very clear that public schools are required to notify parents regarding these controversial surveys, and parents have the right in most cases to opt their children out from participating in such intrusive surveys. Children in public schools are not social science research projects."

He says that most states already have a requirement of parental notification in cases such as this. Furthermore, he says there is also some federal law pertaining to various kinds of surveys in which parents need to be notified, with the option to opt out.

The new policy, put in place by the Wisconsin school district, covers surveys of attitudes on a number of personal matters such as sex, illegal behavior, mental health, and psychological problems.