The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (“PPRA”) is a federal law that establishes rights for parents and students regarding the administration of certain surveys and questionnaires, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical exams. These rights are as follows:
- No student is required, as part of any federally funded program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning
- political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parent;
- mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family;
- sex behavior or attitudes;
- illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
- critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
- legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
- religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student's parent; or
- income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program), without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent.
- The School Board must notify parents in writing at least 30 days prior to administering a questionnaire or survey that requests information from a student regarding
- sexual information,
- mental health information,
- Medical information,
- Information on student health risk behaviors pursuant to the Code of Virginia § 32.1-73.8,
- Information on controlled substance use, or
- Any other information the School Board deems to be sensitive in nature.
Parents have the right to opt their student out of participating in these types of questionnaires and surveys. When parents receive a notice of an upcoming survey or questionnaire, parents will be provided with instructions about how to opt their student out of the survey.
The PPRA requires school divisions to provide notice of their policy controlling the administration of surveys on certain sensitive topics including political or religious beliefs and behavior involving sex or illegal conduct. This notice must be given directly to the parents of students enrolled in the division. The notice must be given at least annually at the beginning of the school year and within a reasonable time after any substantive change in the policy.
For more information, please review FCPS Policy 619P, Community Relations - Administration of Surveys and Questionnaires.
For additional information, please see the following: