Back-to-school season was in full swing last month, and that meant that many public school students received “get-to-know-you” surveys from their teachers. But in some schools, what should be a harmless exercise is turned into an intrusive foray into students’ beliefs about sex and gender. Once again this year, we were alerted by multiple parents that their children had been asked questions about their “preferred pronouns” without parental knowledge or consent. But these surveys didn’t stop there; they also offered to hide students’ responses from parents and told students they could have a private conversation with their teacher about their pronouns. To top it all off, these questions were marked as mandatory – students could not opt out if they were uncomfortable being asked about these sensitive issues.
You can see screenshots of the intrusive survey questions given to students at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica and Dover-Sherborn High School in Dover below:
These surveys weren’t just egregious violations of student privacy and parental rights; they also violated federal law. The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) specifically states that school districts cannot require students to answer survey questions about “sex behavior and attitudes” or other protected categories without obtaining parental consent. This is the same law that we used to push back against the explicit sex survey in Burlington last year, prompting a federal investigation there.
When we learned about these violations, we immediately sent these schools legal demand letters on behalf of the affected parents. But we didn’t stop there. We also filed federal PPRA complaints with the Department of Education, outlining how these schools had violated the law. Schools that violate the PPRA can be subject to significant consequences, including losing their federal funding. You can read our demand letters below:
After receiving our letter, Shawsheen Tech quickly decided it wasn’t worth putting up a fight and agreed in writing that they will get affirmative parental consent before administering any more pronoun surveys to students. This victory will protect students and parents there from future violations of their rights.
Dover-Sherborn, which administered the worst survey we’ve seen, finally responded to our demand this week through their legal counsel. Like Shawsheen Tech, they decided to fold rather than fight. Their lawyer confirmed that “the Superintendent has directed all principals to ensure that introductory student surveys (like those at issue in your letter) do not include questions addressing pronouns moving forward.” In other words, they didn’t simply agree to get parental consent to ask these questions – they cut them out entirely!
Now students in this district will not have to be subjected to inappropriate and intrusive questions intended to indoctrinate them in gender ideology. However, we informed the district’s legal counsel that unless they provide written assurances that they will get parental consent for all surveys that ask about students’ pronouns or gender identity (not just introductory ones), we will continue our complaint with the Department of Education. We are waiting on their response.
These victories show what can happen when a few determined parents decide they want to speak up about their rights and their kids’ privacy rather than simply letting these violations happen. The law is more favorable to parents than ever on this issue. MLLC is poised to take advantage of these positive legal developments to protect the rights of parents and students.
If you or someone you know have children in public school who have been given similar surveys without your consent, we want to hear from you. Contact us at contact@malibertylegal.org.