Parents are outraged after a Massachusetts school district allegedly forced children to take a survey their parents had recused them from, and now the Trump administration is investigating some of the complaints.
Burlington Public Schools is under fire from the feds for allegedly forcing students to participate in surveys that were graphic and sexual in nature.
The Boston Herald reported that students as young as 11 years old were required to take the survey.
According to the Boston Herald, the school district required students to take the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which included questions concerning “sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexting, experiences with sexual assault, alcohol use, and more.”
Even students whose parents had supposedly opted them out of participating in the survey allegedly took it, which, the Trump administration argues, may be a violation of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, given the nature of the questions.
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One of the survey questions reportedly read: “Sexual intercourse includes vaginal sex which is when a penis goes inside of a vagina, oral sex which is contact between the mouth and genitals, anal sex which is when the penis goes inside an anus (butt), and use of toys or props (vaginal or anal). Have you ever had sexual intercourse?”
A document on the Department of Education website explains that the PPRA protects the right of parents to consent to surveys and data collection of their students related to “eight protected areas,” including “sex behavior and attitudes.”
Parents also have the right to “receive notice and an opportunity to opt out of … any protected information survey administered or distributed to a student by [a] local educational agency that is a recipient of funds under an applicable program,” among a few other conditions.
Since the Department of Education states that parents must give “consent before students are required to submit” to such DOE-funded protected information surveys, the incident may have been a violation of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, as is being alleged in the investigation.
“Entities which are found to be in violation of PPRA and fail to take corrective action may lose federal funding,” a source familiar with the investigation at the Department of Education told Blaze News.
Notably, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is produced and collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
While the CDC’s website says that the YRBS is given only to students in grades 9-12, the Boston Herald reported that students as young as 11 years old were required to take the survey.
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