Senate Bill Would Bypass Parents To Give Students Surveys

Senate Bill 8 would allow schools to give out an informational survey if parents don't object.

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By Corey Allen-Young
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Story Created: Mar 28, 2011 at 11:02 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 29, 2011 at 9:53 AM AKDT

In a battle over notification rights, lawmakers in Juneau are debating whether to bypass parents to find out about their children’s risky behaviors.

Senate Bill 8 would allow schools to give out an informational survey if parents don't object.

But for some parents, it’s a violation of rights in determining what's best for their kids.

Trying to get more of Alaska's kids filling out the CDC’s At-Risk Survey, the idea is to find out what harmful things kids are doing and to figure out how to get them the help they need.

By knowing what the statistics are, programs can be implemented to address them.

“When you live in a state that has the worst rates of sex abuse of a minor in the nation, when you live in a state that has the worst rates of sexual assault in the nation, yes, you do have to ask some intrusive questions,” said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage. “But you do so by a way of trying to find out what's happening in the world."

But the bill would not require parent permission for students to give out information anonymously unless the there is an objection beforehand. 

“If that particular paper slips through and I don't give them the consent paper saying 'no', they are going to ask my fourteen-year-old daughter if she smoked marijuana the last time she had sex,” said Jim Minnery, president of the Alaska Family Council, an organization pushing for parents to be informed.

With questions about sex, drugs, and alcohol on this CDC survey, the idea is to get a handle on Alaska teens' risky behavior.

But it's not the questions that bother parents, it's not notifying them that has them feeling violated.

“Parental prerogative trumps other things when it's the parents who the kids belong to. It's their decision,” said Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla.

“We have legal responsibilities for our children. Because of that legal responsibility, I believe I have the legal right to know,” said Elizabeth Marin, a mother of two daughters.

She says the simple solution is giving parents an option to say "yes" or "no" on things being done in the schools.

“If they are going to be asking my kid something then I need to know what it is and what the results are,” said Marin.

“That's an assumption, I don't have a problem with that question, and it's not saying that no one should have the right to have their kids participate in these surveys,” said Minnery. “It's just a big assumption that the parents don't have a problem with it.”

With the personal information of Alaska's children on the line, parents say they just want to be involved. 

“If they want to ask them things about their sexual lives, then fine. There is a way to help but they need to do that within my guidelines and my beliefs, “ said Marin.

Parents can opt their kids out of participating in the national survey.

Senate Bill 8 passed Monday 14 to 6; the bill is set for a reconsideration vote Wednesday. If the bill passes, it will then head to the State House.

Supporters of the bill say an increase in Alaska's statistics would allow for more programs to be put in place to help kids who need it the most.

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