Can my child be asked about beliefs, feelings, or family life in a school survey without me knowing?

What to do

1. Ask the school, in writing, what surveys are planned this year and which of them collect protected information.
2. Ask for the full text of any such survey. The law entitles you to it, digitally or in person, before you decide.
3. Give or withhold consent in writing. Silence is not consent for protected information surveys — the law requires an opt-in.
4. Watch for the named public-health exceptions, which work the opposite way: those may be administered unless you opt out.
5. If a survey was given without consent, that is a concern you can raise formally under G.S. 115C-76.60.

What counts as protected information

§ 115C-76.65(a)(2) defines a protected information survey as one revealing information concerning any of the following. Quoted from the statute:

• 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, antisocial, 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.
• Income, other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program.

Note how several of those cover the parent as well as the child. A survey asking a fourth-grader about their family’s religious practices or political affiliation falls inside this list.

The consent standard

For a survey covering any of the above, the school needs prior written or electronic consent from the parent — or from an adult student, meaning one who is 18 or older or an emancipated minor. This is opt-in. A form sent home that you did not return is not consent.

The notice you are owed

At least ten days in advance, the school must give you the process for providing consent and the full text of the survey, available both digitally and in person. You are entitled to read the actual questions before deciding — not a description of them.

The exceptions, which run the other way

Certain public health instruments — the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, the National Youth Tobacco Survey, and the North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey — may be administered without prior consent. For those, parents must be given notice and the chance to opt out. If you object to those specifically, you have to act rather than simply not respond.