Finally, New Hampshire parents have a reason to celebrate. Governor Chris Sununu signed SB43 into law today. SB 43 will require written consent from parents before school administrators can survey children with invasive surveys. In the past, parents have been shocked to find out that their children filled out a survey at school that included invasive questions on their; sexual preference, family gun ownership, drug and alcohol usage and other invasive questions. A big thank you to Governor Sununu and Senator Kevin Avard who was the prime sponsor.
This information personal information is collected by private vendors, and parents had no idea that their children were surveyed or where that information went. School personnel would assure parents that this information was anonymous but tech industry experts would dispute that claim noting that with three data points, an individual could be identified.
During the hearing on SB43 there was testimony that a teacher asked students to stand up and move forward or backward based on their answers. She would then take pictures of the students based on how they answered the questions. Some surveys were recovered after parents requested that it be destroyed. Some students thought the survey was a test and put their name on it. So much for anonymity.
Bureaucrats objected to SB43 because they feared they would lose grant money if parents didn’t consent to the surveys. In other words, they wanted to keep parents in the dark in order to get more participation from students.
Who did Governor Hassan help by vetoing this legislation in the past? Not parents. It did help the vendors who profited off of schools and taxpayers who pay for these surveys.
SB43 has one downside, it does exempt the CDC survey from the law. If your district uses the CDC survey, they will not be required to obtain written consent but they will still be required to notify you. You can request written consent on the CDC survey from your local school board as a district policy.
For now, this is a huge step forward for parental rights in New Hampshire.
Who voted AGAINST Parental Rights in the Senate? Make sure you let these Senators know that parental rights matter!!
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Ann Marie Banfield began volunteering as Cornerstone’s Education Liaison in 2009. As an education researcher and activist she took her decade long research on education to Concord to lobby on behalf of parental rights and literacy. Working with experts in education from across the country, she offers valuable insight into problems and successes in education. She holds a B.A. in Business Management from Franklin University in Columbus Ohio. Ann Marie and her husband have three children and reside in Bedford, NH
