TEXAS JOURNAL, JANUARY 25, 1999

Parents Win A Big One In San Antonio

ANGRY PARENTS WHO SUED when their children were subjected to

psychological surveys without parental consent have won major

concessions from the San Antonio Independent School District with

the aid of the Texas Justice Foundation.

At issue was a series of questionnaires and writing assignments,

given over a period of three years, to pupils in the third, fourth

and fifth grades. The surveys were part of a program called Aca-

demic Coaching Packet. One of the questionnaires, titled "Getting

To Know You," required children to answer a number of personal

questions including:

"If you have a step-parent, please tell me what kind of rela-

tionship you have with that step-parent."

"How do you get along at home?"

"What do you consider to be the best thing about your home and

the worst?"

"Do you have a hard time controlling your temper?"

"Has anybody close to you died in the last year or so? If Yes,

tell who? When? How?

"If you could change one thing about your family what would it

be and why?"

"If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be

and why?"

"What's the most difficult thing for you in your life right now

and why?"

"What's the thing you need most that you are not getting from

your family?"

The questionnaire instructs the student to select one of eight

"group counseling sessions" to participate in. These include

"Interpersonal relationship" and "Parent/Teen Conflict."

It ends with the general query, "Is there anything extra you

would like to tell me about yourself?"

In a separate "Diversity Survey" pupils were forced to state

whether they live with two parents, one parent, or stepparents;

respond to "I have a strong cultural identity with my ancestral

culture," and then check one of several blocks indicating their

ethnic origins.

Then the children were asked whether they keep the "traditions

of my ancestral culture," whether the traditions are important to

them and whether they speak a foreign language at home.

One plaintiff said her 10-year-old daughter was obliged to

respond to such probes as:

"My parents expect too much of me."

"There are many times when I'd like to leave home."

"I usually feel my parents are pushing me,"

"No one pays much attention to me at home."

"I really don't like being a boy/girl."

The probing of gender preference also turned up on a list of

mandatory writing topics. These included: "Do you ever wish you

were a boy or a girl instead of what you are?"

"Your mom is letting you decide if you want a baby brother or

sister or neither. Who would you choose?

One pupil was required to write on these topics even after her

mother protested and the teacher said the mother could pick some

topics.

One survey, sounding rather like a Barbara Walters interview,

asked the children to indicate whether they are more like a fly

swatter or flypaper, patent leather or suede, a screened porch or

a picture window, a clothesline or kite string, religious or

irreligious, political or apolitical, a bubbling brook or placid

lake.

In their complaint, the parents assert "There is no doubt that

the psychological questions asked of the children of the

Plaintiff's intrusively delved into the minors' family life and

their feelings and emotions concerning the relationship they have

with their parent(s)."

The complaint noted that such invasions of privacy without

parental consent violate both Federal and Texas law. The district

was also charged with violating the "statutory and constitutional"

rights of the parents to "direct the moral, religious and edu-

cational training and upbringing" of their children.

In addition, the suit alleged, when parents tried to exercise

their rights in regard to the surveys, the district retaliated

subjecting the children to "harassment and intimidation." The

parents charged they were not allowed to see the results of these

psychological surveys administered to their children which is also

a violation of Federal and state law.

The suit was settled by mediation. Under the terms of the set-

tlement, the school district agreed to:

Create a district-wide parents committee to review surveys

which the committee believes might be intrusive prior to

submitting them to the school board for approval.

Shred, in the presence of parents' representatives, all the

original intrusive surveys from one of the district high schools.

Allan Parker, TJF president, said the records should be destroyed

since the district had no right to create them in the first place.

Notify the parents of children at that high school that they

may review a copy of their child's questionnaire before it's

destroyed.

Obtain parental consent for guidance counseling, psychological

exams, and intrusive surveys. The request for consent will notify

parents the survey covers such topics as political affiliation,

sexual behavior and attitudes, mental and psychological problems

potentially embarrassing to the student and family, critical ap-

praisal of persons with whom the pupil has a close family relation-

ship, illegal and demeaning behavior, and legally recognized privi-

leged relationships such as with lawyers, doctors, and ministers.

Parents will also be told they may have a copy of the survey

before and after it is administered.

Restrict Academic Coaching Classes to academic issues, not

counseling. Parents had complained they were designed for the

teacher to become a surrogate parent.

Train its staff to recognize parental rights under state and

federal law and instruct employees that they may not retaliate,

intimidate, interrogate, or harass students or

parents because the student or parent exercised their rights.

Make education records available for review by parents and

legal guardians and instruct its staff that minor students may not

be told records are confidential from parents unless otherwise

allowed by law.

Staff shouldn't tell students records will be confidential from

their parents, since parents have a right to review all school

district records about their child, Parker said.

According to Thomas Stack, a TJF attorney, mediation yielded

gains the parents probably couldn't get in court where they can

only get what the law requires, The settlement offers more includ-

ing creation of a parents' review committee to examine surveys for

excessive intrusiveness.

The committee, he said, is in addition to the legally required

protection of parental consent which is a safeguard against any at-

tempt by the district to stack the committee.

TJF has prepared a five page "Notice and Declaration of Parental

Rights" which sets out the rights of parents and the limits on the

authority of public schools. It also cites the statute supporting

each assertion.

Parents are urged to present this document to the school

authorities at the beginning of the school year to put them on

notice that parental rights are not lost when a child enters a

school building.

Copies of the Notice and Declaration are available from: Texas

Justice Foundation, 8122 Datapoint #812, San Antonio TX 78229 or

from the Texas Journal.