The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (the “PPRA”) applies, with some minor exceptions, to any program that receives funding from the Department of Education. Generally, the PPRA requires School Systems to obtain consent from parents or students over the age of 18 before administering a survey, analysis or evaluation that requires students to share certain types of sensitive information, such as:

• Political affiliations of the student or the student’s parent

• Mental and psychological problems of the student or the student’s parent

• Sex behaviors and attitudes

• Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior •

Critical appraisals of individuals that have a close family relationship with the student

• Legally privileged information, such as conversations with doctors, lawyers or clergy

• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent

• Income (other than information required by law to determine eligibility for financial aid)

The law also requires School Systems to provide parents and eligible students with access to instructional materials that are used in connection with the survey, analysis or evaluation.

Requirements applying to K-12 School Systems Only Development of Policies In addition to the requirements described above, which apply to all educational institutions receiving funding from the Department of Education, K-12 School Systems are required to do the following:

• Develop policies, in consultation with parents, addressing:

▪ How the School System plans to protect the privacy of the sensitive information described above that is collected by the School System, whether or not that information is collected as part of a survey, analysis or evaluation;

▪ How parents and eligible students can inspect surveys before they are administered, as well as instructional materials used as part of the educational curriculum;

▪ The administration of physical exams or screenings that the School System may administer to students;

▪ How the school plans to collect, disclose and protect personal information collected from students for marketing purposes or for purposes of selling that information; and

▪ The right of parents to inspect any instrument used to collect information to sell or for marketing purposes before it is used with the students, including the procedures to provide parents and eligible students with that access.

Parental Notification and Opt-Out In addition to requiring School Systems to develop certain policies, the PPRA also imposes obligations on K-12 School Systems that participate in any of the following activities:

• The collection of Personal Information from students to use for marketing or to sell to another party

• Any survey that asks students to provide Sensitive Information

• Any invasive, nonemergency physical examination that is required as a condition of a student’s school attendance

If you participate in any of these activities, you must:

• Notify parents and students 18 and older of policies surrounding these activities

• Notify parents and students 18 and older of times and dates when you plan to perform any of these activities

• Provide parents or students 18 and older the opportunity to opt-out of these activities