H-3524

AN ACT Relating to school tests, questionnaires, surveys, analyses, and evaluations; adding new sections to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. The legislature recognizes the desire of families to protect their individual privacy with regard to their personal and home life. The legislature also recognizes the desire of schools and educators to discover the complex structures of student lives. However, the legislature confirms that it is within the rightful authority of parents to determine how much personal information regarding their child and their family is divulged to schools and individual educators.

The legislature finds there are minimal safeguards against invasion of privacy provided by federal law that pertain to federal programs in our public schools. The legislature also finds there are even more scant protections provided under state rules pertaining to public schools, a recognized attempt to address the issue that unfortunately falls short of the protection needed. The legislature finds that these current efforts to protect student privacy are too narrow and allow schools to collect highly personal information about students and their families. It is therefore the intent of the legislature to specify clearly that schools shall not solicit highly personal information from students without first obtaining parental permission to do so.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. ELICITING PERSONAL AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS‑-CONSENT REQUIRED. No written or oral test, questionnaire, survey, examination, or evaluation may be used to elicit the personal beliefs or practices of a student or the student's family members as to sex or religion except with the written consent of the student's parent or legal guardian.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. INSPECTION OF MATERIALS‑-PARENTAL CONSENT‑-SCHOOL BOARD PRESENTATION‑-EXEMPTION FOR TOBACCO STUDIES. (1) All instructional materials, including teacher's manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material that will be used in connection with any test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation in a school shall be available for inspection by the parents or legal guardians of the students and by any member of the school board.

(2) Absent prior consent of a student who is an adult or an emancipated minor, or absent prior written consent of a parent or legal guardian of a student who is an unemancipated minor, education agents or school employees may not administer a test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning the student's or the student's parents' or siblings':

(a) Personal beliefs or practices regarding political affiliations;

(b) Mental or psychological history or problems of the student or the student's family;

(d) Illegal, antisocial, and self-incriminating behavior;

(e) Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom the students have a close family relationship;

(f) Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and clergy;

(g) Income level, except as required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or to receive financial assistance under the program.

(3) Schools shall give parents and students effective notice of their rights under this section before administering a test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation that meets the criteria of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Before administration of a test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation that meets the criteria of subsection (2) of this section, the school board must be given the opportunity to hear a presentation about the proposed test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation at an open public meeting of the board.

(5) Research studies that individually identify student participants and have been approved by an institutional review board that is qualified to review and approve research under applicable United States department of health and human services regulations governing the protection of human subjects are exempt from all requirements of this section and section 2 of this act, except for the requirements in subsection (4) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. CAPTIONS OF LAW. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 2 and 3 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.150 RCW.