Lawmakers debate parental opt‑in for school health surveys as public‑health agencies warn of data loss

The House Education Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 2105, which would require a parent or guardian to review a copy of any written survey administered to K‑12 students and to provide written authorization before a student may participate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Todd Beard, specifically targets third‑party health and behavior surveys such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Beard told the committee the bill preserves parental authority over sensitive questions and prevents third parties from surveying students without parental consent. He said the parental opt‑in would not block surveys entirely but would require parents to "authorize in writing" a child's participation after reviewing the survey. Beard noted the YRBS material supplied to schools lists a goal of 95–100 percent participation for valid state and national estimates and said that goal appears inconsistent with current opt‑out practices.

Public‑health and education witnesses cautioned against a mandatory opt‑in. Dr. Tracy Miller, North Dakota state epidemiologist and director of the Health and Human Services section that manages survey activity, told the committee the YRBS has been administered biennially in North Dakota since 1995 and the Youth Tobacco Survey since 2003. She said the YRBS provides data used by schools, public‑health agencies, universities and others for program planning, grant applications and evaluation. Dr. Miller gave participation and sampling figures from the 2023 administration: 67 high schools were sampled with 2,469 students selected; 74 middle schools were sampled with 2,693 students selected; and an additional 6,641 high‑school students participated in voluntary, non‑sampled administrations.

Nick Archuleta of North Dakota United said the YRBS and similar surveys are anonymous, parents already have the right to opt out and mandating opt‑in would depress participation rates and degrade the data schools and public‑health officials rely on. "By mandating that students opt into the YRBS, Senate Bill 2105 would cause lower rates of participation and cause imprecise data to be collected, thus hindering a school district's efforts to provide adequate resources to address concerns," Archuleta said.

State and local public‑health officials described how survey data are used to track trends over time, allocate prevention and treatment resources, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Pam Segnus of the Department of Health and Human Services' Behavioral Health Division cited examples where trend data led to targeted prevention toolkits, and Andrew Horn of Tobacco Free North Dakota highlighted declining vaping and smoking trends visible in historical YRBS data. Miller and Segnus both said schools may decline to participate in any given administration and that local districts may remove individual questions at a school’s request; Dr. Miller said students may also skip individual items.

Supporters argued the questions asked in YRBS and related surveys can be sensitive. Witness Kimberly Hurston, a parent, told the committee she learned that the survey includes questions about sexual activity, gender identity and substance use, and said she would have opted her children out had she known. "These discussions should take place at home with a parent or guardian," she said.

Opponents and some school representatives said federal protections already require notice and opt‑out options for certain surveys. Amy DeCook of the North Dakota School Boards Association noted the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment requires parental notice and opt‑out for surveys funded by the U.S. Department of Education and said school districts adopt local policies, provide annual notice and allow parents to review survey materials. She and others urged that the existing notice and opt‑out procedures be enforced rather than replaced by a statewide opt‑in requirement.

The committee also discussed implementation challenges: collecting signed opt‑in forms can be labor intensive for schools and local public‑health agencies, and some witnesses said low return rates are common for any paper permission process.

The hearing record shows a clear divide: supporters emphasized parental knowledge and consent for potentially sensitive questions; public‑health and education groups warned that requiring written parental opt‑in would substantially reduce participation and undermine the value of survey data used for prevention, programming and grant funding. The committee took testimony and then closed the hearing on SB 2105, with no final vote recorded in the transcript.