Pennridge board advances surveys policy after public and trustee debate over PACE survey (first reading)

The Pennridge School District board approved a first reading of Policy 235.1, governing the use of third-party surveys in schools, after a lengthy public comment period and trustee discussion about parental consent and the district’s use of the PACE (PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency) student survey.

The motion for first reading of Policy 235.1 passed on a 6-3 vote. The measure moves the policy forward for further consideration; administrators said the policy language will include a year-start notice to parents and an advance notification at least 10 days before a survey is administered, and that parents may opt students out of particular surveys.

Public commenters urged stronger parental controls. Jonathan Russell (Hotel Township) argued that the district must “uphold parental inclusion in the education of our children” and asked the board to retain active, opt-in parental consent rather than an opt-out approach. He read sample PACE questions to illustrate the personal nature of some items and said parents should give “active consent” before students are surveyed.

Kim Bedellian (Perkasy Barrow) also addressed the PACE survey specifically and described items she called intrusive, including questions that refer to inhalant use and self-harm. Bedellian stated on the record that PACE is administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and suggested the agency could collect similar data through community outreach rather than during instructional time in schools.

Trustees and administrators debated the trade-offs. Several trustees expressed concern about introducing sensitive topics to younger students and asked for clearer opt-in language; other trustees and administrators defended the PACE survey as a community-level, anonymous instrument that yields data used to target resources and programming, including mental-health and prevention services. Administrators noted that PACE is voluntary, confidential, and that students are not required to answer every question.

Policy committee members said the proposed process will notify parents at the beginning of the school year that third-party surveys may be used, provide no-less-than-10-day advance notice before an actual survey, and allow parents to request a copy of the survey in advance. The administration said it is exploring posting survey instruments on the district website where feasible.

While some trustees said they would not support the policy as written during the first reading, the board approved the first reading 6-3. Trustees emphasized that the policy will return for additional review and that the policy committee will provide follow-up details on opt-in/opt-out mechanics and notification procedures.

Key clarifications recorded in the meeting - PACE (administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency) is administered in Pennridge to specified grades; administrators said participation is voluntary and students may skip questions they do not wish to answer. - The administration said parents will receive a notice at the beginning of the school year that third-party surveys may be used, and parents will receive at least 10 days' notice before a specific survey is given; parents may opt students out. - Trustees and public speakers raised concerns about specific PACE items (references on the record to inhalant use, self-harm, and family-dynamics questions).

Quotes from the record - Jonathan Russell: “Keep the policy language in place that ensures that active, not merely passive consent, must be first obtained before a parent's child can be subjected to random surveys about personal beliefs and family behaviors during valuable instructional time.” - Kim Bedellian: “The pay [PACE] survey also introduces students, especially younger students, to things they may not have been aware of previously… feeling so depressed about the future that you consider suicide, or harming yourself by cutting, scraping, or burning your body as a way to relieve difficult feelings? And that's a question directly from the survey.”

The policy will return for continued discussion at the next policy committee meeting; trustees asked administration to provide more detail on the opt-out process and to make survey instruments available to parents when possible.