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Sponsors seek to restore opt‑out access for youth surveys; proponents warn opt‑in collapse hurts prevention and screening

House Education Committee · February 26, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

HB599 would clarify when parental opt‑in versus opt‑out applies to school surveys and mental‑health screenings and includes an ACT carve‑out; proponents testified that recent opt‑in rules caused participation to plummet and rendered local prevention data unusable.

Representative Nicola Cocos told the committee HB599 aims to restore clarity about when schools must obtain parental consent (opt‑in) and when an opt‑out framework remains acceptable for non‑identifying surveys and certain screenings. The bill would also add a narrow carve‑out so that college‑readiness assessments and their attendant surveys (such as the ACT and its optional survey) remain administratively workable.

Proponents — including prevention specialists, United Way,…

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