The Policy Advisory Committee reviewed a draft student-survey policy intended to bring district practice into alignment with federal requirements and local expectations.

Staff explained the draft mirrors the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA): families must be notified before third-party or sensitive surveys, and parents or guardians must be given the opportunity to opt students out of surveys that collect information in the statute’s listed categories. Committee members agreed third‑party surveys and instruments that probe PPRA categories should be reviewed by a building principal or the school committee before dissemination; the committee also asked staff to ensure families can review survey questions in advance.

Members spent substantial time distinguishing routine classroom uses (for example, teacher exit tickets or in‑class feedback) from broader or external surveys. Several teachers argued that short classroom surveys tied to instruction should not be burdened by committee-level review; staff recommended that principals be the reviewing authority for most teacher-created instruments, while school‑committee oversight should focus on third-party vendors and district-wide instruments.

The committee also asked for clearer survey-language concerning data protection, confidentiality and stated uses of results so families know how responses will be used and whether data will be shared outside the district. Staff agreed to add language directing teachers to obtain principal approval for school-wide dissemination and to cite PPRA and district review steps as benchmarks in the revised draft.

No formal vote occurred; the committee directed staff to return a revised student-survey policy that (1) cites PPRA, (2) clarifies which instruments require principal vs. committee review, and (3) adds confidentiality and stated-use language.