Seven school districts have been served with subpoenas by Attorney General Eric Schmitt concerning their use of student surveys that allegedly collect information about their family’s political beliefs, income levels, race as well as sexual behavior and mental health.
Schmitt reportedly delivered the subpoenas after receiving a 23-page letter from the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a national nonprofit law firm.
“America’s public schools, including those throughout the State of Missouri, are asking children about deeply personal topics and legally protected information at an alarming rate,” wrote Kimberly Hermann, general counsel with Southeastern Legal Foundation, in the May 1 letter. “They do this through student surveys—created by school districts, third parties, teachers, and even other students—and through daily classroom assignments.”
Mehlville School District, Webster Groves School District, Jefferson City School District, Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, Park Hill School District, Springfield School District, and Neosho School District are among the school districts that received a subpoena.
“What happens is third parties like Panorama and Project Wayfinder come in and sell these surveys to the schools and ask the kids questions about their mental health, their race, their sexual identity and behaviors, their family life with the goal of then taking those results and coming back to the school and saying, ‘Hey, because of these survey results, you need all of this additional Social and Emotional Learning curriculum to address these problems that we've identified in the survey’,” Hermann told the St. Louis Record.
Panorama Education and Project Wayfinder did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“We have brave parents who were willing to stand up,” Hermann added. “They wanted to do something about this and in Missouri, the attorney general has the authority to investigate violations of federal and state privacy laws. That's not the case in every single state. Every single state attorney general has different investigatory and enforcement powers. In Missouri, the attorney general has these powers.”
The subpoenas inquire whether the districts’ actions violate Missouri state statute 161.096, the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act, or the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and demand documents and information to determine the extent of the surveys and if parents consented to the surveys prior to distribution to students.
“Through our Students First Initiative, we’ve received submissions from parents across Missouri, and in an effort to increase transparency in our schools, my Office has sent open records requests to a number of schools across the state,” Schmitt said in a statement online.
“Parents are encouraged to browse our new transparency portal and see the documents and information that districts have provided our office. I encourage parents to continue to submit objectionable curriculum and policies and practices, as my Office continues to fight for transparency and the right of parents to know exactly what is being taught to their children.”