Student surveys on sex, drugs, and suicide have new rules on parental consent in Wake
Thousands of Wake County students will now take national surveys about their mental health and whether they use tobacco unless their parents opt them out of the surveys.
The Wake County school system has dropped the requirement that students receive prior written consent from their parents to take the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the National Youth Tobacco Survey or the N.C. Youth Tobacco Survey.
Instead, the school board unanimously revised the student survey policy this week to say students will take those surveys unless their parents opt them out.
The change came amid months of lobbying by some students and health activists who said the policy needed to be changed to increase survey participation.
“Thank you for your desire to hear the voices of the young people of Wake County as they face unique challenges and unique perspectives,” Thomas Ray, associate executive director of the Raleigh-based Poe Center for Health Education, said during this week’s school board meeting.
“Your vote tonight ensures that you as school board members and the staff and leadership of Wake County Public Schools will be informed to make data-driven decisions about the programs and priorities that affect our youth.”
Students surveyed on sex, drugs, suicide
The tobacco and Youth Risk Behavior surveys are periodically given to students to track trends in their behavior.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is given every two years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Randomly selected groups of middle and high school students from around the country take the survey.
The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey asked students questions such as whether they’ve had sex, taken illegal drugs, used tobacco or thought about committing suicide. The high school version of the survey asks students to identify their sexual orientation.
Under the North Carolina Parents’ Bill of Rights, those types of questions are considered “protected information” that would normally require parental opt-in before students could be surveyed. But the law was modified to exempt the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Youth Tobacco Survey after state education leaders said they provided valuable information.
The parental opt-in requirement still applies to other “protected information” surveys.
Students lobby for change in consent process
Students have spoken at Wake school board meetings since November urging the district to take advantage of the exemption for the Youth Risk Behavior and Youth Tobacco surveys.
Students said a change is needed because so few Wake students have taken the anonymous surveys in the past that the district hasn’t been able to get usable data.
“Wake County is unique and statewide data just doesn’t cut it,” said Brandon Estevez, a junior at Broughton High School in Raleigh. “Without our own data, it’s just like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.”
Rayanna Graham, a senior at the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Raleigh, said some students forget to ask their parents or are too embarrassed to ask them to sign the consent form.
“As a result many students are excluded from participating in the survey, leading to a significant loss of data,” Graham told the school board. “This data is not just a collection of numbers. It is a vital tool that helps guide policy decisions and health initiatives that directly impact our community.”
The solution is to move away from active permission to parent-informed passive permission, according to Kevin Agyemang, a sophomore at Millbrook High School in Raleigh.
Under Wake’s revised policy, parents will be given notice of the opportunity to opt their children out of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey or the Youth Tobacco Survey. But students will take the surveys unless parents say otherwise.
“Consent is assumed unless they specifically choose to opt-out,” Agyemang said. “This approach will significantly increase participation while keeping parents informed and empowering them to make the decision. to withdraw their children if they wish.”
Youth Risk Behavior Survey coming soon
The revised policy will be put to use soon for the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which Wake expects will be given between February and April.
About 2,300 middle school students and 2,300 high school students will be asked to take the survey, according to Sara Clark, a Wake school spokesperson. She said about 50 to 100 students will be randomly chosen per school.
Data collection is currently underway for the N.C. Youth Tobacco Survey. Speakers told the school board it will provide valuable information as Wake decides how to use $8 million in settlement money from lawsuits against e-cigarette makers.
School board members praised the students for their activism on the survey issue.
“Thank you for sharing your voices,” said school board member Lindsay Mahaffey, who had suggested changing the consent process in the policy. “Thank you for being here on a school night.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 10:32 AM.
