DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. (FLV) – The Moms for Liberty chapter in Duval County asked the Duval County Public School Board to remove personal questions about sex from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Moms for Liberty pointed to the CDC survey that has questions about sexual behavior, sexual orientation, sexual history, masculinity, femininity and gender identity, according to the press release.
The group said the school district intends to administer the survey in February and March to students as young as 10. According to Moms for Liberty, DCPS is able to add questions to the survey and have not yet revealed the final version to the public that they will use.
“These questions are unacceptable. They not only violate parental rights and the students’ rights to privacy, they could trigger post-traumatic stress in a student who is suicidal or has been sexually assaulted. Imagine if you were an adolescent taking this survey,” Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty, Duval County Becky Nathanson said.
“Those asking for this information have no concern for the individuals providing the answers. Guidance counseling is not alerted to support them. It’s shocking and unacceptable that our schools put our children in such a position while they are at school.”
Some questions in the linked survey that the group is asking the school to remove include:
“During the past 12 months, how many times did anyone force you to do sexual things that you did not want to do?”
“Have you ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when you did not want to?”
“How old were you when you had sexual intercourse for the first time?”
In the linked survey, students are also asked about how many individuals they have had sexual intercourse with including whether they have had oral sex and whether they have sexual intercourse with males or females. The survey asks the students whether they are transgender, heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual or questioning.
The survey asks about multiple other topics such as physical health, violence, alcohol, tobacco drugs, STDs, pregnancy and more.
Specifically, Moms for Liberty is asking the school board to:
- Circulate the survey to the parents before it is administered to the students.
- Require parents to opt in if they want their child to take the survey.
- Eliminate all questions which were not specifically propounded by the CDC or which ask about sexual orientation, sexual activity or gender identity.
Florida’s Voice reached out to school board members Tuesday morning but did not yet receive a response.
Moms for Liberty – Duval is working hard to raise awareness of this violation of our students’ privacy and innocence. Duval County Schools are violating the intent and spirit of the Federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA.) It mandates that parents provide affirmative consent (opt in) rather than assumed permission with option to opt out. We are urging our local school district to comply with the spirit of the PPRA, which recognizes that questions of such a personal nature should never be asked of minors without their parents’ full knowledge and consent. Many of us find these questions to be completely inappropriate and only serve to advance an ideology while showing complete disregard for parents and their vulnerable children.
Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty, Duval County Becky Nathanson