Federal Agency Says Burlington Schools Violated Parental Rights

BURLINGTON, MA — The U.S. Department of Education slammed Burlington Public Schools on allegations that the district violated parental rights by requiring student participation in an inappropriate survey last year.

The survey contained "sensitive, sexually explicit questions," according to the federal agency.

The investigation "found that the District ignored parents’ requests to opt their children out of a survey that asked students as young as 7th graders explicit questions about sexual encounters, drug and alcohol use, and their so-called 'gender identity,'" a statement reads.

The agency state that this amounts to a violation of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

Frank Miller, director of the federal Student Privacy Policy Office, which handled the investigation, said in the statement, "Parents must always have the final say when it comes to their children – not schools..."

Burlington Public Schools Superintendent Eric Conti said that the district has ended its contract with the vendor who created the survey, according to NBC 10 Boston. Conti also said the district is reviewing the Education Department's findings and proposed agreement.

The Education Department has outlined steps the district needs to take to avoid "imminent enforcement action."

The proposed agreement includes sending parents copies of all survey questions, issuing apology letters from the district to the families that filed complaints, ensuring districtwide policies fully comply with federal parental rights laws and submitting all future surveys that may contain explicit information or sensitive questions to the department for review.