ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A survey given to a class of middle school students in a career research class at Liberty Pines Academy in St. Johns County has some parents outraged.
The survey included questions asking students if they enjoy bubble baths, if they’ve ever seriously thought about “extreme body modification” and even if they like goats.
One of the student’s parents emailed Action News Jax the survey questions as “sickening”.
State Representative Kim Kendall (R-St. Augustine) also heard from three parents whose students took the survey.
“As a parent first, I have a lot of questions and somebody needs to answer them,” Kendall said.
The survey consists of 48 main questions, mostly dealing with career-oriented topics.
At the end, though, the survey asks if you’d like to answer an additional 26 research questions, which is where those controversial questions are found.
At the conclusion, students were asked to provide their gender, whether they identify as trans or cis and share their parents’ political leanings.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“The last question is a compound question and you can only answer it yes or no. And it is, can we use the answers you have just given for our research and did you answer these questions accurately as best you could?” Kendall said.
According to the district, the survey was selected by the teacher from an online resource, and the teacher did not realize there were additional questions at the tail end of the main survey.
“The well-being of our students is always our top priority and this survey is not one that is included in our instructional materials. We will be reviewing our processes and procedures for administering surveys and will provide instruction to the teacher on vetted materials to be used with students,” a district spokesperson told Action News Jax in an emailed statement.
Kendall, who is sponsoring a bill this session aimed at emboldening parental rights, noted her bill specifically addresses situations like this one.
It would require parents have an opportunity to review any survey provided to their child in school and be given the opportunity to opt their child out.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
She argued this case is a prime example of why those protections are necessary.
“If this is something parents think is great and will help whatever mystery research this is and whatever website it’s gonna show up on, just ask us first. Have us opt in. That’s all we’re asking,” Kendall said.
Kendall’s bill just cleared its second of three committee stops in the House this week.
While St. Johns County Schools did not specify whether the teacher who provided the survey will be punished, it did note the situation has been forwarded to HR.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
