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Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) provides parents with certain rights regarding the conduct of surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical exams. These rights transfer from the parents to a student who is 18 years old or to an emancipated minor under state law. These include the right to:

  1. Consent before students submit to a survey that concerns one or more of the following protected areas (“protected information survey”) if the survey is funded in whole or in part by a program of the US Department of Education:
    1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or student’s parent;
    2. Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family;
    3. Sex behavior or attitudes;
    4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
    5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
    6. Legally recognized privileged relationships, such as with lawyers, doctors, or ministers;
    7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent’ or
    8. Income, other than as required by law to determine program eligibility.
       
  2. Receive notice and an opportunity to opt a student out of:
    1. Any protected information survey administered or distributed to a student by the school system if the protected information survey is either not funded as part of a program administered by the Department or is funded as part of a program administered by the Department but to which a student is not required to submit;
    2. Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening required by the school system as a condition of attendance; administered by the school system and scheduled by the school system in advance; and, that is not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of a student, with some exceptions; and
    3. Activities of the school system involving collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or sale (or to otherwise distribute such information to others for that purpose), with some exceptions.
       
  3. Inspect, upon request and before administration or use:
    1. Protected information surveys of students and surveys created by a third party;
    2. Instruments used to collect personal information from students for any of the above marketing, sales, or other distribution purposes; and
    3. Instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum.