Parental Discretion Advised?

Abstract

In or around November 2001, Kristi Seymour volunteered as a mental health counselor at Mesquite Elementary School Palmdale, California, as part of her master's program at the California School of Professional Psychology. (1) For a collaborative project between her college, the Palmdale School District, and a private organization that focuses on the prevention and treatment of child abuse, Seymour mailed a letter the parents of Mesquite's first-, third-, and fifth-graders requesting their consent for their children participate a district wide survey. The consent letter, which was enclosed a school district envelope, explained that the goal of the study was to establish a community baseline measure of children's exposure early trauma (for example, violence) . . . [as the first step in] a district-wide intervention program help children reduce these barriers learning. The letter also guaranteed complete confidentiality for the participating children, as well as the unrestricted right of the parent decline or withdraw consent without any adverse consequences. The letter did not state that some of the survey items concerned sexual subjects, although it warned that answering the questions may make [your] child feel uncomfortable. The survey questionnaire consisted of three parts. The first part was a 54-item questionnaire copyrighted by Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., which asked students indicate the frequency of various feelings and activities. They could choose responses from a Likert-type scale ranging from never almost all the time. A few of the items concerned violence (e.g., Wanting hurt other and Wanting kill myself), and 10 others concerned sexual subjects (e.g., Touching my private parts, Thinking about touching other people's private parts, and Not trusting people because they might want sex). The second part was the Bialer-Cromwell Locus of Control Scale (Modified), which is a yes/no questionnaire designed measure what extent the examinee attributes personal outcomes actions within one's as compared with external forces, such as fate or other people. The third part followed the same yes/no format but focused on whether the child had experienced various traumatic experiences, such as Been touched by someone, on your body, that made you feel uncomfortable and Know anyone who has been or is being abused. The end of the questionnaire consisted of a few demographic items, such as the student's grade, race, and familial living arrangements, but did not ask the student's name. In December, relying on the information the letter, all of the parents except Mr. and Mrs. H provided the requested consent, thereby agreeing their children's participation. Had the letter been more specific about the contents of the survey, it is likely that many other parents would also have withheld consent. In January 2002, Seymour administered the questionnaire three separate 20-minute segments the first-, third-, and fifth graders at Mesquite, including Mr. and Mrs. H's child. Upon learning from their children of the sexual subject matter of some of the items, two other pairs of parents joined Mr. and Mrs. H hiring a lawyer. The attorney informed them that, under California law, the first step suing a governmental entity for money damages is file a claim with the entity as an opportunity for settlement short of litigation. On 30 May 2002, asserting that if they had known the true nature of the survey, they would not have provided consent, the parents filed the requisite claim with the school board. Specifying the damages as being in excess of $10,000, they contended that the district's survey robbed them of their basic constitutional right control their children's upbringing. On 2 July 2002, the school board issued a rejection letter. On 19 December 2002, the parents filed suit federal court, alleging that Seymour, the district's director of psychological services, and the Mesquite principal--the latter two their official capacities representing the district--had violated their rights under federal and state law, particular their federal constitutional rights parental liberty and privacy. …