Among the slew of amendments proposed for H.R. 1, the President's education bill that reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is an amendment sponsored Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) that passed the House by voice vote on May 23. Dubbed "Parental Freedom of Information," the measure could end school-based survey research as we know it.
The language requires prior written consent from a parent before a minor can participate in federally-funded research in school. In practice, written consent is difficult to obtain, not because of parental disapproval of the research but due to a lack of involvement or time on their part. Research demonstrates that such restraints severely compromise both the sample size and validity of the study.
The problem is not with written consent per se, but that the amendment imposes written consent as "the single and only method of obtaining informed parental consent," according to Felice Levine, Executive Officer of the American Sociological Association. "It is a 'one size fits all' solution that disregards what might be the best ethical practices in different circumstances and also ignores human subjects procedures already in place for assessing the adequacy of consent processes in school-based research."
The amendment also denies funds under any applicable program to any educational agency that effectively prevents parents from inspecting a broad array of surveys, analyses, evaluations, and curriculum. Researchers object that allowing parents to view research instruments before they are administered can compromise the data they collect. The amendment covers a broad range of research topics, including political affiliations, mental and psychological problems, illegal, anti-social, or high-risk behavior, income, and others.
Current law, as defined by the Grassley Amendment to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, is similar in nature but has been interpreted to apply only to research sponsored by the Department of Education. The Tiahrt amendment, however, would apply to all federal agencies.
This expanded reach would involve research sponsored by Health and Human Services (including the National Institutes of Health), which accounts for a large portion of school-based research and includes studies important to the health and well-being of children. The Monitoring the Future Project, for example, examines changes in public opinion on alcohol and drug use, as well as a variety of other issues like government and politics, gender roles, and environmental protection.
The issue also arose several years ago when a coalition of organizations concerned about research (which included COSSA) effectively averted a similar bill from becoming law (see Update, November 13, 1995 and April 29 and June 24, 1996). The recent re-emergence of this issue caught many by surprise as it was not preceded by hearings.
The ESEA bill, to which the Tiahrt amendment was attached, passed the House by 384-45 on May 23. No companion amendment has appeared yet in the Senate, which has not completed work on ESEA, but is expected to soon. Organizations concerned that this measure will become law have once again joined forces, this time as the Coalition to Save School-Based Research, of which COSSA is a part.
Home/ Welcome/ Staff/ Board of Directors/ Members, Affiliates, Contributors/ COSSA WASHINGTON UPDATE/ /Key Policy Issues What's New /COSSA's Annual Reports/ Opportunities for Research Support/ Upcoming Events / COSSA's Congressional Seminar Series/ Heard on the Hill/ Government Links/ E-Mail COSSA