October 16, 2026
Written by Noelle Ellerson Ng, Associate Executive Director for Advocacy & Governance
New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) highlights their efforts to increase enforcement of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). The guidance details how school districts must approach parental consent, student surveys and the collection of sensitive student information.
Because we don’t regularly talk about PPRA on this blog, a quick reminder: PPRA is a federal law protecting parents’ rights regarding student surveys, instructional materials, marketing activities, and certain physical exams in schools that receive funding from USED. PPRA addresses eight protected categories of sensitive information, including political beliefs, mental and psychological problems, sexual behavior, religious beliefs, and family relationships. PPRA also provides parents rights to inspect instructional materials, opt out of certain non-emergency physical exams, and protect students from certain commercial collection of personal information.
For superintendents and district leaders, the heightened federal scrutiny underscores the importance of reviewing existing policies and practices, particularly where student privacy protections intersect with schools’ responsibilities to support student health, safety and well-being. The guidance represents a shift in how schools must comply with PPRA and expands the circumstances in which schools have to obtain affirmative written parental consent before administering surveys, screeners, and evaluations involving protected categories of information. The new interpretation could have far-reaching implications for school-based mental health and behavioral screeners, social-emotional learning, wellness check-ins, and threat assessments. The Department also clarified that PPRA’s requirements apply to surveys regardless of whether they are directly funded by the Department, potentially extending these obligations across virtually all surveys administered by public elementary and secondary schools receiving federal education funds.
A recent blog from the Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC) provides an analysis of the Department’s recent enforcement actions, evolving interpretation of PPRA and what districts should be watching as federal oversight intensifies. Read PIPC's synopsis here.