Juneau -- The Alaska House of Representatives Friday unanimously passed House Bill 70, which requires a once-a-year blanket parental consent for student questionnaires. House Bill 70, sponsored by Representative Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River), attempts to balance the rights of parents to control the educational experience of their children with the need of public officials to obtain apparently needed information and the funding that follows. HB 70 passed 39-0.

The bill is a response to the controversy surrounding the recent use of the anonymous "Youth Risk Behavior Survey," sponsored by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the successful completion of which is said to be necessary to secure federal grant funds. Some school districts administered the survey without parental permission, others, in deference to parental concerns, chose not to use the survey, while still others obtained legal opinions which appeared to contradict the intent of the Legislature.

"In addition to the questions of parental rights and the lack of parental involvement in the process, many considered the survey to be too invasive and far too personal," Dyson said. "The solution appears to be getting active parental consent for such surveys, but that would likely be a logistical nightmare and, quite possibly, ultimately ineffective. Hence, this legislation, which allows for a once-a-year blanket parental consent for anonymous questionnaires and surveys," Dyson said.

In addition to the yearly blanket authorization, HB 70 requires that parents and students be given two weeks notice before an anonymous survey and another opportunity to decline to participate.

House Bill 70 now moves to the Senate.

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= Fred Dyson, 54 K