Background: The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)
What is the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and how is it useful to parents?
- Congress passed the PPRA, authored by former Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), in 1978.
- The PPRA is an essential tool for parents to understand what is in public schools’ curricula and teacher training materials.
- The PPRA states that parents have the right to inspect any instructional material upon request.
- The PPRA also allows parents to opt-out their children from invasive surveys collecting information in eight protected areas:
- political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;
- mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
- sex behavior or attitudes;
- illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
- critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
- legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
- religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or
- income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).
- Examples of opt-out availability within the eight protected areas described above include social emotional learning surveys and sex education lessons.
- If schools are not compliant with the PPRA, parents can report violations to the U.S. Department of Education. Complaints must be made within 180 days of the date of violation.
Use the above information when inquiring about your children’s K-12 public school curricula and teacher training materials, or opting-out of invasive surveys.
