S 3641: Enacts the "pupil privacy act" which requires schools to notify the parents or legal guardians of every student when a student protected information survey will be administered and provide such parent or legal guardian the opportunity to opt their child out of taking such survey.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3641 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MURRAY, ASHBY, LANZA, OBERACKER, RHOADS, WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the "pupil privacy act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 18 to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 18 4 PUPIL PRIVACY ACT 5 Section 850. Short title. 6 851. Definitions. 7 852. Student protected information surveys; notification; opting 8 out. 9 § 850. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as 10 the "pupil privacy act". 11 § 851. Definitions. For the purposes of this article the following 12 terms shall have the following meanings: 13 1. "School" shall mean any public, private or charter school and any 14 school established pursuant to chapter eight hundred fifty-three of the 15 laws of nineteen hundred seventy-six that offers instruction to pupils 16 enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade; and 17 2. "Student information protected survey" shall mean any student 18 survey that contains one or more personalized and specific question or 19 questions related to a student's, parent's or legal guardian's personal 20 attitudes, beliefs, or experiences related to any of the following 21 subject areas: health; mental health; sexual behavior; gender identifi- 22 cation; religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs; or family dynam- 23 ics. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07525-01-5 
 S. 3641 2 1 § 852. Student protected information surveys; notification; opting 2 out. 1. No later than fifteen school days prior to administering a 3 student protected information survey, a school shall notify the parents 4 or legal guardians of every student that such survey will be distrib- 5 uted. 6 2. Such notice shall: 7 (a) explain the purpose of the survey and shall clarify whether the 8 survey is part of the health or other general education curriculum or 9 unrelated to either; 10 (b) provide the exact content of the survey questions including each 11 question as it will appear in the survey; and 12 (c) provide parents and legal guardians the opportunity to opt their 13 child out from participating. 14 3. Pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section, 15 parents and legal guardians shall be provided with a mechanism to opt 16 their child out of completing a student protected information survey. 17 Each school shall determine the most effective mechanism to utilize for 18 such process and such mechanism shall be clearly delineated in the 19 applicable notice. Every school shall permit receipt of such notifica- 20 tion by the parent or legal guardian up until the time such survey is 21 administered. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.