Conservative Action Group Presents Jefferson County School Board With Survey, Board Given Dose Of Its Own Medicine
Photo Credit: Jeff Depew
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
After weeks of effort to persuade the Jefferson County School Board to stop conducting objectionable student surveys consisting of deeply personal and intrusive questions, Empowered Jefferson constructed a survey of its own, based on survey questions that students were getting in class, which it presented to the Jefferson County, Tennessee School Board during its January meeting.
The “School Administration Survey” contains many personal questions about religious beliefs, frequency of church attendance, tithing, dental care, gender, family income, criminal activity, drug use, and mental health.
“We developed our ‘School Administration Survey’ from questions that the school system was giving our children. Kids as young as 11 years old were getting survey questions about their parent’s marital status, divorce, health care, and many other deeply personal family issues. As a citizen’s group, we wanted to see if the school board was willing to answer questions like the ones our children see on school surveys. The Jefferson County School Board refused to answer a single question.” – Empowered Jefferson Leadership
Conservative republican school board members Doug Ibbetson and Joshua Cameron expressed strong objections to the woke surveys that were given to Jefferson County students. The remaining 5 school board members were unable to reach a consensus on how to deal with student surveys.
Here is a sampling of survey questions administered to Jefferson County students by school personnel, questions that were subsequently used to construct a survey that was presented to the school board by Empowered Jefferson. Each question identifies the Jefferson County School Board Policy that is violated and the school from which the question originated.
Do you pray to God regularly?
(Student Checklist 9th Grade Patriot Academy, line 41)
(Violation of School Board Policy 6.4001, line 22, religious practices)
During the past 30 days, have you used heroin?
(School Climate Survey, Grades 6,8,10, and 12, November 28 to December 2, 2022, Page 2) (Violation of School Board Policy 6.4001, Line 13, Self-Incriminating Behavior)
Do you have a physical checkup each year?
(Student Checklist 9th Grade, Patriot Academy, line 2)
(Violation of Board Policy 6.4001, line 15, legally privileged relationship – medical)
(Jefferson Middle School Student Needs Assessment 2022-2023, August 2022, Page 3, question 9) (Violations of School Board Policy 6.4001, Line 15, legally privileged relationships)
Empowered Jefferson strongly urges Tennessee parents to monitor surveys, questionnaires, and assignments that are given to their children by school personnel.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman,
917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level.
Great. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. It’s always people in power asking the benighted to follow their dictates from which they are exempt.
Parents NEED to tell children that they’re in school to learn the subjects and NOT to answer ANY surveys at school and to bring ANY home to pass muster.
I love it but don’t stop there. Demand each and every School Board Member and Teacher answer those same questions in a public forum. I’ll bet the answers would be very informative as to the kind of people who are running our schools.
Apparently now is the time to be developing qualified candidates for the next School Board election.
My daughter successfully “opted out” of the surveys the minute she saw them. She told me about one in her last year of elementary and I explained to her what they were. She decided all on her own that she would no longer participate in any school surveys.
Now what I have found intrusive in my career is this Predictive Index model that companies are pushing for prospective or current employees to take.
They should be asking the students about conduct of teachers and if they are actually learning. Have my children tell me things about their teachers and coaches a student shouldn’t even know but they are worried about things that really are none of their business