GATESVILLE, TX — Parents of students at Gatesville Intermediate School have voiced concerns after a health survey went out to 6th graders on Thursday.
The survey was from the county, and it is typically used to help the district detect the problems in their student body, so they can bring in speakers to talk about those issues.
The district said for example, if drinking was indicated as an issue, they could bring in a speaker to talk about the dangers of drinking and driving.
The survey asked questions such as, "Do you use pain medication without a prescription?", "Do you use condoms for birth control/STD Prevention?" and "Has your boyfriend/girlfriend physically hurt you?"
"I need to be the one to make that decision, not the school for me," said Barbie Klecka, who has two children in Gatesville Intermediate.
The survey was given out during a health class and was not mandatory. The survey is from the county, but the superintendent said it was not mandatory to give to the students.
"All kids can't handle that yet, and for one of my children, it would very much overwhelm him. He wouldn't understand it," said Klecka.
The superintendent said that the district wants to apologize to parents for giving the survey out without talking to parents. He said that the survey had good intentions, but they made a poor decision in not notifying the parents first.
He said parents will receive an apology letter by the end of the day. He said he understands they put parents in an awkward position without informing parents first and giving them the option to opt out of the survey.
They will no longer be handing out the survey, and all completed surveys will be destroyed.
