With the assistance of a Virginia religious liberties organization, an Orem family has filed a federal lawsuit against Alpine School District saying the district should not give psychological tests without parental permission.
The suit names as defendants Luana Searle, superintendent of elementary schools; Victoria Anderson, director of pupil services; and Rebecca Rigby, a Chapter One teaching aide at Windsor Elementary School. The plaintiffs are identified only as A.P. and D.P. and their children B.P. and N.P. However, a press release from the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville, Va., says the suit was filed by Andrea Powell, who has children ages 7 and 9 in Alpine schools.According to the press release, Powell objected to the district giving psychological tests to her children but the district went ahead and administered the tests. She says the tests ask children to reveal their feelings about sexual behavior and other family members and to give personal information.
"My third-grader objected to taking the most recent test because he knew we would not want him to take it," Powell said. "But the counselor told my son that she had talked to his mother and that it was OK to take the test. This was not true, and it put my son in a very awkward position."
When contacted Friday, Alpine officials said they had not been served with the suit. District officials said the test normally given to Chapter One elementary students, students who get federally funded help with reading, is a self-image test called "The Pierce-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale - The way I feel about myself." The test contains questions about family, friends, personality and self-image. Questions include, "Do you have a nice figure?," "Do you have nice hair?," "Are you picked on at home?"
"It's a common test," said Michael Robinson, Alpine public information officer.
The press release says the testing "intrudes into the domain of parental prerogatives and family autonomy." The suit is seeking an injunction ordering the district to stop psychological testing unless parental consent has been obtained.