I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1854
To amend the General Education Act to allow parents access to certain
information about their children.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 15, 2001
Mr. TIAHRT (for himself, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SMITH of
New Jersey, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr.
BARR of Georgia, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. JONES of North
Carolina, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. GRAHAM, and
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the General Education Act to allow parents access
to certain information about their children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Parental Freedom of
Information Act’’.
paragraph for resolving a dispute under this
subsection through mediation or through use of
arbitration if the dispute is not resolved
through mediation.
‘‘(B) MEDIATION.—
‘‘(i) GOALS
OF
MEDIATION.—The
goals of mediation are a prompt resolution
of the dispute in a written agreement be-
tween the parties.
‘‘(ii) MEDIATION PROCESS.—The me-
diation process, at a minimum, shall meet
the following requirements:
‘‘(I) Be conducted not later than
60 days after a parent’s request for
access and review of educational and
testing materials is denied.
‘‘(II) Not be used to deny or
delay a parent’s rights afforded under
this subsection.
‘‘(III) Be conducted by a quali-
fied and impartial mediator who is
trained in effective mediation tech-
niques and is chosen by mutual con-
sent of the involved parties.
‘‘(IV) Be scheduled in a timely
manner and be held in a location that
is convenient to the parties to the dis-
pute.
‘‘(iii) COSTS
OF
MEDIATION.—The
costs of mediation shall be paid for by the
educational agency or institution, as the
case may be.
‘‘(C) ARBITRATION.—
‘‘(i) GOAL
OF
ARBITRATION.—The
goal of arbitration is a prompt resolution
of the dispute in the event the parties are
unable to reach a written agreement
through the mediation process.
‘‘(ii) ARBITRATION
PROCESS.—The
arbitration process, at a minimum, shall
meet the following requirements:
‘‘(I) Be conducted not later than
60 days after failure to resolve the
dispute through mediation.
‘‘(II) Be conducted by an inde-
pendent arbitrator chosen by mutual
consent of all parties to the dispute.
‘‘(III) Require the arbitrator to
take testimony and order such equi-
table or declaratory relief as appro-
priate.
‘‘(IV) Be scheduled in a timely
manner and be held in a location that
is convenient to the parties to the dis-
pute.
‘‘(V) Be considered final and
binding upon all parties to the dis-
pute.
‘‘(iii) COSTS OF ARBITRATION.—The
costs of arbitration shall be shared equally
between all parties to the dispute.
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) 
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIAL.—The
term ‘instructional material’ means a textbook,
audio/visual material, informational material ac-
cessible through Internet sites, material in dig-
ital or electronic formats, instructional manual,
or journal, or any other material supplementary
to the educational curriculum of a student.
‘‘(B) TESTING MATERIAL.—The term ‘test-
ing material’ means any test (without re-
sponses) after the test is administered to a stu-
dent during the current school year, and if
available, any statistical comparison data re-
garding the test results with respect to the stu-
dent’s age or grade level. The term does not in-
clude a test subject to a copyright or licensing
agreement.
‘‘(k) PARENTAL CONSENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), no funds shall be made available under
any applicable program to an educational agency or
institution that, without the prior, written, informed
consent of the parent of a student requires the stu-
dent to undergo medical, psychological, or psy-
chiatric examination, testing, treatment, or immuni-
zation (except in the case of a medical emergency).
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not
apply to directory information as defined in sub-
section (a)(5)(A) or to medical, psychological, or
psychiatric examinations, testing, treatment, or im-
munizations of students expressly permitted by State
law without written parental consent.
‘‘(3) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in
paragraph (1) shall be construed as superseding or
otherwise affecting informed parental consent re-
quirements under the Individuals with Disabilities
Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
‘‘(4) RESTRICTION ON SEEKING INFORMATION
FROM
MINORS.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of Federal law, in conducting a program or ac-
tivity funded in whole or in part by the Federal Gov-
ernment a person may not, without the consent of
at least 1 parent or guardian of a minor or, in the
case of an emancipated minor, the prior consent of
the minor, require or otherwise seek the response of
the minor to a survey or questionnaire whether writ-
ten or oral which elicits information concerning any
of the following:
‘‘(i) Parental political affiliations or
beliefs.
‘‘(ii) Mental or psychological prob-
lems.
‘‘(iii) Sexual behavior or attitudes.
‘‘(iv) Illegal, antisocial, or self-incrimi-
nating behavior.
‘‘(v) Appraisals of other individuals
with whom the minor has a familial rela-
tionship.
‘‘(vi) Relationships that are legally
recognized as privileged, including those
with lawyers, physicians, and members of
the clergy.
‘‘(vii) Religious affiliations or be-
liefs.’’.
(b) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—The third sentence of sec-
tion 444(a)(1)(A) of the General Education Provisions Act
(20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking
‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting ‘‘30’’.
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