Parents Address School Board Members Over Survey

Parents filled the room Thursday at the Bourbon School Board’s monthly meeting to air their concerns over a survey administered the previous week to middle school students that asked questions about alcohol, tobacco, drug use, family behaviors and sexual orientation.

The Missouri Student Survey — also known as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Survey — has been given to students in middle school and high school in even-numbered years since 2000. The survey is a collaboration between the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Answers are analyzed by the Missouri Institute of Mental Health.

Some of the issues brought up Thursday were concerns over privacy, content of the survey, the district failing to notify parents and a statement issued by Bourbon Middle School Principal Brian Witt.

Read more on this story in the Jan. 24 issue of the Independent News.