The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), which oversees many of the nation’s elite private schools, sold surveys to schools that asks students about their sex and drug habits, according to a copy of the 2021-2022 survey obtained by the Daily Caller.
The Independent School Health Check (ISHC) is an optional survey administered to high school and middle school students at some private schools accredited by the NAIS. The survey asks questions about students’ sexual preferences, their gender identity, whether they’ve had sexual intercourse, oral sex, and more.
The NAIS password protects the survey. One parent told the Daily Caller that they found this to be suspicious.
Administering the survey takes approximately one hour out of the typical school day, according to the survey’s administration manual obtained by the Daily Caller. The standard pricing for each school to access the survey costs $3,000, according to the same manual.
Topics discussed in the high school survey included the social media patterns of students, sleep habits, whether students experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression, academic pressures, use of drugs and alcohol, and more.
The survey asked high schoolers about their sex assigned at birth and whether their current gender identity matches their sex. Students answered whether they wanted a gun and where they thought they could access firearms.
Students also answered questions about when they first had sex, how many partners they had, and what their oral sex experiences were like. One question asked whether students felt comfortable discussing their sexual orientation or gender identity with their “peers, parents, [and/or] school faculty or staff.”
Questions on gender identity and sexual behavior are reportedly omitted from the middle school survey, according to the NAIS survey administration manual.
Some schools administered “Talking Points” for teachers on how to deal with questions on why the survey is administered to students.
“We really want students to take the survey so that we can more specifically target our health & wellness programming and education,” the crafted response read. “We can then compare our data with other independent schools across the country to see where we are excelling and where we need to focus more energy.”
The Episcopal School of Dallas is among the NAIS schools that administered the survey to students. One Episcopal School of Dallas community member, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution against their child, dubbed the questionnaire “inexcusable.” (RELATED: The Head Of A Christian Texas School Told Kids The Church Is ‘Normalizing Same-Sex Relationships)
“Asking deeply personal and leading questions to youth regarding their sexuality is inappropriate, irresponsible, and a direct abuse of power that these administrators are undergoing,” the community member said. “It’s inexcusable and must stop.”
NAIS mandates that parents be notified via written communication at least one month before the planned administration date of the survey, according to the organization’s administration manual.
Amy González, whose child used to attend a NAIS-accredited school, told the Daily Caller she was worried about the data mining of students and called for increased transparency from the NAIS and independent schools.
“Curiously, the NAIS Independent School Health Checks are surveys that appear to mine data from our children,” González said. “If the school denies transparency to parents when asked the most basic of questions, how could any parent rest assured once our children’s data is sent to the NAIS? It seems the data could potentially be farmed out to one of the NAIS’ many consultant groups.”
The NAIS maintains that student information is anonymous.
The NAIS did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
