Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday that he had filed subpoenas against seven school districts over a series of third-party surveys that had collected information about the race, sexuality, and political ideology of students and their parents.
In a video announcement, Schmitt, who is currently running for the Republican nomination for Senate, said he had filed the subpoenas in order to shed light on how much money school districts had spent on conducting the surveys as well as whether they sought parental permission before requiring students to complete them.
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Schmitt’s office also launched a “transparency portal” to aggregate all materials he obtained from school districts via public records requests, including information related to gender ideology and critical race theory. The portal is an extension of Schmitt’s “Students First Initiative,” which he launched in March.
https://twitter.com/AGEricSchmitt/status/1534582403859066880?s=20&t=NCiwVT0ywh2kaTgpRUfMSg
Student surveys by third-party organizations contracted by school districts have been a source of alarm for parent activist groups concerned that the surveys are often done without parental notification and contain intrusive questions about race, sexuality, and political affiliation. School districts have often spent thousands of dollars on such contracts.
“As Attorney General, I’ve made it my mission to work to empower parents and increase transparency in Missouri schools,” Schmitt said in a press release. “Subjecting students to personal, invasive surveys created by third-party consultants potentially without parents’ consent is ridiculous and does nothing to further our children’s education.
“After learning of these surveys, my office has opened an investigation and sent subpoenas to seven school districts across the state to get to the bottom of these surveys and put a stop to them,” he continued.
Schmitt has positioned himself as a champion of parental rights, highlighting his work on the issue while engaging in a tight campaign to be the state’s Republican nominee for the Senate seat set to be vacated by retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R).
In the press release, the Missouri attorney general touted the accomplishments of the Students First Initiative, which solicited tips from parents in the state over the classroom materials of their child’s public schools.
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“Through our Students First Initiative, we’ve received submissions from parents across Missouri, and in an effort to increase transparency in our schools, my office has sent open records requests to a number of schools across the state,” Schmitt said. “Parents are encouraged to browse our new transparency portal and see the documents and information that districts have provided our office.”
Schmitt encouraged parents to continue to submit “objectionable curriculum and policies and practices” and said his office will keep up its “fight for transparency and the right of parents to know exactly what is being taught to their children.”
