The father of a teenage girl at Frontier High School is upset with a survey that his daughter was asked to take on Monday.
Matthew Barton reached out to 23ABC after his 14-year-old daughter was given a survey asking about sexual orientation and gender issues.
Barton tells 23ABC he had signed a permission slip for his daughter to take a survey, but says he wasn't aware about the topic of the survey.
Barton says his daughter texted him while at school because, he says, she was uncomfortable with some of the questions.
The survey is called Gender & Sex Based Harassment and asks students a number of questions ranging from LGBTQ issues at school to asking students to describe their sexual orientation and gender.
Barton says the issue has been cleared up with the district but he doesn't think the survey was age appropriate.
23ABC reached out to the Kern High School District who said they are looking into the matter.
Lisa Krch, Public Information Office for the Kern High School District said:
California Healthy Kids Survey is an anonymous survey given to 9th and 11th grade students in the Kern High School District, and many other districts in Kern County, the State, and around the Nation. The intent of the survey is to gauge student perception of school experiences and school climate. District level survey results will be made available to parents and other stakeholders through the WestEd website. The California Healthy Kids Survey gathers information on developmental supports provided to youth; school connectedness and barriers to learning; school safety; and health-related concerns such as physical activity and nutritional habits; alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; and risk of depression and suicide and perceived sexual orientation. These components were listed on the letter sent out to parents of KHSD 9th and 11th graders.
The results of the CA Healthy Kids Survey will be used to make informed decisions at the site and district level in order to provided needed services and supports to all students.
PROJECT FACTS
• Letter mailed home from KHSD to all parents grades 9 and 11, this described the survey and preview options (mailed January 27)
• The letter allowed for parents to OPT OUT only, per CA Ed Code. Parents were provided an opt out form which they could sign and return to the school-site or district office
• Students could also verbally opt out of the survey, prior to or during the survey
• Surveys (for review) were made available at the District Office and School Sites in advance
• We did keep one central point of contact for sites and parents for the purpose of responding to parent calls or any messaging issues
