School board mulls opting out of explicit state student survey
On the surface, the Minnesota Student Survey administered through school districts since 1989 by the Minnesota Department of Health sounds innocuous enough.
The Minnesota Student Survey shares insight into things affecting our young people since 1989. The MSS is one of the oldest student surveys in the nation. The Minnesota Student Survey includes questions about a wide variety of youth behaviors, including risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, violence and sexual activity, as well as positive behaviors and connection to family, school and community. Questions about some of these topics are only asked of 9th and 11th grade students.
The state goes to great lengths to reassure families that students’ responses are protected from being identified with them.
MSS is completely anonymous and the data is confidential. The data cannot be tied back to students or their families.
Yet for good reason, parents of students and schools concerned over the explicit content of some survey questions have the option to refuse to participate.
Everyone is able to participate in the MSS; however, any school, parent or student has the ability to opt-out. Students can skip any question or stop at any point.
That’s exactly what’s under consideration by the Brainerd School Board, according to the Brainerd Dispatch.
The anonymous statewide survey asks students in fifth, eighth, ninth and 11th grades about their experiences, but the nature of some of the questions has drawn concerns. The survey is given out every three years, with the most recent survey administered in January and June 2025.
Brainerd School Board members discussed the topic during a working retreat on Saturday, March 8, and they seem to be split on whether it should continue in Brainerd.
State health officials say the survey results provide valuable information that’s used to draft policy in collaboration with several other state agencies.
“I think anytime, as a business person, when I can survey clients or staff or whatever, it helps fill in the gaps of knowledge so that you can make better decisions. So I’m a proponent of it,” [Brainerd School Board Chair Sarah] Speer said, noting she knows there are some questions people might not like, but she believes they can still provide valuable information.
But other board members feel the intrusiveness of some questions goes too far to be justified for public policy purposes.
“We are going to ask, ‘Have you ever had sex?’ to a ninth grader? ‘Did you drink alcohol or use drugs before you had sex?’” [School Board member Stephanie] Etterman said. “… I don’t think we need to be asking our students this. It’s only the parents’ business. It’s not the state of Minnesota’s business.”
Students should be in the classroom learning, she said, not answering questions about sex and drug use. And while parents are notified about the survey ahead of time and given the chance to have their child opt out, Etterman said she’s heard from parents with concerns about not getting notified in time.
At least two area school districts no longer participate in the controversial survey. Brainerd already precludes fifth-grade students from taking the MSS. There’s clearly increasing skepticism about the survey’s usefulness on the part of some board members. But it’s still an open question whether a majority will support opting out of the MSS altogether.
Board member DJ Dondelinger said he believes the survey is just another nail in the coffin for Brainerd Public Schools, questioning why students need to answer questions about heroin use or whether their parents argue.
Superintendent Peter Grant said he also thinks the survey is invasive to student privacy and believes the Minnesota Department of Education simply uses it to determine which direction it will go with certain programs. The survey has nothing to do with academics, Grant said, and he questioned what the district does with the results anyway.