Seattle Schools Surveyed Students on Mental Health. Then Parents Discovered the Data Weren't Secure.

A mental health survey administered to Seattle-area middle and high schoolers is putting their sensitive personal information at risk, according to a February investigation from The Seattle Times and the education-focused outlet The 74. While parents and schools were sold on the survey as a tool to identify struggling
students, a public records request showed just how invasive many survey questions are.

The survey, called Check Yourself, takes around 12 minutes to complete and asks students about general demographic features, along with questions about their mental health. For example, it asks students, “During the past year, did you ever seriously think about ending your life?” According to The 74, King County, which includes Seattle, has spent more than $21 million on the survey and related mental health supports since 2018.

“We know their school, gender, age on a certain date, grade level, language they speak, their dogs’ names, friends’ names, race, their unique interests, what sports they play, if they are religious, and anything else they feel like writing in—plus their whole mental health record,” Stephanie Hager, a Seattle-area parent, told reporter Linda Jacobson. Hager is part of a group of parents who sought to highlight the survey’s security vulnerabilities by successfully obtaining student data through a public records request. Hager says she identified six different students based on the information they provided in the survey and a quick internet search—highlighting just how easily students can be de-anonymized.

Some school officials have echoed these concerns. “We want to proceed with an abundance of caution to not create unnecessary harm,” one school administrator wrote in a 2019 report discussing the survey. “A factor that has complicated our efforts in particular is a lack of clarity and guidance around the validity and reliability and vetting of the screening tool. We are unsure if we are being asked to field test a research or diagnostic tool. As such we have concerns about ensuring clear and consistent informed consent.”

“It really is causing considerable angst,” the school official added.

This isn’t the first school district that mishandled sensitive student information. In 2023, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia accidentally released confidential records on around 35,000 students—including whether students were experiencing suicidal thoughts—to a parent who had requested her child’s records. Across the nation, school districts have embedded software in school-owned laptops and tablets meant to monitor students for signs of mental health crises. This has led to instances where students have faced intrusive questioning from school staff—or even had police show up at their homes in the middle of the night—for typing words or phrases that ended up being totally innocuous.

In their effort to prevent mental health crises, schools are gathering a staggering amount of personal information—risking students’ privacy and security for a nebulous gain to physical safety.

The post Seattle Schools Surveyed Students on Mental Health. Then Parents Discovered the Data Weren’t Secure. appeared first on Reason.com.