03/25/2009 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

           SB 101-STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS                                                                        
                                                                                                                              
2:51:36 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS announced consideration of SB 101.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
TOM OBERMEYER,  staff to Senator  Davis, sponsor of SB  101, said                                                               
the  primary  reason for  SB  101  is  to  allow the  Youth  Risk                                                               
Behavior Survey  to be administered  in the schools  with passive                                                               
parental consent. That  means that if parents  are given adequate                                                               
notice and  an opportunity  to review the  survey and  don't want                                                               
their children to take it, they  can notify the school in writing                                                               
that  they  do  not  want   their  children  to  participate.  In                                                               
addition, an exception in the bill  allows a child who is sitting                                                               
to take the survey to refuse  to answer some or all questions. He                                                               
added  that  this  survey  is  important to  all  of  the  school                                                               
districts and the centers for  disease control, to help them find                                                               
out what activities are most  affecting the health and welfare of                                                               
children in the public school system.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DAVIS commented that another  reason for the change is that                                                               
the  districts  and  non-profit organizations  have  been  having                                                               
problems getting enough people to take the survey.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:53:24 PM                                                                                                                    
JENNIFER SCHMIDT, representing  herself, Fairbanks, AK, supported                                                               
SB 101. As well as being a parent,  she said she has been a nurse                                                               
since 1972 and served for 12  years as a school board member. She                                                               
supports this  issue because the  standard risk assessment  is an                                                               
important  tool; it  is anonymous  and  provides guidelines  that                                                               
protect students  and families that  are from  small communities.                                                               
It also doesn't use language  that students haven't already heard                                                               
in the  media. It doesn't  address just  sex, drugs and  rock 'n'                                                               
roll,  but  the use  of  seat  belts,  diet, activity  and  other                                                               
important health issues.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
While  on the  school board,  she  served on  the Curriculum  and                                                               
Wellness  Committees,  and  found  that in  order  to  make  good                                                               
decisions  about programs  and curriculum,  good data  is needed.                                                               
One year  the Program Planning  and Evaluation Department  made a                                                               
huge effort to get families  to participate. And even though they                                                               
had good  turn out  locally, the state  still didn't  have enough                                                               
data to validate, so they could  only compare it to federal data.                                                               
She  said   that  other  providers  and   agencies  that  address                                                               
adolescent  health  issues  need  to know  what  the  trends  are                                                               
affecting them -  for instance seat belt use  has increased while                                                               
tobacco use  has decreased. Also  as a parent, Ms.  Schmidt said,                                                               
she thinks it  is important to know what's going  on so they know                                                               
what issues to discuss with their kids.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:57:36 PM                                                                                                                    
JOAN  DIAMOND, Alaska  Public  Health  Association, supported  SB
. The  state spends a lot  of money trying to  get the consent                                                               
forms back; it's incredibly labor  intensive trying to get enough                                                               
participation to  make this  data valid. She  has been  in public                                                               
health since this assessment began,  and parents have always been                                                               
concerned whether this  takes class time away  from the students,                                                               
but it  does not take enough  time away to overshadow  the amount                                                               
of value  the data provides. Alaska  is only one of  three states                                                               
still using active consent.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:00:26 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR THOMAS  asked if she  believes this is a  pro-active step                                                               
in finding  out what kids  are doing in  their lives in  order to                                                               
help prepare them better.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS. DIAMOND responded that using  this data, kids can be provided                                                               
with  an environment  that  will help  them  succeed rather  than                                                               
reacting to the negative things they do.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:02:24 PM                                                                                                                    
PAULA  EASLEY,  Trustee,  Alaska Mental  Health  Trust  Authority                                                               
(AMHTA), said she is also  chair of the Trust Planning Committee.                                                               
She supported  SB 101.  She said  it will  significantly increase                                                               
participation  in this  important survey,  and that  in the  past                                                               
years  the  state  has  not  been able  to  get  the  60  percent                                                               
participation  needed to  validate the  data. Getting  sufficient                                                               
participation  has been  expensive and  this will  do it  at much                                                               
less cost.  The data is used  to identify risky behaviors  and to                                                               
compare it to  that of other states. She  mentioned the attempted                                                               
suicide rate here, which is about  12 percent, is about 4 percent                                                               
higher than the rest of the U.S.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:05:10 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DYSON  commented that he  was the author of  the original                                                               
legislation   requiring   active   consent  and   that   Alaska's                                                               
constitution is one  of the few states with privacy  in it. It is                                                               
his  view that  the state  does not  have a  right to  know these                                                               
details about families and kids.  People want to get more studies                                                               
so  they  can  get  more  money to  do  good  things,  but  found                                                               
districts  are  always  able  to  get  active  participation  for                                                               
inoculations and field  trips. So, he didn't think  the issue was                                                               
that parents are accidentally failing  to provide permission. The                                                               
questions are  very invasive and  young children should  not even                                                               
be exposed  to them. He  is talking about the  fundamental rights                                                               
of parents' and children's privacy.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
[SB 101 was held in committee.]                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:11:15 PM                                                                                                                    
There being  no further  business to  come before  the committee,                                                               
Senator Davis adjourned the meeting at 3:11 p.m.