Parental Notification Letter
10/26/2021
Dear Parent or Guardian:
Our school is taking part in the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on November 3rd and November 10th during Enrichment. This survey was developed in 1991 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Health and Agency of Education. The YRBS has been administered every other year in Vermont since 1993. The YRBS gathers information about health risk behaviors of 6th through 12th-grade students. The survey will ask about nutrition, physical activity, injuries, sexual behaviors, tobacco, including vaping, alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use. Results from the YRBS help us determine the extent to which adolescents engage in or experience health risk behaviors. The results from the YRBS support public health officials, educators, and community organization’s ability to assess and improve efforts to reduce health risk behaviors among adolescents throughout the state and nation. They help us develop and evaluate health-related programs and securing future funding.
The YRBS is anonymous and survey procedures have been designed to protect your child’s privacy. Some students may find certain questions to be sensitive. However, students will not put their names on the survey and student login information is not recorded. Individual survey responses will not be divulged in a report of the results or disclosed to any school employee.
For this survey to be accurate, it is important that all students, regardless of whether they have engaged in health-risk behaviors, are given an opportunity to participate in the survey. We would like all students to take part in the survey to best understand the issues and experiences of youth, however, the survey is voluntary. As a parent, you have the right to inspect the survey before it is administered and to opt your child out of participating in the survey. In addition, students may skip any questions they do not wish to answer or stop taking the survey at any point without penalty. A copy of the survey is available on the Department of Health YRBS webpage (www.healthvermont,gov/yrbs). If you have any questions or concerns, please call Elaine Archambault @ 802-527-6571.
Please visit the Vermont Department of Health website at: http://healthvermont.gov/yrbs for more information about the Vermont YRBS including previous reports. Links to the CDC’s YRBS page, FAQs, and other background information are available by clicking “Learn more about the YRBS” on the website.
Should you decide to opt your child out of taking the survey, please complete the following form and return it to Guidance by Tuesday, November 2, 2021.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Brett Blanchard, Principal
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Opt-Out Form
Please complete this form only if you DO NOT want your child to participate in the survey.
Form must be returned to Guidance by November 2, 2021.
Student’s name:___________________________________________ Grade: _______
I have read this form and know what the survey is about.
[ ] NO, my child may not take part in the 2021 Vermont YRBS.
Parent or Guardian’s name:_______________________________________
Parent or Guardian’s signature:____________________________________
Date:_________________ Phone number: __________________________