Parental Rights Opt-Out Notice: 2026–2027 School Year
As parents, you have the fundamental right to direct your child's upbringing and education. The template below is designed to help you exercise that right by opting your child out of surveys, questionnaires, classroom exercises, assignments, instructional activities, or other forms of data collection that could infringe upon your parental rights or address sensitive topics without your knowledge or consent.
Parental Rights Opt-Out Letter Template
Dear [Principal's/Teacher's/Guidance Counselor's Name],
This letter serves as formal written notice of our exercise of parental rights and our non-consent regarding certain activities involving our child during the 2026–2027 school year. We request that this notice be provided to all of our child's teachers and any school personnel responsible for implementing classroom instruction, student services, surveys, or extracurricular activities. Please confirm receipt of this request in writing.
We, [Parent's Names], as the parents of [Child's Name], a minor child, are exercising our parental rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, applicable Colorado law, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232h, and as reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025), which recognizes the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children.
Accordingly, we do not consent to our child's participation in any survey, questionnaire, personal analysis, evaluation, assessment, exercise, assignment, lesson, activity, club, event, discussion, or any other instruction or data collection that concerns, assesses, solicits, or attempts to influence our child's attitudes, values, beliefs, opinions, habits, feelings, or behaviors regarding:
Political affiliations or beliefs;
Religious beliefs or practices;
Mental or psychological conditions;
Sexual behavior or attitudes;
Sexual activity;
Sexual orientation;
Gender identity or gender expression;
Family relationships;
Illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
Moral or ethical beliefs;
Any other topic protected under federal or state law.
Pursuant to the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), we further request that our child be excluded from:
Any survey addressing one or more of PPRA's protected areas unless we have provided prior written consent where required by law.
Any survey or questionnaire for which we are entitled to notice and the opportunity to opt out.
Any collection, disclosure, or use of our child's personal information for marketing, commercial purposes, or distribution to third parties.
Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening for which PPRA provides parental opt-out rights.
If there is any uncertainty as to whether a lesson, activity, survey, instructional material, discussion, or program falls within the scope of this notice, our child is to be excused until we have received advance notice, reviewed the materials, and provided any consent required by law.
Please maintain this notice in our child's educational record and communicate it to every teacher, counselor, administrator, substitute teacher, volunteer, contractor, and other school personnel who may interact with our child during the school year.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this request. Please direct any questions regarding this notice to us before permitting our child to participate in any activity covered by this request.
We appreciate your cooperation in respecting our parental rights and ensuring that our family's wishes are honored throughout the 2026-2027 school year.
Sincerely,
[Parent Name(s)]
Has your school ignored this notice?
Report it through CPAN's Incident Reporting Tool:
