Anchorage School District high school students are getting into fewer fights at school, smoking less, turning away from suicide, and using drugs and alcohol less. They also say there's a disconnect with adults; they feel they don't matter as much and the majority think adults consider it okay for them to drink alcohol.
How do we know this? The answers are provided in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biannual, national survey headed up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey poses questions about drinking and drug use, violence and physical safety, sexual behavior and suicide.
In 2007, the survey found that 15-19 percent of teens seriously considered suicide, the leading cause of death among Alaska's teens. There is much work to do, but we do know community efforts are working; this figure has declined as compared to previous YRBS results.
What challenges, or risks, are children in this community facing? If adults asked them, would they give an honest answer? We believe that the YRBS provides a real glimpse into how teens are living their lives and what serious risks they're taking.
A participation rate of 60 percent is needed for the YRBS to be statistically valid. Active parental consent was enacted in 1999, since that time, ASD has only received usable results twice. Senate Bill 101 would ease those restrictions without diminishing parental rights. SB101 still requires parental notification of the survey, the right to review the survey and the right to refuse their child's participation.
Active parental consent presents significant obstacles and costs to achieve a 60 percent response rate. Parental refusal of permission averages only 10 percent. Research has shown that failure to return permission slips is primarily due to apathy, oversight and student error. Many times, the survey permission form has become an extra piece of paper in a child's backpack that is tossed in the trash, unread.
By knowing the risks our teens are taking, together, the district and community can combat those behaviors; YRBS provides a real tool to determine if our efforts are effective, or if we need to try other options. To limit negative behaviors that lead to health and social problems, we must have reliable data.
YRBS is not mandatory. Parents will always have the right to determine what their children can and cannot do. SB101 simply eliminates the need for parents to complete one more piece of paperwork.
Carol Comeau is superintendent of Anchorage schools.
BY CAROL COMEAU