Contact: Brad Dacus, President, Pacific Justice Institute, 916-857-6900 

VENTURA, Calif., Feb. 23 /Standard Newswire/ -- A sex survey was distributed to students by a high school newspaper at Ventura High School, located in southern California.  Some of the questions included were:  "What grade were you in when you lost your virginity?"  "What is your overall number of partners you have engaged in sexual activity with ?" "Were you sober the first time you engaged in sexual activity?" "How often do you engage in sexual activity?" "Are your parents aware of your sexual activity?"  "Have you or your partner ever had an abortion?"  The student newspaper, called the Cougar Press, subsequently published the results of the clandestine survey.  This despite state law which prohibits sex surveys without parental knowledge.  According to the newspaper, the survey was given to 1,000 students in every grade in the high school.

The survey was administered with the knowledge and assistance of the high school during the second class period and had no relationship to any subject the students were enrolled in during that period.  "The school allowed the use of instructional time to administer the survey and the teachers then collected it and handed it over to the newspaper," said parent John Silva who obtained a copy of the newspaper from a concerned student.  "Because the sex survey was given without prior written notice and subsequent written consent by the parents or guardians, the school violated the law," commented Kevin Snider, chief counsel of the Pacific Justice Institute.  "By facilitating the newspaper to conduct the survey, we feel the school was complicit in violating the rights of the parents," said Julie Wilson, a parent of a high school student. 

Pacific Justice Institute will be assisting the parents with the filing of an administrative complaint.  "The parents have tried to reason with school officials about this, but so far administrators have failed to grasp that giving the students this survey without prior written notice and consent was illegal," Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute stated.  

About The Pacific Justice Institute:  Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Pacific Justice Institute works diligently, without charge, to provide their clients with all the legal support they need.  Pacific Justice Institute's strategy is to coordinate and oversee large numbers of concurrent court actions through a network of over 1,000 affiliate attorneys nationwide. And, according to former US Attorney General Edwin Meese, "The Institute fills a critical need for those whose civil liberties are threatened." "Through our dedicated attorneys and supporters, we defend the rights of countless individuals, families and churches... without charge."

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