H.R. 4986 — Parents Opt-in Protection Act

This section amends the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which protects student privacy in federally funded education programs by limiting required surveys, analyses, or evaluations on sensitive topics (e.g., political beliefs, mental health, sexual behavior) absent prior consent and requiring local educational agency (LEA) policies on parental access and privacy protections, as follows: (1) in subsection (b), requiring prior written consent from adult or emancipated minor students (previously, prior consent) for such surveys, analyses, or evaluations and specifying that consent applies to the specific survey, analysis, or evaluation; and (2) in subsection (c)(2)(A), adding a new clause (iii) requiring LEA policies to prohibit requiring a student to submit to a survey described in subparagraph (C)(ii) without prior written consent for the specific survey (mirroring subsection (b) language for adult/emancipated minors and parental consent for unemancipated minors).