WASHINGTON (AP) - Parents who sued a California school district over a sex survey given to students lost a Supreme Court appeal Monday.
Justices declined to review an appeals court ruling that dismissed the suit against the Palmdale School District.
The parents claimed their constitutional rights were violated when the district conducted surveys that asked students how often they thought about sex, among other questions. The parents said they had the sole right "to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex."
However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said parents of public school children have no "fundamental right" to be the exclusive provider of sexual information to their children.
The district, north of Los Angeles, had dropped the survey in 2002 amid complaints from parents. The poll was given to children in the first, third and fifth grades.
It was part of a program to gauge exposure to early trauma and to assist in designing a program for children to overcome barriers to learning, according to the district.
The case is Fields, et al, v. Palmdale School District, 06-300.
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