More than 20 Seattle public middle and high schools surveyed kids about gender identity and sexual orientation without telling their parents — and allegedly shared the data with third parties.
The state’s Check Yourself Survey, which is administered in every Seattle middle school and high school, prompts students as young as 11 to answer questions and fill in the blanks about their personal lives, the National Review reported.
“I am most likely to have a crush on,” one question asks before providing a list of answers which includes “all genders” and “males and females.”
Another prompt reads “About Me: I identify as,” with the options listed including “questioning my gender identity” and “non-binary.”
Students, some as young as sixth-graders, were also asked what their “top goals” are for the coming year, with “be in a romantic relationship” listed as an option, the outlet reported.
The kids didn’t all appreciate the questions.
“No I’m also twelve,” one answered, according to the outlet, while another responded, “why do you want to know my sexual orientation,” and another replied: “I never want to do this again.”
The survey, which has been taken by 67,000 students since its inception nearly a decade ago, also asks students about smoking, drinking, drug use, suicidal ideation and problems at home including “fighting or physically hurting others.”
The data was allegedly shared with numerous third parties, including Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and King County, which encompasses Seattle, according to National Review.
The US Department of Education’s Student Private Policy office is investigating the Seattle-area schools.
Parents said they were never informed of the sexual nature of some of the survey questions, or that the information would be shared outside the schools, the National Review reported.
Nearly two dozen parents signed a letter insisting schools get written permission before administering the survey.
“If parents want to sign their kids up for a program that releases their health information and their personally identifiable information, that is their decision, but every parent deserves to make this decision under informed written consent,” Seattle mom Stephanie Hager told the National Review.
“These records are super valuable because this is very difficult information to get from students or from adolescents, kids, minors,” Hager claimed.
The King County Ombudsman’s Office found “no evidence indicates wrongful disclosure of private student information by King County,” according to a 2024 report — which also acknowledged that one school district released “sensitive student identifying information . . . several years ago.”
Seattle Public Schools reportedly used a $1.5 million federal grant for the survey in 2025 by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
A spokesperson for SAMHSA told The Post that the funds can not be used for services that violate federal law and that the agency is reviewing the matter internally. The county denied responsibility for the disclosure.
The Department of Education, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Seattle Public Schools did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
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