[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1271 Referred in Senate (RFS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1271


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 5, 1995

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
               To provide protection for family privacy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Family Privacy Protection Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. FAMILY PRIVACY PROTECTION.

    (a) Restriction on Seeking Information From Minors.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to section 6, in 
conducting a program or activity funded in whole or in part by the 
Federal Government a person may not, without the prior written consent 
of at least one parent or guardian of a minor or, in the case of an 
emancipated minor, the prior consent of the minor, require or otherwise 
seek the response of the minor to a survey or questionnaire which is 
intended to elicit, or has the effect of eliciting, information 
concerning any of the following:
            (1) Parental political affiliations or beliefs.
            (2) Mental or psychological problems.
            (3) Sexual behavior or attitudes.
            (4) Illegal, antisocial, or self-incriminating behavior.
            (5) Appraisals of other individuals with whom the minor has 
        a familial relationship.
            (6) Relationships that are legally recognized as 
        privileged, including those with lawyers, physicians, and 
        members of the clergy.
            (7) Religious affiliations or beliefs.
    (b) General Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any of 
the following:
            (1) The seeking of information for the purpose of a 
        criminal investigation or adjudication.
            (2) Any inquiry made pursuant to a good faith concern for 
        the health, safety, or welfare of an individual minor.
            (3) Administration of the immigration, internal revenue, or 
        customs laws of the United States.
            (4) The seeking of any information required by law to 
        determine eligibility for participation in a program or for 
        receiving financial assistance.
    (c) Academic Performance Tests.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
tests intended to measure academic performance except to the extent 
that questions in such tests would require a minor to reveal 
information listed in a paragraph of subsection (a).

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.

    The head of any Federal department or agency which provides funds 
for any program or activity involving the seeking of any response from 
a minor to any survey or questionnaire shall establish procedures by 
which the department, agency, or its grantees shall notify minors and 
their parents of protections provided under this Act. The procedures 
shall also provide for advance public availability of each 
questionnaire or survey to which a response from a minor is sought.

SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE.

    The head of each Federal department or agency shall establish such 
procedures as are necessary to ensure compliance with this Act and the 
privacy of information obtained pursuant to this Act by the department 
or agency and its grantees. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
foreclose any individual from obtaining judicial relief.

SEC. 5. MINOR DEFINED.

    In this Act, the terms ``minor'' and ``emancipated minor'' will be 
defined under the laws of the State in which the individual resides.

SEC. 6. APPLICATION.

    This Act does not apply to any program or activity which is subject 
to the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.).

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 4, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.