The Indiana Youth Survey findings have just been released and thanks to Indiana GOP lawmakers, the findings use a very limited data set.
For more than thirty years, the INYS has been used to assess patterns of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use (ATOD) as reported by Indiana youth in grades 6 through 12, as well as the presence of factors that either protect or create a risk for developing problems with ATOD. Additionally, the survey assesses mental well-being and the occurrence of suicidal ideation. This survey data, along with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indiana Health Department, is used in The Kids Count Data Book, essential information for schools and a variety of youth organizations trying to tailor their programming and services to local needs. Furthermore, the data is essential for securing federal and state grants.
The INYS is voluntary and anonymous, without personal identification information, and is offered free of charge to schools every two years. Each school organization receives a 92-page report detailing survey responses. In 2023, the Indiana legislature signed into law House Enrolled Act 1447, which made the method of obtaining parental consent to participate in surveys like the INYS incredibly time and resource intensive, that is, if school companies even understand the law . Many school administrators have falsely reported that the law prevented them from administering the INYS.
How do we know HEA 1447 had this effect? In 2018, 407 schools facilitated the survey and 119,991 youth participated, yielding 112,240 usable surveys. This year, after HEA 1447, the number of schools has fallen to 223, with 63,678 young people participating and 60,034 usable surveys. Thanks to the Indiana GOP, we have half the data we had in 2018.
This year’s research shows that drug use among young people has decreased, which is great. And we only have about 13% of Indiana teens in our sample, less than half of what we had in 2018. HEA 1447 makes it impossible for schools to use reliable and valid universal mental health screening tools, a measure recommended by every entity concerned with school safety, including the Department of Homeland Security.
I want lawmakers, state and local education officials and leaders to care more about the well-being of our youth than about removing books from schools, limiting topics related to race and historical injustice, banning words like social emotional learning and LGBTQT, or creating a portal to file complaints against schools. What on earth is wrong with our legislators that they spend so much effort and resources on these issues, and then severely limit efforts to assess the issues facing our students – real threats, real problems, like ATOD use and feelings of hopelessness and suicide? Shame on them for prioritizing political posturing over genuine concern for our children. Shame, shame, shame.
Sandy Washburn is a research associate at Indiana University Bloomington.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: State lawmakers prioritize political posturing over child care
