The teacher was absolutely correct to warn these kids, and it's absurd that the district would to try to punish him over it. No good things can come from answering questions like this on a personally identifiable survey. The school even stated that the intent was to identify and help at-risk students - meaning the information was going to be reviewed, discussed by and disclosed to staff, put in the students' files, and acted upon. There is absolutely nothing that would stop this survey from making it to college admissions offices, law enforcement, parents, etc.
The fact that the district wouldn't have instructed all teachers to notify students of the potential ramifications of answering such questions is a big problem. If any of the data later has a negative impact on someone's child, the district may have some legal liability. This teacher should actually be rewarded potentially shielding the district from a lawsuit.
The fact that the district wouldn't have instructed all teachers to notify students of the potential ramifications of answering such questions is a big problem. If any of the data later has a negative impact on someone's child, the district may have some legal liability. This teacher should actually be rewarded potentially shielding the district from a lawsuit.