From a reader:

Good morning, Cornerites–
I’m a research psychologist in California (no, we’re not all
fuzzy-headed leftists) and I have a few comments on the Ninth Circuit
case. This case concerned a research questionnaire that was given to
kids; it wasn’t part of the normal sex-ed curriculum or anything of
the kind. In studies like these, the researchers are REQUIRED to
obtain consent from the parents. According to the opinion, they did
so. If you don’t want your kid to participate, you don’t have to sign
the consent form. If by accident or design your kid is then forced to
participate, you have a very strong case on your hands.
But there’s one hitch: the consent form didn’t mention sex. At all.
I find that astounding, frankly. Consent forms are supposed to
provide potential participants with the facts they need to make an
informed decision. The ethics boards that review these studies
generally construe that requirement extraordinarily broadly; I’ve been
required to inform people about all sorts of trivial things. I can’t
fathom how the ethics committee let this one through given that most
parents, regardless of their political orientation, would likely want
to know about the sexual content of the questions before coming to a
decision.
One could also argue that the questionnaire is a bit silly (do you
think 7-year-olds are going to give serious answers to these
questions? Do they even have a reasonable working definition of sex?)
but that’s another question, and one outside the jurisdiction of the
court.