> I doubt if students could be charged with a crime for lying under these circumstances Probably not. The comment I replied to was saying that choosing to lie

> I doubt if students could be charged with a crime for lying under these circumstances Probably not. The comment I replied to was saying that choosing to lie instead of self-incriminate is sometimes a crime, and I was elaborating on that. > federal officials This advice applies to state and local officials, too. > I'm not sure what the ramifications would be of a minor lying on a survey administered by school administrators Probably nothing. > other problems if students admitted to drug or alcohol use on a survey that identified them by name. Yes, if the survey results ever get out, they might later be used as evidence. Don't say it's not possible -- the police might find an excuse to subpoena the results and get a lax judge to sign off on it, and I seriously doubt that school officials would be willing to go to jail for their students by not complying. Or the results could be stolen, leaked, or hacked.