KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  New Kansas privacy laws have reduced the number of students participating in an annual survey that measures substance abuse.

Mental health officials say the data from the Kansas Communities That Care survey, which has been conducted for two decades, has been invaluable in forming programs to fight substance abuse.

The Kansas City Star reports  about 100,000 Kansas students filled out the survey in previous years but the number this year could be as low as 25,000.

The change came because an amendment to a data privacy bill passed last year. It requires parental permission before students answer any surveys with questions about issues such as sex, religion or family life. Several school district attorneys decided that the law applied to the survey because it contains questions about family life.