Under what condition is parental notification permitted without active parental permission?

Parental notification without active parental permission is permitted when an Institutional Review Board (IRB) has approved a waiver of the requirement for parental permission. This means that if the IRB, which is tasked with ensuring the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects, assesses the study and determines that it is appropriate to waive parental permission, researchers can proceed without obtaining explicit consent from parents or guardians.

This can occur in certain situations, such as when the research poses minimal risk to the subjects, or where seeking permission may not be feasible or may jeopardize the study's objectives. The IRB’s approval is crucial because it ensures that ethical standards are upheld, protecting the welfare of child participants while still allowing valuable research to be conducted when appropriate.