BILL NUMBER: AB 2167	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Muratsuchi

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   An act to add Section 49416 to the Education Code, relating to
pupils.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2167, as introduced, Muratsuchi. Pupils: California Healthy
Kids Survey.
   Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the
State Board of Education, and the State Department of Education to
provide to the State Chief Information Officer the individual
nonpersonally identifiable or aggregate data related to, among other
things, pupil assessment and accountability, including, but not
limited to, data generated from, or related to, adequate yearly
progress, graduation rates, pupils who drop out of school, and
demographics of pupils and teachers.
   Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
submit to the Governor, the Legislature, and the state board a report
called the Annual Report on Dropouts in California that includes
data on school climate and pupil engagement from the California
Healthy Kids Survey.
   This bill would establish the California Healthy Kids Survey as a
comprehensive pupil self-report data collection system that addresses
school climate, campus safety, and pupil health risks and behaviors.
The bill would authorize school districts to administer the survey
biennially to pupils in certain grades, and would also authorize a
school district to conduct 2 supplemental surveys, the California
School Parent Survey and the California School Climate Survey. The
bill would specify that funds shall be appropriated to the department
in the annual Budget or other statute to administer the survey,
provide technical assistance, and collect data, as specified. The
bill would specify that, to the extent that funds are appropriated to
the department for these purposes, the department also shall
administer and make available to school districts the California
School Climate Survey and the California School Parent Survey.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) School climate is the learning conditions and quality of the
environment that affect the attitudes, behaviors, and performance of
both pupils and staff. School climate and safety significantly
contribute to, or detract from, the overall academic success of
pupils and the general well-being of our children.
   (b) A growing body of research shows that school climate strongly
influences pupils' motivation to learn and their academic
achievement, as well as teacher job satisfaction and retention.
   (c) A positive school climate promotes pupil engagement and helps
reduce pupil truancy and chronic absence. Chronic absence is
associated with lower pupil achievement and is a clear indicator for
future drop-out.
   (d) Methods to improve school climate often include shifting pupil
discipline policies away from punitive suspension and expulsion
policies to adopting alternative disciplinary measures, such as
positive behavioral intervention or restorative justice programs that
focus on early intervention. Punitive suspension and expulsion
policies, such as zero tolerance policies, show no evidence of making
schools safer and may increase youth involvement in the juvenile
justice system, fail to address the root causes of behavior issues
and underlying social and emotional needs of pupils, and have been
shown to disproportionately impact pupils of color and pupils with
disabilities.
   (e) The California Healthy Kids Survey of pupils, the California
School Climate Survey of staff, and the California School Parent
Survey form the California School Climate, Health, and Learning
Survey (CAL-SCHLS) data collection system. The CAL-SCHLS suite of
surveys provides a critical lens into the learning and teaching
environments of our schools. It is an important planning and
monitoring tool for pupil engagement, resiliency, at-risk behaviors,
and campus safety. It promotes school accountability and supports
pupil, staff, parent, and community engagement efforts.
   (f) The data collected from CAL-SCHLS is a tool for school
districts to plan, implement, and evaluate progress made in meeting
the state priorities of the local control and accountability plan
pursuant to Section 52060 of the Education Code, specifically as it
relates to school climate, pupil engagement, parent involvement, and
in supporting vulnerable subgroups.
  SEC. 2.  Section 49416 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   49416.  (a) The California Healthy Kids Survey is hereby
established as a comprehensive pupil self-report data collection
system that addresses school climate, campus safety, and pupil health
risks and behaviors.
   (b) A school district may administer the California Healthy Kids
Survey biennially to pupils in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11.
   (c) A school district may conduct both of the following
supplemental surveys:
   (1) The California School Parent Survey, which assesses the
perceptions of parents related to school climate, parent outreach,
and pupil achievement.
   (2) The California School Climate Survey, which is a staff survey
to guide school improvement efforts to foster positive learning and
teaching environments.
   (d) Before administering the California Healthy Kids Survey, a
school district shall comply with the parent and guardian
notification and consent provisions contained in Section 51513 and
subdivision (b) of Section 51938.
   (e) Data collected through the California Healthy Kids Survey, the
California School Climate Survey, and the California School Parent
Survey shall be confidential.
   (f) (1) Funds shall be appropriated to the department in the
annual Budget Act or other statute to administer and make available
the California Healthy Kids Survey, provide technical assistance to
school districts, and collect and analyze data regarding local and
statewide pupil health risks and behaviors, school connectedness,
pupil supports, and school violence.
   (2) To the extent that funds are appropriated to the department
for these purposes, the department also shall administer and make
available to school districts the California School Climate Survey
and the California School Parent Survey.