BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1166
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1166 (Solorio)
As Amended January 18, 2012
Majority vote
EDUCATION 8-1
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, | | |
| |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | | |
| |Eng, | | |
| |Beth Gaines | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits school districts from including any information
about a pupil's scores on standardized tests or course grades on
that pupil's school identification (ID) card or any other object
that the pupil is required by school officials to carry on his or
her person while present at school. Defines "information" to
include, but not necessarily be limited to, a pupil's actual test
scores or grades, the percentile or range into which those test
scores or grades fall, or any symbol, color, logo, or other device
or emblem used to represent or convey any information about those
test scores or grades.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that any pupil results or a record of accomplishment
shall be private and may not be released to any person, other than
the pupil's parent or guardian and a teacher, counselor or
administrator directly involved with the pupil, without the
express written consent of either the parent or guardian of the
pupil if the pupil is a minor, or the pupil if the pupil has
reached the age of majority or is emancipated. (Education Code
(EC) Section 60607)
2)Specifies that individual pupil test results from the Standardized
Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program may only be released with the
permission of either the pupil's parent or guardian if the pupil
is a minor, or the pupil if the pupil has reached the age of
majority or is emancipated. (EC Section 60641)
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3)Specifies that a district may provide, at its discretion,
statistical data from which no pupil may be identified, to any
public agency or entity or private nonprofit college, university
or educational research and development organization when such
actions would be in the best educational interest of pupils. (EC
Section 49074)
4)Protects, under the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy
Act, the privacy of pupil records by requiring written permission
from the parent or eligible student, with specified exceptions, in
order for a local education agency to release any information from
a student's education record. (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS :
Background: According to the author, this bill stems from the
issues raised by two incentive programs attempting to increase
achievement on STAR tests at Kennedy High School and Cypress High
School in the Anaheim Union High School District. Across the state,
many schools have incentive programs intended to push pupils towards
strong academic achievement. Few have received as much publicity as
the programs at Kennedy High School and Cypress High School.
At the start of the 2010-2011 school year, the schools implemented
the new incentive program that required pupils to carry different
colored ID cards based on achievement on the previous year's STAR
tests. If a student scored "advanced" or "proficient" in all
subjects on the previous year's California Standards Test (CST),
they received a gold ID card. All other students received white ID
cards.
In 2011-2012, the schools modified their systems so that if a
student scored advanced on all of the previous year's CSTs, they
were given a black/platinum ID card; if a student scored proficient
or advanced in all of the previous year's CSTs or improved their
scores by at least one level on two or more CSTs, they were given a
gold ID card; and, if a student scored anywhere below proficient or
advanced in any subject or did not improve by one level on two or
more CSTs, they were given a white ID card. Additionally, the
modified program began giving pupils planners whose colors matched
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the colors of their ID cards.
In both years, based on the color of a pupil's ID card, pupils
received various benefits and rewards. Pupils with black/platinum
or gold ID cards could enter a shorter lunch line specifically
reserved for black/platinum or gold cardholders, receive free
admission to certain afterschool activities and pay a lower fee for
football game entrance fees. Pupils with white ID cards could
obtain these benefits only if they improved their score results in
that year's CSTs, which would then move them up to the gold or
black/platinum levels for the following school year.
In response to media and community pressure, the school district
discontinued the ID cards and planners at both schools and provided
all students with uniform ID cards and uniform planners. Currently,
a district task force has been developed to craft a district wide
incentive program to be implemented in the 2012-2013 school year.
This bill prohibits the inclusion of any pupil's standardized test
score or course grade information on a school ID card or any other
object that pupil is required to carry with them at school. It
defines the term "information" as a pupil's actual test scores or
grades, the percentile or range into which those test scores or
grades fall, or any symbol, color, logo or other device or emblem,
used to represent or convey any information about those test scores
or grades. It expands existing law to ensure that incentive
programs using test scores, such as the programs that were in place
at Kennedy High School and Cypress High School, are not permitted.
It clarifies that a pupil's actual test scores, percentile or range
into which those test scores fall, or course grades cannot be
displayed on ID cards or any other item that a student is required
to carry while at school.
Student Privacy Rights: Existing law specifies that a school
district is not authorized to permit access to pupil records to any
person without the permission of either the pupil's parent or
guardian if the pupil is a minor or the pupil if the pupil reached
the age of majority or is emancipated. This leads to two
fundamental questions in response to these incentive programs:
1)Is the scoring range (e.g., "advanced," "proficient," etc.) into
which a pupil falls on the STAR test considered a part of pupil
records? Supporters of the incentive programs argue that
identifying scoring ranges rather than exact pupil scores does not
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violate existing law. Pupil records are defined by EC Section
49061 as "any item of information directly related to an
identifiable pupil." A score range achieved on the CST by an
individual pupil is an item of information that is directly
related to a given pupil. Such score ranges are the result of a
pupil's performance on a standardized test and are based solely on
the responses provided by that individual. While score ranges are
not explicitly included in the definition of pupil records in the
EC, it seems clear that they do fall within the general definition
provided. It can be argued that existing law already prohibits
the programs. This bill is intended to eliminate any confusion by
clarifying specific actions that are prohibited in the EC.
2)Is putting information reflective of test scores on a pupil's ID
card and planner a violation of student privacy? According to
existing law, school districts are not allowed to share pupil
records with anyone but certain specified individuals and groups
working in the best educational interest of the pupil without the
express written consent of a parent or guardian. By putting test
score information on a pupil's own ID card or planner, is that
information being shared with other individuals? Given the nature
of both items - their frequency of use in public situations like
the lunch line - and the fact that both are color coded to match
with student test results, it would seem that this information is
being released publicly. This does not allow pupils or their
families the right to choose to share a pupil's personal
information. According to media reports, the exposure of test
score ranges at these schools led to bullying in at least several
documented instances.
Existing programs at other schools: In addition to the programs at
Kennedy High School and Cypress High School, the language of the
proposed legislation may impact academic incentive programs used at
other schools throughout the state. For example, the Panther Pride
Program at Ida Price Middle School of the Cambrian School District
uses grade point average (GPA) information on pupil ID cards. At
Ida Price Middle School, pupil ID cards are color coded gold if a
pupil receives a 3.67 to a 4.0 GPA, silver if a pupil receives a
3.33 to a 3.66 GPA and bronze if a pupil receives a 2.5 to a 3.32
GPA. The program is intended "to celebrate academic achievement."
Other schools may also include information about course grades on
pupil ID cards for honors programs like the Panther Pride Program.
The impact of this legislation on programs like the Panther Pride
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Program raises an important question: is it acceptable to recognize
high achievers, such as those recognized through honors programs, by
placing information about an exemplary GPA on pupil ID cards? Under
this bill, the practice of including pupil GPA information on ID
cards would be prohibited, but other components of programs
recognizing exemplary students would not be affected.
Arguments in support: The author states "AB 1166 would clarify that
a school cannot include any information on a student identification
card or any object that a student is required to carry at school
that reflects their performance on standardized tests or course
grades."
Arguments in opposition: Opponents of this legislation would argue
that incentive programs are effective in raising Academic
Performance Index (API) scores and should not be discontinued. The
API scores for Kennedy High School and Cypress High School increased
from 821 to 847 and from 880 to 895, respectively, between the
2009-2010 school year and the 2010-2011 school year.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Murphy and Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. /
(916) 319-2087
FN: 0003013