BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1166|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1166
Author: Solorio (D), et al.
Amended: 6/7/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 5/16/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price,
Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Alquist, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-5, 1/26/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupils: privacy of pupil records: standardized
test scores and
grades
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits school districts from
including information about a pupils scores on standardized
tests or course grades on a school identification (ID) card
or any other object a pupil may be required to carry while
at school.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/7/12 (1) state the intent of
the Legislature that the section of the Education Code to
be added by this bill does not prohibit a pupil, at his/her
option, from wearing or displaying an emblem or insignia
that honors or recognizes his/her academic achievements,
and (2) add a coauthor.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Existing law specifies that a school district
may provide statistical data to a public agency or entity,
private nonprofit college, university, or educational
research and development organization, as long as no pupil
may be identified from the data.
Existing law specifies that a pupil record means any item
of information directly related to an identifiable pupil
(other than directory information) that is maintained by a
school district, whether recorded by handwriting, print,
tapes, film, microfilm, or other means.
Existing law requires every pupil to have an individual
record of accomplishment by the end of grade 12 that
includes the results of achievement tests administered as
part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)
Program, the results of end-of-course exams, and any
vocational education certification exams a pupil may have
taken. Existing law specifies that a pupil's record of
accomplishment is private and may not be released to any
person other than the pupil's parent or guardian, or a
teacher, counselor, or administrator directly involved with
the pupil, without the express written consent of either
the parent or guardian if the pupil is a minor, or the
pupil if the pupil has reached the age of majority or is
emancipated.
Existing law specifies that individual test results from
the STAR program may only be released with the permission
of either the pupil's parent or guardian, or the pupil if
the pupil has reached the age of majority or is
emancipated.
Existing federal law, the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) generally prohibits the improper
disclosure of personally identifiable information derived
from education records. FERPA applies to all educational
agencies and institutions that receive funding under any
program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Under FERPA, schools are required to provide certain
privacy protections for the educational records they
maintain.
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This bill:
1. Prohibits a school district from including on a pupil's
ID card, or any other object a pupil is required to
carry on his or her person while at school, any
information about the pupil's scores on standardized
tests or course grades a pupil has received. Prohibited
information includes but is not limited to the
following:
A. A pupil's actual test score or grades.
B. The percentile or range into which those test
scores or grades fall.
C. Any symbol, color, logo, or other device or emblem
used to represent or convey any information about
those test scores or grades.
2. States the intent of the Legislature that the bill
should not be construed to prohibit schools from
honoring or recognizing pupil achievement nor to
prohibit a pupil, at his/her option, from wearing or
displaying an emblem or insignia that honors or
recognizes his/her academic achievements.
Comments
According to the Senate Education Committee analysis:
Performance-based incentive programs . Since the California
Standards Tests (CSTs) do not generally affect a student's
academic standing, some high schools have found it
challenging to ensure that students take the annual tests
as seriously as they do the California High School Exit
Exam or end-of-course examinations. Yet because of the
important role the CSTs play in a school's Academic
Performance Index standing, some schools have turned to
incentive programs to encourage higher achievement levels.
At the start of the 2010-11 school year, Kennedy High
School and Cypress High School in the Anaheim Union High
School District (AUHSD) implemented a new incentive program
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that assigned pupils different colored ID cards based on
their performance on the previous year's CSTs in the STAR
program. Students who scored "advanced" or "proficient" in
all subjects on the 2009-10 CSTs received a gold ID card.
All other students received white ID cards.
The schools modified their programs for the 2011-12 school
year giving students who scored "advanced" on all of the
previous year's CSTs a black/platinum ID card, while
students who scored proficient or advanced on all of the
2010-2011 CSTs or improved their scores by at least one
level on two or more CSTs were given a gold ID card.
Students who scored below proficient or advanced in any
subject or did not meet the improvement criteria were given
a white ID card. The modified program also included
color-coded planners that coordinated with the ID cards.
A student's designation remained in place for the school
year, and students were expected to carry their ID cards
with them. In both years, pupils with the premium ID cards
received certain benefits and rewards. Pupils with
black/platinum or gold ID cards were entitled to separate
(shorter) lunch lines specifically reserved for them,
discounts and/or free admission to certain after school
activities, and lower entry fees for football games. In
effect, these programs penalized the lower performing
students with longer lines and more expensive student
activities for the whole school year regardless of any
improvements in grades or coursework during that time. In
response to media and community pressure, the AUHSD
discontinued the programs in fall 2011 and has since
provided students with uniform ID cards and planners. The
district has formed a task force to develop a new program
to incentivize students.
Although many schools have honors programs for students who
want to demonstrate academic excellence, they are often
programs or courses of study to which the student applies
and in which benefits are related to activities and
performance within the program, such as access to
specialized classes, graduation recognition, or scholarship
eligibility. This bill does not limit the ability of
schools to encourage high achievement through programs that
recognize superior performance. The programs addressed by
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this bill are non-voluntary, school-wide programs that have
the effect of publicly identifying students based on
academic performance with benefits/penalties that may not
be directly related to performance.
Privacy concerns . Incentive programs that distinguish
between students on the basis of academic performance raise
issues of student privacy if the indicators of academic
achievement are derived from pupil records. Current law
prohibits the disclosure of individual test results without
explicit permission and further states that a pupil record
means any item of information directly related to an
identifiable pupil. Supporters of incentive programs have
argued that identifying score ranges (e.g. "advanced,"
"proficient," etc.) rather than a pupil's individual test
score does not violate existing law. However, since score
ranges are derived from a pupil's score, an argument can be
made that they are an essential part of the test results
and should therefore be protected. Given that students
frequently use ID cards in public places such as the school
library, the lunch line, or student activities, it seems
reasonable that the cards should not contain information
derived from a pupil's private record of achievement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/11/12)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the purpose of this bill is to address privacy issues
raised by incentive programs that identify a pupil's level
of academic achievement on ID cards or other objects that
students are required to carry while at school. Although
the intent of such programs may be to encourage
improvements in academic achievement, the author maintains
that the programs serve to publicly brand students, which
can embarrass some students and result in inequitable
treatment of students "branded" as lower achieving.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-5, 1/26/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Cook, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Donnelly, Grove, Hagman, Knight, Morrell
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Conway, Davis, Furutani,
Gorell, Halderman, Norby, Smyth, Valadao
PQ:mw 6/11/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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