California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2167

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.