Amended  IN  Senate  March 24, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 699

Introduced by Senator Eggman

February 19, 2021

An act to add Section 52064.7 to the Education Code, relating to school climate.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 699, as amended, Eggman. School climate: statewide school climate indicator: surveys.
Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts and county boards of education to adopt local control and accountability plans using a state template adopted by the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the local control and accountability plan to include, among other things, a description of annual goals for all pupils and specified subgroups of pupils to be achieved for each state priority, as specified, including, among other state priorities, school climate. Existing law establishes that school climate can be measured by pupil suspension rates, pupil expulsion rates, and other local measures, including surveys of pupils, parents, and teachers on the sense of safety and school connectedness. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt state and local indicators to measure school district and individual schoolsite performance in regard to each state priority.
This bill would require the state board, on or before October 1, 2022, to adopt a statewide school climate survey indicator, based on data collected from the California Healthy Kids Survey. The bill would require the state board to adopt standards for school district and individual schoolsite performance and expectations for improvement on the school climate indicator, and to publicly report performance data. The bill would require the State Department of Education, contingent on funds being appropriated in the annual Budget Act or another statute, to administer and make available the California Healthy Kids Survey, provide technical assistance to school districts, local educational agencies, develop a list of approved alternative school climate survey tools, as specified, and collect and analyze data regarding local and statewide pupil health risks and behaviors, school connectedness, pupil supports, and school violence. To the extent the bill would impose The bill would require each local educational agency to annually administer the California Healthy Kids Survey or an alternative school climate survey that includes a subset of questions from the California Healthy Kids Survey, consistent with the statewide school climate indicator adopted by the state board. By imposing additional obligations on school districts, local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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 consists of 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 pupils.
(b) A growing body of research shows that school climate strongly influences pupils’ motivation to learn and improve academic performance. When school members feel safe, valued, cared for, respected, and engaged, learning increases.
(c) Schools that provide pupils with support to meet these basic needs allow their pupils to grow socially, emotionally, and academically, while avoiding problems ranging from emotional distress to drug use to violence.
(d) The California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey (CAL-SCHLS) data collection system is comprised of the California Healthy Kids Survey of pupils, the California School Climate Survey of staff, and the California School Parent Survey. The CAL-SCHLS suite of surveys provides a critical lens into the learning and teaching environments of the state’s schools. CAL-SCHLS serves as 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.
(e) 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, parental involvement, and supporting vulnerable pupil subgroups.
(f) California’s statewide system of support is intended to help local educational agencies who are struggling to meet the needs of subgroups of pupils on multiple measures. For the state to signal that school climate is a priority on equal footing with other indicators, like academic achievement, school climate needs to be included in the California School Dashboard as a statewide indicator. School climate should be a state indicator for which local educational agencies are identified for support when they are not meeting the needs of pupil subgroups.
(g) A subset of the data collected from CAL-SCHLS should be used to evaluate statewide progress in meeting state priorities and identifying local educational agencies in need of support in creating positive school climate, particularly for vulnerable pupil subgroups.

SEC. 2.

 Section 52064.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:

52064.7.
 (a) On or before October 1, 2022, the state board shall adopt a statewide school climate indicator, consisting of a subset of the data collected from the California Healthy Kids Survey, part of the California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey.
(b) The state board shall adopt standards for school district and individual schoolsite performance and expectations for improvement on the school climate indicator, as appropriate, and publicly report performance data, as described in Section 52064.5.
(c) The department shall, contingent on funds being appropriated in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose, administer and make available the California Healthy Kids Survey, provide technical assistance to school districts, local educational agencies, develop a list of approved alternative school climate survey tools that gather the required data and meet the file loading specifications for integrating data with the California Healthy Kids Survey, and collect and analyze data regarding local and statewide pupil health risks and behaviors, school connectedness, pupil supports, and school violence.
(d) Each local educational agency shall annually administer the California Healthy Kids Survey or an alternative school climate survey that includes a subset of questions from the California Healthy Kids Survey, consistent with the statewide school climate indicator adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).

SEC. 3.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.