2015 Utah Code
Title 53A - State System of Public Education
Chapter 1 - Administration of Public Education at the State Level
Part 4 - Powers and Duties
Section 411 - Pilot online school survey program.

Effective 5/12/2015
53A-1-411. Pilot online school survey program.

• (1) As used in this section, "board" means the State Board of Education.

• (2)
  • (a) Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the State Board of Education shall establish a pilot online school survey program in consultation with representatives of local school boards, charter school governing boards, school district and school administrators, teachers, and parents.
  • (b) The board shall develop the technology, or contract with a provider selected through a request for proposals process to provide the technology, for the pilot online school survey program to be used by the board, a school district, or a school.

• (3) The purposes of the pilot online school survey program are to:
  • (a) provide information to school districts and schools on how to better serve and meet the needs of students and parents;
  • (b) allow school districts and schools to monitor progress of school improvement efforts; and
  • (c) provide data that may be used as part of a school district's or school's educator evaluation system and inform decisions about employment and professional development.

• (4) The pilot online school survey program shall include:
  • (a) age appropriate surveys for students to evaluate each of their teachers;
  • (b) age appropriate surveys for students to evaluate their school's administrators;
  • (c) a survey for parents to evaluate their children's teachers;
  • (d) a survey for parents to evaluate their children's schools and administrators, including whether the school or administrators solicited parent involvement in the school;
  • (e) a survey for parents to self-evaluate their participation in their children's education, including attendance at parent teacher conferences, involvement in the school, and involvement in their children's homework;
  • (f) a survey for teachers to evaluate their school, including safety and security of the school;
  • (g) a survey for teachers to evaluate their school's administrators and, if applicable, their school district's administrators;
  • (h) statistically valid and reliable measurement tools; and
  • (i) survey questions that represent information that a student, parent, or teacher has direct knowledge of.

• (5)
  • (a) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), the pilot online school survey program instruments shall be uniform statewide to allow for comparison of:
    • (i) survey results statewide; and
    • (ii) survey results from year to year.
  • (b) The State Board of Education may allow a school participating in the pilot online school survey program to create a supplement to the pilot online school survey program instrument that includes items specific to the school.

• (6)
  • (a) The board shall select a sampling of schools to participate in and administer the pilot online school survey program to students, parents, and teachers.
  • (b) The sampling of urban and rural schools selected by the board shall:
    • (i) represent at least 5% of total state enrollment in public schools; and
    • (ii) include at least:
      • (A) eight elementary schools;
      • (B) eight junior high or middle schools;
      • (C) eight high schools; and
      • (D) five charter schools.
  • (c) The schools selected in Subsection (6)(b)(ii) shall be selected from at least five school districts.
  • (d) Except as provided in Subsection (6)(e), a participating school shall survey all of the students enrolled in the participating school.
  • (e) A participating school shall survey:
    • (i) students in grades 1 and 2 if considered appropriate;
    • (ii) students in grades 3 through 12; and
    • (iii) parents and teachers of students in kindergarten through grade 12.

• (7)
  • (a) A participating school shall, annually for an elementary school or semi-annually for a secondary school:
    • (i) administer online student surveys of teachers for each of a student's teachers;
    • (ii) make available to parents online access to surveys, which they may complete for each of their children's teachers and schools; and
    • (iii) make available to teachers online access to a survey of their school, which they may complete.
  • (b) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the State Board of Education shall make rules establishing procedures for administering or making available online the surveys specified in Subsection (7)(a), including rules to ensure the privacy and protection of individual educator survey results.

• (8) The survey data shall be available to:
  • (a) the State Board of Education for the purpose of analyzing and aggregating the survey data; and
  • (b) school district and school administrators for the purposes stated in Subsection (3).

• (9) On or before the November meeting of the Education Interim Committee in 2015, the State Board of Education shall report:
  • (a) the response rate of students, parents, and teachers in each of the participating schools; and
  • (b) the reliability of the pilot online school survey program as an evaluation tool.

Amended by Chapter 418, 2015 General Session