2016-2017 Annual Notice to Parents (K-12) - School & College Legal Services of California

Consistent with Education Code section 48980 and other state and federal laws which require districts to annually notify students, parents, and guardians of their legal rights and responsibilities, attached is a form Annual Notice to Parents appropriate for use for the 2016-2017 school year.

LEGAL UPDATE

April 20, 2016

To: Superintendents, Member School Districts (K-12)

From: Steven P. Reiner, Assistant General Counsel

Subject: 2016-17 Annual Notice to Parents

Memo No. 13-2016

The attached Annual Notice to Parents will satisfy a school district’s obligations under Education Code section 48980 and other state and federal laws addressing annual notice requirements. However, please be aware that the attached Annual Notice to Parents:

Provides only summary notification to parents for annually required notices; and

Does not satisfy any specific circumstance notifications that may be required under state and/or federal law, which will vary from district to district and may vary from school site to school site.

Notification Changes for 2016-2017

The following changes have been made to the 2016-2017 Annual Notice to Parents:

Scoliosis Screening Notice: Education Code section 49452.5, which requires school districts to provide for scoliosis screenings, has again been suspended pursuant to the Governor’s Budget Act of 2015 for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. As a result, school districts may exercise their discretion as to whether to provide this service since this service is not mandated. Therefore, this section reflects that a district may provide for scoliosis screenings.

Please be advised that in approximately August of 2016, the California Department of Finance will advise the California Department of Education if this mandate will continue to be suspended for the 2016-2017 school year. If scoliosis screenings are mandated for the 2016-2017 school year, school districts may need to provide notice to parents of this change.

Integrated Pest Management Plan: Reference to Education Code section 17611.5 is added which states if district uses a pesticide not authorized in Education Code section 17610.5 the district shall provide access to an integrated pest management (IPM) plan, which can be done by posting the IPM on the school or district website, if either is maintained, or by distributing the IPM plan as described in section 17611.5 with the annual parent notification.
Instruction in Comprehensive Sexual Health Education and HIV Prevention: Education Code section 51938 has been updated to reflect that a district shall not require active parental consent for comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education. Parents may excuse their child from such education by submitting a written request to the school district. The language of the statute also changes “HIV/AIDS” prevention to “HIV” prevention. The law has been updated to state a district shall not require active parental consent to administer anonymous, voluntary, and confidential research and evaluation tools to measure pupils’ health behaviors and risks in grades 7-12 inclusive. Parents may excuse their child from participation in such research and evaluation tools by submitting a written request to the school district.

Communicable Diseases: Education Code section 48216 requires districts to notify parents they must provide evidence of proper immunizations or that the student is exempt. Immunization requirements for students contained in the Health and Safety Code have changed. All students entering kindergarten, advancing from sixth to seventh grade in the district, or prior to his or her first admission to the district, will be required to comply with the new immunization requirements of Health and Safety Code section 120335, unless the student provides the district with a valid medical exemption from a licensed physician. No new personal-belief exemptions may be accepted. Students with personal-belief exemptions on file with a district as of January 1, 2016 shall be allowed to continue enrollment in that district until entering the next grade span. The grade spans are defined as birth through preschool, K through 6, including transitional kindergarten, and 7 through 12. All students entering 7^th grade must be immunized for his or her age as required by Health and Safety Code section 120335. Students qualified for an individualized education program may access “special education and related services as required by his or her individualized educational program.”

High School Exit Examination: The notice requirement of the high school exit exam has been removed pursuant to Education Code section 60851.5 which suspends the requirement of a high school examination as a condition or receiving a diploma or condition of graduation from high school through the 2017-2018 school year.
Vision Appraisal: This section has been updated to reflect vision appraisals are required during kindergarten, upon initial enrollment, and in grades 2, 5, and 8. The visual appraisal now includes tests for near vision. Appraisal in the year immediately following a student’s first enrollment in grades 4 or 7 shall not be required. A visual appraisal is not required if the parent files a written religious objection with the principal.

Choosing a School Outside District in Which Parent Lives: This section has been updated under “Option 1: Districts of Choice” to reflect that a school district in which an active military duty parent of a student resides shall not deny the transfer of that student to a school in any district, if the school district to which the parent of the student applies approves the application for transfer. (Education Code section 48301(f)).

References to No Child Left Behind: No Child Left Behind Act (“NCLB”) was replaced with Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) in December of 2015. As a result, several provisions of NCLB have changed, however, many still remain. Regulations and state law enacted to comply with NCLB have not yet been updated to reflect the recent changes made in ESSA. The Annual Notice to Parents has been updated to reflect the change to ESSA and the elimination of supplemental educational services. Various other sections of NCLB have been reenacted in different locations throughout ESSA. Additional changes to the regulations and state law will be provided in School and College Legal Services legal updates as they become available.

Additional Documents That Must be Included in the Annual Notice to Parents

As always, each school district is required to provide, in addition to the Annual Notice to Parents, documents that are specific to each individual school district. The following documents must also be included with the Annual Notice to Parents:

Your district’s policy on sexual harassment;

A listing of all pesticides that will be used at each school site in your district (including the Internet address developed by the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to Food and Agricultural Code section 13184 for access to information on pesticides and pesticide use reduction, and the parent option to register to receive notification of individual pesticide applications at the school facility) and, if using pesticides not listed in Education Code 17610.5, the district’s integrated pest management (IPM) plan or the district website address where the plan may be viewed;

The schedule of all minimum and pupil-free staff development days for your district (school calendar);

Your district’s policy on parent classroom visits;

Your district’s Uniform Complaint Procedures, which should include an explanation of the process, opportunity to appeal to the California Department of Education (Education Code section 262.3), district persons responsible for processing complaints, and a statement that additional civil law remedies may be available under state and federal discrimination laws. The Uniform Complaint Procedures should include the bullying and intimidation requirements set forth under Education Code sections 234 et seq., the student fee complaint requirements, and the Local Control and Accountability Plan requirements set forth under Education Code section 52075.

Other Documents That May be Requested

As described above, state and federal law requires that many documents and other information also be made available to parents/guardians upon request, including, but not limited to, each school’s Prospectus of School Curriculum and district non-discrimination policies. In satisfaction of these requirements, the 2016-2017 Annual Notice to Parents provides that such information may be obtained either from the student’s school or the district office (as appropriate). Accordingly, please review the Annual Notice to Parents carefully to ensure that your district’s policies and procedures are consistent with this statement.

College Admission Requirements and Career Technical Education

Pursuant to Education Code section 51229, each district offering grades 9-12 is required to provide the parent or guardian of each minor pupil enrolled in any of those grades in the district with an annual written notification of the College Admission Requirements and Career Technical Education. This written notice, to the extent possible, shall not exceed one page in length and must include the following:

A brief explanation of the college admission requirements;

A list of the current California public college websites and a list of high school courses that have been certified by the University of California as satisfying the requirements for admission to state public colleges;

A brief description of career technical education, as defined by the CDE;

The internet address for the portion of the website of the CDE where students can learn more about career technical education; and

Information about how students may meet with school counselors to help them choose courses at their school that will meet college admission requirements and/or enroll in career technical education courses, or both.

In addition, if a district elects to allow a career technical education course to satisfy the visual/performing arts or foreign language graduation requirement, the district shall provide information about the high school graduation requirements of the district and how each requirement satisfies or does not satisfy the subject matter requirements for admission to state public colleges, as well as a complete list of career technical education courses offered by the district that satisfy the subject matter requirements for admission to the state public colleges, and which of the specific admission requirements these courses satisfy. It is recommended that the College Admission Requirements and Career Technical Education notification be included with your Annual Notice to Parents.

School Accountability Report Card

Pursuant to Education Code section 35256, the governing board of each school district annually shall issue a School Accountability Report Card for each school in the district, publicize those reports, and notify parents or guardians of pupils that a hard copy will be provided upon request. Each district must make hard copies of its annually updated report card available, upon request, on or before February 1st of each year. We strongly encourage that each district include this information in its Annual Notice to Parents.

Title I / Every Student Succeeds Act

For districts that may be receiving Title I and/or any other federal funds, please note that the Annual Notice to Parents is not intended to satisfy other specific notification obligations you may have under federal law, including ESSA. Although the Annual Notice to Parents does contain some parent notifications in satisfaction of ESSA, the scope of such notice is limited to providing only those notices universally required of all districts. Similar to the ESSA requirements, California has enacted the Open Enrollment Act^{^[1]}, which requires districts with a “low-achieving school” to notify the parents at that school of their option to transfer to another public school served by the district of residence or another school district. Districts should consult with their Title I and other special program coordinators as well as School and College Legal Services with respect to any additional notifications that may be required.

The U.S. Department of Education has provided a Frequently Asked Question document to assist districts in the transition from NCLB to ESSA. This can be found at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/faq/essa-faqs.pdf

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Additionally, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires that each district have a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. We recommend that this policy be included with your Annual Notice to Parents.

Federal Race and Ethnicity Data Collection Reporting

Based upon final guidance from the U.S. Department of Education regarding the collection of race and ethnicity data for students and staff, the California Department of Education has revised its data collection requirements using the California Pupil Achievement Longitudinal Data System (CALPADS). School districts are obligated to comply with the reporting requirements using a two-part question (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/). It is recommended that the Annual Notice to Parents be used as the mechanism for distributing the information to students.

Translation

For those districts subject to Education Code section 48985, the 2016-2017 Annual Notice to Parents has been translated into Spanish and is attached for your convenience. The California Department of Education has established a Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents to help school districts meet state and federal requirements for document translation and parental notification, including the requirements in Education Code section 48985, Every Student Succeeds, and other legislation. The Clearinghouse may be accessed at the following web address: http://www.cde.ca.gov/Ls/pf/cm/.

Bullying

Districts are required to adopt and publicize a policy prohibiting discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, based on actual or perceived characteristics. The policy must include a statement that the policy applies to all acts related to school activity or school attendance occurring within a school under the jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district. Districts are required to post the policy in all schools and offices, including staff lounges and student government meeting rooms and the policy must be translated as required by Education Code section 48985. It is recommended that the Annual Notice to Parents be used as a mechanism for distributing the policy to students.

Economic Impact Aid

Pursuant to Education Code section 54029, if a school district receives economic impact aid funding, it must post in an easily accessible location on its Internet website, data related to the economic impact aid funding including: the amount of aid allocated to the school district for that fiscal year, the amount of aid used by the school district for administrative costs in that fiscal year, the amount of aid expended for limited English proficient pupils in that fiscal year and the prior fiscal year, amount of aid used for compensatory education in that fiscal year and the prior fiscal year, the amount of unexpended aid and an explanation of why the funds have not been expended.

Sections of the Annual Notice to Parents Required Under Specific Circumstances

Lastly, please find below a list of updated code sections that require annual notice to parents only under specific circumstances. These code sections have not been added to the Annual Notice to Parents as they may not be applicable to all students and specific policies may vary from district to district. It is the responsibility of the individual school district to notify parents regarding the following sections:

Education Code section 49073.6 – Information from Social Media

If your district has adopted a program, or entered a contract for services, to gather and maintain information from social media^{^[2]} about enrolled students, the district must provide certain information to the parent or guardian of any student whose information has been gathered. This information may be included in the Annual Notice. The parent or guardian of the student whose information has been gathered must be notified of the following: 1) the student’s information is being gathered from social media; 2) the process by which the student or his or her parent or guardian can access and examine the collected information; and 3) the process by which the student or his or her parent or guardian can request the correction or removal of information gathered.

Education Code section 35182.5 – Electronic Products that Disseminate Advertising

If a district enters into a contract for electronic products that requires the dissemination of advertising to students, the district must provide written notice to the parents or guardians of the students that the advertising will be used in the classroom or other learning centers.

Education Code section 69432.9 – Cal Grant Program

Districts must notify students enrolled in 12th grade that they will be deemed Cal Grant applicants unless the students opt out of being automatically deemed a Cal Grant applicant. If 12th grade students do not opt out, their grade point average will be submitted electronically. This written notice must be provided to all 12th grade students and their parents for students who are under 18, by October 15 of the student’s 12th grade year. The notice must specify the process and time by which students may opt out within a set period of time of not less than 30 days. The notice must indicate when the school will send grade point averages to the commission.

Health and Safety Code 120325 & 120335 – Immunizations

Immunizations are discussed in the Annual Notice to Parents under “Communicable Diseases.” However, districts may want to provide supplemental information detailing the specifics of the new immunization requirements due to the impact it may have on students. The new law removes the personal belief exemption and requires all students entering kindergarten, including transitional kindergarten, or advancing from sixth to seventh grade in the district, or prior to his or her first admission to the district, to comply with the immunization requirements of Health and Safety Code section 120335, unless the student provides the district with a valid exemption from a licensed physician. New personal-belief exemptions filed with the district will no longer be accepted as of January 1, 2016. Documented immunizations appropriate for each student’s age include (1) Diphtheria, (2) Haemophilus influenzae type b, (3) Measles, (4) Mumps, (5) Pertussis (whooping cough), (6) Poliomyelitis, (7) Rubella, (8) Tetanus, (9) Hepatitis B, (10) Varicella (chickenpox), and any other diseases deemed appropriate by the department. Students qualified for an individualized education program may access special education and related services. Full immunization against Hepatitis B shall not be a condition of admittance to 7^th grade. All students entering 7^th through 12^th grades must be immunized with a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine booster called Tdap. This affects all students – current, new, and transfers – in public and private schools. It is recommended that the immunization notification be included with the Annual Notice to Parents.

Education Code section 32221.5 – Pupils Insurance for Athletic Teams

Requires school districts that elect to operate an interscholastic athletic team(s) to include the following statement, printed in boldface type of prominent size, in all offers of insurance coverage that are sent to members of school athletic teams:

“Under state law school districts are required to ensure that all members of school athletic teams have accidental injury insurance that covers medical and hospital expenses. This insurance requirement can be met by the school district offering insurance or other health benefits that cover medical and hospital expenses.

Some pupils may qualify to enroll in no-cost or low-cost local, state, or federally sponsored health insurance programs. Information about these programs may be obtained by calling ____________ [Insert toll-free telephone number].”

Education Code section 49475 – Concussions and Head Injuries in Athletics

Requires districts that elect to offer athletic programs to provide, on a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet, which must be signed and returned by the athlete or the athlete’s parent or guardian before the athlete may initiate practice or competition.

Education Code section 49414.7 – Emergency Medical Assistance for Administration of Epilepsy Medication

In the absence of a credentialed school nurse or other licensed vocational nurse who has been trained to administer emergency antiseizure medication, districts may allow nonmedical employees to provide medical assistance to students with epilepsy suffering from seizures, upon request by a parent or guardian. Program details are set forth in Education Code section 49414.7. If the district participates in this program and receives a request from a parent or guardian to provide this medical assistance, the district shall provide employee volunteers with voluntary emergency medical training. The trained employees should provide assistance in accordance with the Education Code, State guidelines, and instructions provided by the student’s health care provider. Upon receipt of a request from a parent or guardian to have a school employee receive such training, districts are required to notify the parent or guardian that the child may qualify for services or accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Education Code section 49452.8 – Pupil Health: Oral Health Assessment

Requires public schools to send a notification of the oral health assessment requirements, including a standardized form that can be used for the assessment or on which the parent or legal guardian can indicate one of several specified reasons why an oral health assessment by a licensed dentist or other registered dental health professional assessment cannot be completed for any pupil enrolled in kindergarten in a public school, or in first grade if the pupil was not previously enrolled in kindergarten in a public school.

Education Code section 44808.5 – High School Open Campus

If a school district allows high school students to leave campus at lunchtime, a copy of the following notice must be included as part of the Annual Notice to Parents:

“The governing board of the __________ School District, pursuant to Section 44808.5 of the Education Code, has decided to permit the pupils enrolled at _____________ High School to leave the school grounds during the lunch period.

‘Section 44808.5 of the Education Code further states:

‘Neither the school district nor any officer or employee thereof shall be liable for the conduct or safety of any pupil during such time as the pupil has left the school grounds pursuant to this section.’”

Education Code 35211 – Driver’s Training

School districts that maintain a driver’s training course must advise parents of students participating in the course of the civil liability that will be imposed on the parent or guardian, and insurance coverage carried by the district for such courses, specifically including any limitations of such coverage as it relates to parent liability.

Education Code 11503 – Programs to Encourage Parental Involvement

Requires school districts to develop parent involvement programs with:

An annual statement identifying specific objectives of the program.
An annual review and assessment of the program’s progress in meeting those objectives with the review being made available to parents upon request.

Students’ Photographs in Pupil Directory Information

School districts may choose to include a student’s photograph in the definition of pupil directory information. If so, the district must reflect this addition in its Annual Notice to Parents.

Title 20 of the United States Code Annotated section 1232h – Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment

The Protection of Pupil Rights (“PPRA”) requires that districts develop policies that obligate them to obtain prior written consent from parents prior to their student participating in a survey containing one or more of the following items:

(1) political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;

(2) mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;

(3) sex behavior or attitudes;

(4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;

(5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;

(6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;

(7) religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or

(8) income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

The PPRA requires that school districts provide parents with annual notice of these policies and parents’ rights under the policies, including the process to opt their children out of participation in certain activities, and the dates during the school year when the district schedules: (a) surveys requesting personal information; (b) physical examinations or screenings; and (c) collection of personal information from students for marketing or sale.

California has also adopted a similar requirement to the PPRA in Education Code section 51513, which requires written parent consent prior to their students participating in a survey regarding family beliefs, morality, and similar issues.

Please contact our office with questions regarding this Legal Update or any other legal matter.

The information in this Legal Update is provided as a summary of law and is not intended as legal advice. Application of the law may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances at issue. We, therefore, recommend that you consult legal counsel to advise you on how the law applies to your specific situation.

[1] Education Code sections 48350 et seq.

[2] “Social media” is defined as an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or locations.

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