Researcher: MK Page 1 3/9/21
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6399
AN ACT CONCERNING THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
AND PREVENTION YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Public Health (DPH), starting
with the 2022-23 school year, to biennially administer the Connecticut
School Health Survey to students in grades nine through 12, if the
department receives funding from the National Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) for that purpose.
Under the bill, the survey must be (1) based on the CDC’s Youth
Risk Behavior Survey and (2) administered in the high schools the
CDC randomly selects. The bill requires DPH to provide local and
regional boards of education with guidelines on the survey’s
administration and requires the boards to administer the survey
according to these guidelines.
The bill requires the child advocate, in consultation with DPH, by
October 1, 2022, to develop and update, as necessary, questions to
assess the risk of youths becoming victims of sexual assault or
misconduct by an adult. The questions must be included in the survey.
The bill also allows DPH to develop additional questions to be
included in the survey that are relevant to the health concerns of the
state’s high school students. DPH must do so in consultation with the
departments of Children and Families, Education, and Mental Health
and Addiction Services; the Office of Early Childhood; and any other
agency or public interest group DPH deems necessary.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021
DPH GUIDELINES
Under the bill, the DPH guidelines must include the: 2021HB-06399-R000030-BA.DOCX
Researcher: MK Page 2 3/9/21
1. CDC survey protocol,
2. requirement to use passive parental consent before
administering the survey,
3. requirement for the survey to be anonymous and administered
in a manner designed to protect student privacy,
4. timeframe for completing the survey, and
5. process for submitting survey results to the department.
BACKGROUND
CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Under existing agency practice, DPH biennially conducts the CDC’s
Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered in Connecticut as the
Connecticut School Health Survey, with funding provided through a
cooperative agreement with the CDC. The survey is sponsored and
designed by the CDC. The CDC randomly selects approximately 50
high schools that are a representative sample of public high school
students. DPH staff obtain permission from the CDC-selected schools
to conduct the survey.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Committee on Children
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 1 (02/25/2021)