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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6399 (as amended by House "A" and "C")*
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 2021-22 school year, to biennially administer the Connecticut
School Health Survey to students in grades nine through 12, if the
department receives funding from the federal Centers 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, including the opportunity for parents
and guardians to exclude their children from the survey.
The bill requires the Department of Education (SDE), by January 1,
2022, and in consultation with DPH, to develop a uniform parental
notification policy and form for local or regional boards of education to
use in administering the survey.
It 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 2021HB-06399-R01-BA.DOCX
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agency or public interest group DPH deems necessary.
*House Amendment “A” (1) changes the school year by which DPH
must start administering the survey, from 2022-23 to 2021-22; (2)
requires the DPH guidelines provide parents the opportunity to deny
permission, in writing, rather than using passive parental consent; and
(3) makes minor changes.
*House Amendment “C” requires SDE to develop a uniform
parental notification policy and form for local and regional school
boards to use in administering the survey.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021, except the provision on the SDE
uniform policy and parent notification form is effective upon passage.
DPH GUIDELINES
Under the bill, the DPH guidelines must include the:
1. CDC survey protocol;
2. requirement to provide parents the opportunity to exclude their
children from the survey by denying permission in writing, on a
DPH-prescribed form;
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.
SDE UNIFORM PARENT NOTIFICATION POLICY AND FORM
Under the bill, SDE’s uniform policy must address timely
notification to the parents or guardians of students in grades nine to 12
about the Connecticut School Health Survey within 21 calendar days
before the date the board will administer the survey at a high school it
governs.
The bill requires SDE to develop a notification form for parents and 2021HB-06399-R01-BA.DOCX
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guardians that includes (1) an explanation of the survey and how a
parent or guardian may opt out of it being administered to his or her
child and (2) the Internet link to the survey that will be administered.
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)
Education Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 38 Nay 0 (04/13/2021)