Pupils: data reporting: American Indian and Alaska Native pupils., the official text

An act to add Section 60900.4 to the Education Code, relating to pupils.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law establishes the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), which is maintained by the State Department of Education and consists of pupil data from elementary and secondary schools, as specified, relating to demographic, program participation, enrollment, and statewide assessments, among other things. Existing law requires the system to be used to accomplish specified goals, including to provide school districts and the department access to data, including demographic data, necessary to comply with federal reporting requirements.
This bill would require the department to, beginning with the 2027–28 school year, define and collect, as part of CALPADS, a record of the tribal affiliation of each pupil who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, as provided. The bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school, beginning with the 2027–28 school year, to collect and report in CALPADS the tribal affiliation of each pupil who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, as provided. The bill would require the department to provide technical assistance to those local educational agencies in implementing these provisions. To the extent this bill imposes additional duties on local educational agencies in collecting and reporting additional data through CALPADS, 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.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The accurate identification of American Indian and Alaska Native pupils in California is a critical issue that significantly affects the allocation of educational resources and the development of culturally responsive programs.
(b) In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget revised its Statistical Policy Directive 15 to require two separate race and ethnicity questions, with the ethnicity question, “Are you Hispanic or Latino?”, collected first before a more specific race question.
(c) The aforementioned questions have inadvertently led to many American Indian and Alaska Native pupils being misclassified or overlooked, particularly when they select Hispanic or Latino in the first question, as responses are often not disaggregated.
(d) The inadequate data collection methods currently employed by the State Department of Education leads to underrepresentation, lack of proper resource allocation, and cultural disconnect for American Indian and Alaska Native pupils.

SEC. 2.
Section 60900.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60900.4.
(a) Beginning with the 2027–28 school year, the department shall define and collect, as part of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, a record of the tribal affiliation of each pupil who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, including a pupil who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native in addition to another race or ethnicity.
(b) Beginning with the 2027–28 school year, any time a school district, county office of education, or charter school collects race or ethnicity information for the purposes of California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System reporting, the school district, county office of education, or charter school shall also collect and report in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System the tribal affiliation of each pupil enrolled who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, including a pupil who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native in addition to another race or ethnicity.
(c) The department shall provide technical assistance to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in implementing this section.

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.