(a) School districts and charter schools, in consultation with parents, must develop and adopt policies on conducting student surveys and using and distributing personal information on students collected from the surveys. School districts and charter schools must:

(1) directly notify parents of these policies at the beginning of each school year and after making any substantive policy changes;

(2) inform parents at the beginning of the school year if the district or school has identified specific or approximate dates for administering surveys and give parents reasonable notice of planned surveys scheduled after the start of the school year;

(3) give parents direct, timely notice, by United States mail, e-mail, or other direct form of communication, when their students are scheduled to participate in a student survey; and

(4) give parents the opportunity to review the survey and to opt their students out of participating in the survey.

(b) School districts and charter schools must not impose an academic or other penalty upon a student who opts out of participating in a survey under paragraph (a).

(a) The commissioner shall establish a school safety technical assistance center at the department to help districts and schools under section 121A.031 provide a safe and supportive learning environment and foster academic achievement for all students by focusing on prevention, intervention, support, and recovery efforts to develop and maintain safe and supportive schools. The center must work collaboratively with implicated state agencies identified by the center and schools, communities, and interested individuals and organizations to determine how to best use available resources.

(b) The center’s services shall include:

(3) qualitative and quantitative data gathering, interpretation, and dissemination of summary data for existing reporting systems and student surveys and the identification and pursuit of emerging trends and issues;

(4) assistance to districts and schools in using Minnesota student survey results to inform intervention and prevention programs;

Site addresses student surveys to assess conditions for learning in schools.