Our school uses the Utah State Board of Education’s School Climate Survey to identify potential school climate issues within our schools and district. The survey is for K-12 students, parents/families, administrators, teachers and school resource officers. Student surveys include a varying number of items based on the developmental age of the students. The survey is completely anonymous, but parents/families are required to opt-in for participation. Responses are housed securely in an anonymous format with the Utah State Board of Education in compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, (343 CFR 99.31 (6)) and human subjects regulations (Protection of Human Subjects 45 CFR 46).

What is the School Climate Survey and What is its Purpose?

This survey guides us in understanding student perceptions relative to their classroom and school climate experiences. Questions include student perception of fair treatment within the school, respect among students and staff, sense of belonging and feeling of safety. 

• Grades K-2: 12 questions
• Grades 3-5: 20 questions
• Grades 6-12: 44 questions

Adults can participate in the survey that aligns with their role. Adults survey versions are: administrator, faculty and staff, school resource officer, and parent.

What is the Intended Use of the Data Collected?

The results of the surveys are used to help our school and the district identify perceptions of school climate issues. As with any organization, we continually strive to improve what we do with respect to supporting our students and their families. Feedback is an essential component of this process.

• Your district or charter school may use the data to: 
  • Revise practices, policies, and training to eliminate harassment and discrimination in each school within the district or charter
  • Adopt a plan for harassment-free and discrimination-free learning
  • Host outreach events or assemblies to inform students and parents of plans adopted from the review
• The Utah State Board of Education may review data to:
  • Inform or guide state policy
  • Offer professional learning to districts and charter schools
  • Provide technical assistance to districts and charter schools
• The public may view summarized survey data (e.g., aggregated results) for their awareness and information.

Data Collection Information from State School Climate Survey

Data collected for the School Climate Survey is housed by Qualtrics, while access to the data is managed by the district and the Utah State Board of Education. Information about Qualtrics and Merkle can be found at:

• Privacy Policy
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Data Protection & Privacy

What will my child do?

Your child will be asked to complete the online surveys during school hours. In younger grades, teachers will read the questions to the children as they participate. Please click here if you would like to see the actual survey questions. Click on the tab that corresponds to the grade level of your child. Each survey version can also be viewed on the School Safety Center data page.  

What persons or governmental entities will receive student-level data? 

Each student’s response will be anonymous with no name associated with their response. However, several entities will have access to those anonymous individual-level responses as listed below: 

• District or charter primary survey administrators and other Qualtrics users involved in administering the survey
• Utah State Board of Education primary survey administrators of the Qualtrics survey
• As needed, district or charter and Utah State Board of Education survey administrators may grant temporary access to survey data to Qualtrics and Merkle (e.g. for technical assistance)
• Auditing agencies, as applicable. Agencies with the right to audit the data include the Office of the Legislative Auditor General or the Office of the State Auditor

What persons or governmental entities will receive the data on a regular or contractual basis?

• Summarized state-level results are accessible to the general public via the Climate Survey Data Dashboard.
• Summarized district- or school-level results are accessible to: 
  • District primary survey administrators and other district or charter staff involved in the administering of the survey
  • Utah State Board of Education primary survey administrators of the Qualtrics survey and other Utah State Board of Education staff involved in administering the survey
  • The school community, if published by the district or charter
• Where applicable, summarized school-level results are accessible to district or charter survey staff
• Summarized district and school-level results are accessible to district and school-level administrators

What persons or governmental entities will receive the data on a regular or contractual basis?

Weber School District does not have a contract with any person or governmental entity to receive the data on a regular ongoing basis. 

What will my child do?

Your child will be asked to complete the online surveys during school hours.  All surveys are reasonably short and are completely confidential. Students who have been excluded from participation in the surveys will be given an educationally relevant activity to engage in while the other students are completing the surveys. 

When will my child complete the survey?

The surveys will be offered in April/May of each odd-numbered year.

Weber School District values the partnership we have with parents in educating their children. If you approve of your child’s participation in these surveys, indicate your consent by indicating in the appropriate place in the registration materials on PowerSchool.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services and Weber School District ask permission for your child to take the Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey. 

What is the SHARP Survey and What is its Purpose?

The Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Survey is a collaborative, multi-agency initiative designed to consolidate youth prevention/health survey projects into one biannual survey administration. SHARP has been conducted in the spring of odd-numbered years in the State of Utah since 2003. The survey focuses primarily on grades 6, 8, 10, and 12.

The SHARP survey will be given to 6th through 12th grade students. It’s anonymous and asks questions about physical, social, and mental health; substance use; social connections; basic demographics; risky or harmful behaviors—and what protects kids from these things. 

The questions your child gets depend on the grade they are in. Sixth graders do not get the same survey as older students. It's taken during school and takes about 30-45 minutes. You can find the survey questions at https://sharp.utah.gov or in the school office. 

SHARP is important

The SHARP survey has provided insight into things affecting our kids for more than 20 years. It helps parents know what to talk about with their kids, like vaping. It also helps school administrators, teachers, parents, public health, and community leaders work together to help Utah students with increasing protective factors and decreasing risk factors. 

SHARP is confidential

All responses are anonymous and confidential. We don’t collect any information that could identify your child or your family. Students are not asked for identifying information, like their name or student ID. Results are reported at a local level and available to parents online. Results are also shared with your local school district, health department, and researchers.   

Schools are given a unique URL. Students who have permission to take the survey use the URL specific to their school. The online survey does not require students to log in and does not track any identifying information or data associated with their device (like their computer or tablet).

SHARP is voluntary

Utah law requires permission for your child to participate in the survey. Your child may stop the survey at any time or skip questions if they choose. They will not be penalized for not participating.

What is the Intended Use of the Data Collected? 

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services reviews the data in aggregate to learn about potentially harmful student behaviors. Reports with aggregate data at the state, region, and demographics level are made available online. These reports do not contain any identifying information about students. Local health departments, local prevention coalitions, local schools and school districts, superintendents, health systems, public health professionals, and most importantly, parents use these reports to develop programs and services to help Utah youth and families. 

School district or school-level data reports are not shared publicly online. These reports are only available from your local school district or school. District authorities (like superintendents or lead administrators of charter schools) have password-protected access to see their district-level data in the webtool. These reports do not contain any identifying information about students.  

We do not release data in any of these reports unless there are a minimum of 20 students. This helps protect the confidentiality and data privacy of students and school districts. 

Data Collection Information from SHARP Survey

• Privacy Policy: https://www.alchemer.com/privacy/
• General Data Protection Regulation: https://www.alchemer.com/privacy/gdpr/
• Data Protection and Privacy: https://www.alchemer.com/security/ 
• You can also find information about how SHARP data is used and who it is shared with on the SHARP website, along with answers about other common questions: https://sumh.utah.gov/data-reports/sharp-survey/faq/

What persons or governmental entities will receive student-level data?

The raw data is very limited in who can or can't use it and is protected under strict Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Institutional Review Board (IRB) controls. The DHHS IRB controls any data sharing agreements for the raw data files. Only respected researchers in good standing and who are expanding the general sphere of knowledge are considered for data sharing agreements. Individuals wanting to use the raw data for their own purposes are not considered. However, no identifying information about a student is collected in the SHARP survey.  

What persons or governmental entities will receive the data on a regular or contractual basis?

Other than the DHHS, whose survey it is, Weber School District does not have a contract with any person or governmental entity to receive the data on a regular ongoing basis. 

What will my child do?

Students who have been excluded from participation in the surveys will be given an educationally relevant activity to engage in while the other students are completing the surveys. 

When will my child complete the survey? 

The survey will be offered in the February-March 2025. 

For questions about the SHARP survey, contact Ryan Carrier (801-889-8710 ), Mary Johnstun (801-842-2682 ), or the DHHS Institutional Review Board . 

Weber School District values the partnership we have with parents in educating their children. If you approve of your child’s participation in this surveys, indicate your consent indicating in the appropriate place in the registration materials on PowerSchool.