Pre-Administration Day To-Dos 

Lesson Plan

Your district survey coordinator will provide the date and time to proctor the survey, along with a list of 6th-, 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who have a signed Guardian Consent Letter.

• Allow one full period to complete the survey. 
  • Because the online survey is anonymous, it cannot be started and then finished later. 
  • Advisory periods or other shortened periods may not allow enough time.
• Provide an alternate assignment for students whose guardian(s) have declined participation, who do not have a completed Guardian Consent Form, or who decline participation at the beginning of class. (Participating students will have access to the Student Informed Consent (both in English and Spanish) embedded within the survey and will be reminded in the embedded survey instructions that all questions are optional, and that they may choose to stop the survey at any time by closing their web browser.)

Set Up the Classroom

• Chairs and device screens should be placed as if students are taking a test; separate students so they’re not facing each other. 
• Ensure the room contains sufficient lighting, a comfortable climate, and adequate space. 
• Keep student group size small.

Prepare for accessibility needs

The survey has been designed to be accessible to all students in the following ways: 

Blind and Low Vision

• Screen readers and braille: Tested and confirmed compatibility with screen readers and braille displays for response input:
  • JAWS
  • NVDA
  • VoiceOver
  • Focus 40 refreshable braille display. 
• Low vision mode is available within the survey to increase font size and color contrast.
• Audio: The survey & survey platform has been tested & confirmed compatible with screen reader technologies such as the Google Extension Read Aloud.

Print Disability: For students with a print disability such as dyslexia, it is recommended to use the Google Extension Read Aloud on a Chrome browser when taking the survey.

Deaf: All survey instructions, questions and resources are available in written form.

Learning Disability: To help students with a learning disability successfully complete the survey, schools are encouraged to maintain existing accommodations in the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) while ensuring complete student anonymity on the survey is maintained.

English Language Learner

• Survey language vocabulary was modified in 2021 for readability.
• Survey instructions are available with video, visual and audio, written and read aloud in both English and Spanish.
• Spanish language feature is available to take the survey in Spanish.
• There is no time limit on this survey. Allowing additional time and access to dictionaries and translation devices is encouraged.
• To help English Language Learner students successfully complete the survey, schools are encouraged to maintain existing accommodations in the student’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) while ensuring complete student anonymity on the survey is maintained.

Note:

• We don’t recommend that students participate if they can’t read and comprehend survey questions without teacher assistance. 
• If you’d like to preview the survey, you can view a TEST version of the survey. (IMPORTANT: Do NOT share this test version of the survey with students. Test survey responses will NOT be saved.)

For Remote Learners

Schedule a class period to take the survey as a group proctored using an online video conferencing platform (Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc.).

• Disable the chat, other than with the host/teacher/proctor.
• Share the screen with the Student Survey Link-Sharing PDF, and post the survey link in the chat.

As a last resort, send survey link as an un-proctored assignment with a definitive due date.

• Share survey link by sending the Student Survey Link-Sharing PDF to students through your school’s LMS, or by sending home a printed copy.
• Give students their 3-digit USD number needed to answer the first demographic survey question.
  
  

Administration Day To Dos 

Before you begin, make sure students understand why we’re asking them to provide honest feedback in the survey:

• The survey provides an anonymous platform for students to voice their attitudes and behaviors toward important topics such as substance use, mental health, bullying, and more.
• That feedback helps schools and communities receive money for prevention programs that benefit students.

3. Help Students Begin the Survey

• A Sensitive Content page will display. Advise them to read it and then click Next. 
• Provide your 3-digit Unified School District number for the School District drop-down.
  • This will prompt students to select their grade level, school name, and the county where they live.
  • If a student isn’t sure in which county they live, they may select the county in which the school building is located. 
• Students should complete the rest of the survey on their own. (We don’t recommend reading survey questions aloud to students.) 
  

4. Help Students Finish and Submit the Survey

When there are 3-5 minutes remaining in the class period, ask students to:

• Skip to the final page of the survey, answer the last question (“How honest were you in filling out this survey?”), and click Submit.
• Make sure each student submits the survey before the next student accesses the same device.
  

Student Support Resources

Suicide prevention and behavioral health resources are embedded in the survey. Once students submit the survey, the following support resource information will appear:

• SAMHSA National Helpline & behavioral health locator to help find resources in your community.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to learn about available help or chat now.

Revised March 2025
SEKESC IRB STUDY#2025-04