BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 374
AUTHOR: Block
AMENDED: June 1, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: July 1, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Consequences of dropping out notice.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to produce a notice to pupils about the consequences of
dropping out of school before reaching 18 years of age or
graduating from high school.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Provides that each person between the ages of 6 and 18
years not exempted by existing law is subject to
compulsory full-time education and shall attend the
public full-time day school or continuation school or
classes and for the full length of the schoolday.
2) Requires a parent, guardian, or other person having
control or charge of the pupil to send the pupil to
school, as specified.
As reported by the California Department of Education, the
state's dropout rate for the 2006-07 school year was 24.2%,
and the dropout rate for that time period for the Los Angeles
Unified School District was 33.6%.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to produce a notice to pupils about the consequences of
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dropping out of school before reaching 18 years of age or
graduating from high school. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the consequences of dropping out notice to
include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
a) The potential consequences of dropping out
include:
i) Greater difficulty finding a job.
ii) Reduced income and purchasing power.
iii) Greater likelihood of engaging in
criminal activity.
iv) Greater likelihood of spending time
in jail, prison, or both.
v) Greater likelihood of receiving
welfare, other forms of public assistance, or
both.
vi) Fewer choices about where to live.
vii) Lesser likelihood of properly caring
for and educating children.
b) The right of a pupil to reenroll in school to
complete the requirements for graduation from high
school and the procedure for reenrollment.
c) The availability of alternative educational
services, including continuation school,
independent study, adult education, community
college, and the General Educational Development
(GED) tests.
2) Requires the SPI to post the notice on the California
Department of Education's website.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Will it help ? Will posting a notice on the California
Department of Education's (CDE's) website affect dropout
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rates? A prior version of this bill encouraged schools
to download the notice from the CDE website and
distribute it to pupils; however, that provision was
removed due to cost pressure concerns.
2) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, this bill would impose one-time
General Fund costs, likely in excess of $150,000, upon
the CDE to develop and post the notice on its Internet
website. In addition, there may be annual, minor
absorbable General Fund costs to maintain and update the
notice.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Teachers Association
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
OPPOSITION
None received.