BILL NUMBER: SB 651	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senators Romero and Steinberg

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Section 48070.6 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil retention.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 651, as introduced, Romero. Pupil retention.
   Existing law requires the governing board of each school district
and each county superintendent of schools to adopt policies regarding
pupil promotion and retention. Existing law requires the Commission
on Teacher Credentialing, the state board, and the department to
provide to the State Chief Information Officer the individual
nonpersonally identifiable or aggregate data related to adequate
yearly progress, graduation rates, pupils who drop out of school, and
demographics of pupils and teachers.
   This bill would require the Superintendent, on or before August 1,
2010, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Governor, the
Legislature, and the state board, a report called the Annual Report
on Dropouts in California. The bill would require, among other
things, the report contain specified information on dropout rates,
graduation rates, pupil promotion rates, course enrollment patterns,
and behavioral data. The bill would require that the report include
data from the most recent year and, at a minimum, the two prior
years. The bill would also require the Superintendent to make an oral
presentation of the contents of the report to the state board and to
make the contents of the report available on the department's
Internet Web site.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 48070.6 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   48070.6.  (a) On or before August 1, 2010, and annually
thereafter, the Superintendent shall submit to the Governor, the
Legislature, and the state board, a report that shall be called the
Annual Report on Dropouts in California. The report shall include,
but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) One-year adjusted dropout rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive.

   (2) Four-year derived dropout rates for grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

   (3) Two- or three-year derived dropout rates, as appropriate, for
middle schools.
   (4) Grade 9 to grade 10 promotion rates.
   (5) Percentage of high school pupils at each grade level who are
on track to earn sufficient credits to graduate.
   (6) The average number of nonpromotional school moves that a pupil
makes between grades 6 to 12, inclusive.
   (7) "Full-year" dropout rates for alternative schools.
   (8) Relevant data on school climate and pupil engagement from the
California Healthy Kids Survey.
   (9) California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) passage
rates.
   (10) Other available data relating to dropout or graduation rates
or pupil progress toward high school graduation.
   (b) When cohort dropout rates can be calculated accurately using
longitudinal data, the rates described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) shall be replaced by dropout rates for cohorts of
pupils entering high school.
   (c) When cohort dropout rates can be calculated accurately using
longitudinal data, the rates described in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) shall be replaced by dropout rates for cohorts of
pupils entering middle school.
   (d) If data is available, the report shall also include all of the
following:
   (1) Rates at which pupils graduate in four, five, and six years.
   (2) Course enrollment patterns by school and school district,
including college preparatory curriculum and career technical
education.
   (3) Behavioral data by school and district, including suspensions
and expulsions.
   (e) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented in the report, organized as follows:
   (1) By state.
   (2) By county.
   (3) By district.
   (4) By school.
   (f) The report shall include data from alternative middle and high
schools, including continuation high schools, community day schools,
juvenile court schools, special schools, opportunity schools, and
schools attended by wards of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice.
   (g) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented for the following subgroups, if the subgroup consists
of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a valid test score, and the
subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total population of
pupils at a school who have valid test scores:
   (1) Grade level.
   (2) Ethnicity.
   (3) Gender.
   (4) Socioeconomic status.
   (5) Limited English proficiency.
   (6) Disability status.
   (h) The report shall include data from the most recent year and,
at a minimum, the two prior years, so that comparisons can be made
easily.
   (i) The Superintendent or his or her designee shall make an oral
presentation of the contents of the report to the state board at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the board.
   (j) The Superintendent shall make the contents of the report
available on the department's Internet Web site in a format that is
easy for the public to access and understand.
   (k) If inclusion of school-level data would render the written
report unwieldy, the data may be omitted from the written report and
posted on the department's Internet Web site.