BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1705 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 16, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 1705 (Silva) - As Amended: April 26, 2012 Policy Committee: Education Vote:9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill delays implementation of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSSE) alternative assessment for pupils with disabilities from 2011 to 2015. Further authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to extend this date by one year via the regulatory process. FISCAL EFFECT No additional GF/98 costs to school districts to comply with this measure. Since 2009, school districts have implemented the CAHSEE exemption process for eligible pupils with disabilities. COMMENTS 1)Background . AB 2040 (Nunez), Chapter 666, Statutes of 2008, required the SBE to explore alternative means for eligible pupils with disabilities who have fulfilled all of the requirements for a high school diploma except passage of CAHSEE. Specifically, Chapter 666 specified these pupils have the opportunity to demonstrate through alternative means they have achieved the same level of academic achievement required for passage of the CAHSEE. Chapter 666 defined "eligible pupil with a disability" as a pupil who meets all of the following criteria: a) The pupil has an operative individualized education program (IEP) pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or a Section 504 plan AB 1705 Page 2 adopted pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act that indicates the pupil has an anticipated graduation date and is scheduled to receive a high diploma on or after July 1, 2015. b) The pupil has not passed the CAHSEE. c) The school district or state special school certifies the pupil has satisfied or will satisfy all other state and local requirements for the receipt of a high school diploma on or after July 1, 2011. d) The pupil has attempted to pass those sections not yet passed of the CAHSEE at least twice after grade 10, including at least once in grade 12, as specified. AB 2040 also required the SBE, by October 1, 2010, to adopt regulations for the alternative means assessment. Likewise, this bill required an eligible pupil with a disability, beginning January 1, 2011, to demonstrate his or her academic content knowledge via the alternative means as described by SBE's regulations. AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Fourth Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009, exempts eligible pupils with disabilities from the CAHSEE graduation requirement until the SBE makes a determination that an alternative means assessment is not feasible or the alternative assessment is implemented. Pupils with disabilities are still required to take the CAHSEE in tenth grade to satisfy state and federal requirements; the test, however, is not used for accountability or graduation purposes. 2)Purpose . Chapter 666 authorized the SBE to extend the operative date (January 1, 2011) of the alternative means assessment for eligible pupils with disabilities by up to two years, if it determines that an extension is necessary for the implementation of the regulations. Through regulation, the SBE established July 1, 2012 as the implementation date of the alternative means assessment. Essentially this means eligible pupils with disabilities will be required to take the alternative means assessment in order to receive a high school diploma beginning with the 2013-14 school year. The State Department of Education (SDE) contends the July 1, 2012 implementation date of the alternative means assessment AB 1705 Page 3 is not feasible. Specifically, it reports few districts participated in the alternative means assessment pilot and as such, not enough information was gathered to properly evaluate this option. SDE also argues implementing a second pilot would be too costly. Without a true implementation of an alternative means assessment, eligible pupils with disabilities are left with having to pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school diploma because the SBE established an implementation date for this alternative assessment via regulations. Specifically, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, sponsor of this bill, argues: "To implement alternative means aligned to the content standards currently assessed by the CAHSEE could be costly and would likely be for a relatively small number of students potentially for a short period of time." The author further states: "While the state has determined that is it feasible to create alternative means for eligible pupils to satisfy the CAHSEE Ýgraduation] requirement, it would be unlikely to complete its studies and fully implement it by the dates set forth in AB 2040 and it would be inefficient to do so while also implementing a different set of Ýacademic content] standards in the coming years." This bill extends the implementation date of the alternative means assessment for eligible pupils with disabilities until 2015. 3)Pupils with disabilities high school diploma data . According to SDE, the overall rate of pupils with disabilities aged 17, 18 and 19 years old leaving high school with a diploma has increased over the past three years, from 62% in 2009, to 77% in 2010, and 81% in 2011. Likewise, the percentage of pupils with disabilities receiving diplomas without waivers or the CAHSEE exemption has also increased from 56% in 2009 to 60% in 2010 and 2011. The number of pupils with disabilities receiving a diploma with a CAHSEE exemption has increased in direct proportion to the decrease in the number of pupils with disabilities receiving a certificate of completion. In 2010 (first year of the CAHSEE exemption), 11% of pupils with disabilities received a high school diploma using an exemption and 8% received certificates of completion. In 2011, 15% of pupils AB 1705 Page 4 with disabilities received a high school diploma using an exemption and 7% received certificates of completion. Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916) 319-2081