BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 461|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 461
Author: Blakeslee (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 3/30/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock,
Huff, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu, Vacancy
SUBJECT : High school equivalency certificates
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the list of people who may
receive a high school equivalency certificate to include
youth who are at least 17 years of age and have
successfully completed the academic curriculum of a
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
issue a California high school equivalency certificate
and an official score report to any person who has not
completed high school and who meets all of the following:
A. Is a resident of California or is a member of the
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armed services assigned to duty in California.
B. Has taken all or a portion of a general
educational development test that has been approved
by the State Board of Education (SBE) and is
administered by a testing center approved by the
California Department of Education, with a score
determined by the SBE to be equal to the standard of
performance expected from high school graduation.
C. Meets one of the following:
(1) Is at least 18 years of age.
(2) Would have graduated from high school had he
or she remained in school and followed the usual
course of study toward graduation.
(3) Is at least 17 years of age, has accumulated
fewer than 100 units of high school credit, and is
confined to a state or county hospital or to an
institution maintained by a state or county
correctional agency.
2.Requires a California high school equivalency certificate
to be deemed to be a high school diploma for the purpose
of meeting the requirements of employment by all state
and local public agencies in California.
3.Allows a person to take the general education development
(GED) test within 60 days of the date he or she is
eligible to receive a certificate, which means a person
must be at least 17 years and 10 months old to be
eligible to take the GED.
This bill expands the list of people who may receive a high
school equivalency certificate to include youth who are at
least 17 years of age and have successfully completed the
academic curriculum of a National Guard Youth ChalleNGe
Program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 4/12/11)
Grizzly Youth Academy
Military Officers Association of America
National Guard Association of California
San Luis Obispo County Board of Education
San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
San Luis Obispo County Probation Office
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office
Sexual Assault Recovery & Prevention Center of San Luis
Obispo County
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"The Grizzly Youth ChalleNGe Academy in San Luis Obispo
County and the Sunburst Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Orange
County operate as alternatives for students to receive high
school credit and gain the skills they need to pass the
General Education Development (GED) tests required by the
state. Until 2007, students enrolled in the program were
allowed to take the GED at age 17. In 2008, staff in the
San Luis Obispo Coastal Unified School District Adult
Education changed the policy and altered the GED
requirements for Grizzly Youth ChalleNGe Academy (GYA)
students to not wait to take the GED at 17 years and 10
months. The practical effect of the older age limit has
been a precipitous decline in the number of GYA students
taking the GED. In 2007, 115 Grizzly students took the
GED; in 2008, the number dropped to 14 and 30 in 2009."
CPM:cm 4/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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