BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 461|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 461
Author: Blakeslee (R)
Amended: 7/13/11
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
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 4/14/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson,
Evans, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla,
Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Gaines, Harman, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 09/01/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : High school equivalency certificates
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the criteria for the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a California
high school equivalency certificate to a person who meets
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existing eligibility and who is at least 17 years old, has
accumulated fewer than 100 units of high school credit, and
has successfully completed the instructional program
offered by a dropout recovery high school, where that
program is aligned to state standards, offers the
opportunity for a high school diploma and provides services
for at least one year.
Assembly Amendments (1) delete reference to a specific
dropout recovery program, (2) expand provisions to meet
criteria in order to receive a California high school
equivalency certificate, and (3) define "dropout recovery
high school".
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
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
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 (CDE), 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.
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(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 criteria for the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to issue a California high school
equivalency certificate to a person who meets existing
eligibility and who is at least 17 years old, has
accumulated fewer than 100 units of high school credit, and
has successfully completed the instructional program
offered by a dropout recovery high school, where that
program is aligned to state standards, offers the
opportunity for a high school diploma and provides services
for at least one year.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/11)
AMVET, Department of California
California School Boards Association
Charter Schools Association
Grizzly Youth Academy
Military Officers Association of America
National Guard Association of California
Orange County Department of Education
San Luis Obispo County Board of Education
San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
San Luis Obispo County Probation Office
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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,
California has a large number of students who have either
dropped out or at risk of dropping out of high school. In
the 2007-08 school year, 20.1 percent of California
students dropped out of traditional high schools. For a
variety of reasons, these students have not succeeded in
the traditional school setting. Charter schools and other
alternative completion schools are excellent alternatives
to help non-traditional and at-risk students receive their
high school diploma."
The author's office also notes that the California Schools
overseen by the California National Guard "supply
vocational training, mentoring and accredited high school
courses in communities impacted by growing dropout rates."
The author's office additionally states, "According to
school staff, by allowing qualified 17 year olds to take
the test at both locations, the National Guard Youth
ChalleNGe program would graduate with GED credentials
100-110 more cadets each year"
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 09/01/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Davis, Gorell
CPM:cm 9/1/11 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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