BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 578|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 578
          Author:   Negrete McLeod (D)
          Amended:  4/14/11
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  7-1, 3/23/11
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Liu, Price, Simitian, 
            Vargas
          NOES:  Huff
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Blakeslee, Hancock, Vacancy

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 4/11/11
          AYES:  Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Pavley, Price, 
            Runner, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Lieu


           SUBJECT  :    Foster youth:  course credit

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill applies an existing requirement 
          regarding the provision of course credit specifically to 
          foster youth, requires the credit to be applied to the same 
          subject matter in which the coursework was taken by a 
          foster youth, and prohibits a school district from 
          requiring a foster youth to retake a course for which full 
          or partial credit was awarded.

           ANALYSIS  :    

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           Existing Law

           1.Requires each public school district and county office of 
            education to accept for credit full or partial coursework 
            satisfactorily completed by a pupil while attending a 
            public school, juvenile court school, or non-public 
            non-sectarian school or agency.

          2.Requires a school district to exempt a pupil in foster 
            care from all coursework and other requirements adopted 
            by a school district that are in addition to the 
            statewide coursework requirements if the pupil, while he 
            or she is in grade 11 or 12, transfers into the district 
            from another district or between high schools within the 
            district, unless the district makes a finding that the 
            pupil is reasonably able to complete the additional 
            requirements in time to graduate from high school while 
            he or she remains eligible for foster care.

          This bill requires that course credit be applied to the 
          same subject matter in which the coursework was taken by a 
          foster youth, and prohibits a school district from 
          requiring a foster youth to retake a course for which full 
          or partial credit was awarded.  Specifically, this bill:

          1.Applies to foster youth the existing requirement that 
            full or partial credit be provided for coursework 
            satisfactorily completed while attending another school 
            district, a juvenile court school, or a nonpublic 
            non-sectarian school or agency even if the pupil did not 
            complete the entire course.

          2.Requires the credit to be applied to the same subject 
            matter as the coursework completed in the prior school.

          3.Prohibits a school district from requiring a pupil in 
            foster care to retake a course or portions of a course 
            for which the district has provided full or partial 
            credit.

          4.Defines "foster youth" to mean any child who has been 
            removed from his or her home pursuant to certain sections 
            of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC), is the 
            subject of a petition filed under certain sections of the 

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            WIC, or has been removed from his or her home and is the 
            subject of a petition filed under certain sections of the 
            WIC.
           
          Related Legislation

           SB 699 (Runner), 2011-12 Session, caps the age at which 
          foster youth who transfer schools in the 11th or 12th grade 
          may be exempt from local graduation requirements that 
          exceed state graduation requirements.  (In Senate Education 
          Committee)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions             2011-12           2012-13          
             2013-14              Fund

           Coursework credit     Minor costs, if any; unlikely 
          reimbursable        General
          restrictions 

          Credit recovery               Potentially significant cost 
          pressure             General
          programs 

           SUPPORT  :   (Per Senate Education Committee analysis)

          County of San Bernardino
          County Welfare Directors Association of California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          "Current law requires schools to award students full or 
          partial credits for coursework satisfactorily completed 
          while attending a public school, juvenile court school, or 
          non-public, non-sectarian school.  While statute requires 
          that these credits must be accepted, there is nothing in 
          statute requiring schools to apply the accepted credits 
          toward the core curriculum and graduation requirements.  
          Often the transferred credits are applied toward elective 
          requirements rather than to the core curriculum.  This 

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          practice often means that foster youth will lag behind 
          their peers, essentially losing months of academic progress 
          with each change in school placement due to no fault of 
          their own."


          CPM:cm  4/14/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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