BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 570
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 570 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended: March 14, 2013
SUBJECT : Continuation schools: minutes of attendance:
voluntary placement
SUMMARY : Increases the length of the minimum day for
continuation high schools and requires the governing boards of
school districts that operate continuation high schools to adopt
policies and procedures for the identification, placement, and
intake of pupils who voluntarily enroll in them. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Increases the requirement for a minimum day of attendance at a
continuation school or a continuation education class from 180
minutes to 240 minutes.
2)Requires the governing board of a school district that
operates at least one high school to establish and adopt
policies and procedures governing the identification,
placement, and intake procedures for pupils who voluntarily
enroll in continuation schools.
3)Requires district policies and procedures to ensure that:
a) There is a clear criterion for determining which pupils
may voluntarily transfer or be recommended for a transfer
to a continuation school and that this criterion is applied
consistently on a district-wide basis;
b) No specific group of pupils, including a group based on
race, ethnicity, language status, or special needs, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within
the district; and
c) The voluntary placement in a continuation school will
not be used as an alternative to expulsion unless
alternative means of addressing a pupil's behavior have
been considered and documented.
4)Requires that approval of a voluntary transfer to a
continuation school shall be based on a finding that the
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placement will promote the educational interests of the pupil.
EXISTING LAW establishes continuation education as an
alternative high school diploma program for pupils who are
sixteen years of age or older, have not graduated from high
school, are still required to attend school, and who are at risk
of not graduating. Existing law also:
1)Requires governing boards of districts that assign pupils to
continuation schools to adopt rules and regulations governing
the procedures for the involuntary transfer of pupils to those
schools, as specified.
2)Allows pupils to voluntarily transfer to a continuation school
with the concurrence of a designee of the district
superintendent in order to receive special attention such as
individualized instruction.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Continuation education is an alternative high school
diploma program for pupils who are sixteen years of age or
older, have not graduated from high school, are still required
to attend school, and who are at risk of not graduating. Many
students in continuation education are behind in high school
credits. Others may need a flexible school schedule because
they have jobs outside of school. Some pupils choose
continuation education because of family needs or other
circumstances. Students who attend continuation high schools
must spend at least 15 hours per week or three hours per day at
school. They take courses that are required for graduation.
They also receive guidance and career counseling. Some programs
offer independent study, job-placement services, and concurrent
enrollment in community college.
An April 2008 report by WestEd called, "Alternative Education
Options: A Descriptive Study of California Continuation High
Schools," reports the following findings regarding the
characteristics of pupils in continuation high schools:
1)Most lack sufficient credits to remain on track to graduate
with their age cohort.
2)Most have multiple risk behaviors and other nonacademic
learning barriers.
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3)Pupils in continuation high schools are more likely to be
racially or ethnically concentrated that those in
comprehensive high schools.
4)English learners are also over-represented in continuation
high schools.
5)They are three times more likely than pupils in comprehensive
high schools to be in foster care.
6)They are more likely to move from school to school and spend
less time in any one school.
Existing law establishes continuation high schools as both a
voluntary alternative for under-credited pupils and a place for
the involuntary transfer of pupils for reasons unrelated to
academic performance if it is determined that the pupil's
presence causes a danger to persons or property or threatens to
disrupt the instructional process at the comprehensive high
school. A May 2012 report from The California Alternative
Education Research Project called, "Raising the Bar, Building
Capacity: Driving Improvement in California's Continuation High
Schools," states that, taken together, the provisions for both
voluntary and involuntary transfers to continuation high schools
"?suggest that a continuation high school should
provide a high quality alternative route to the
diploma for struggling students, but it can also be a
dumping ground for students deemed too disruptive for
comprehensive schools. In fact, we saw many schools
where both types of students were placed in the same
classroom creating an untenable situation for teachers
and principals trying to create a coherent set of
student supports."
According to the author's office, clear intake, identification,
and placement procedures can help resolve this problem. In
addition, the author's office states that increasing the minimum
day from 180 to 240 minutes will help ensure that enough time is
provided to meet the needs of continuation high school pupils.
Increasing the minimum day for continuation high schools from
180 to 240 minutes is intended to provide additional time to
provide instructional and other services for continuation
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students. However, 180 minutes is the minimum, not the maximum
school day. School districts may offer more minutes than the
minimum, and according to the author's office, many do. Many
pupils with work or other out-of-school responsibilities,
however, may not be able to attend a continuation school for a
longer minimum day. A longer day could have the unintended
consequence of forcing these pupils out, creating more dropouts.
Therefore, staff recommends the bill be amended to strike this
change.
This bill also addresses the finding in the WestEd report that
pupils in continuation high schools are more likely to be
racially or ethnically concentrated that those in comprehensive
high schools. It does this by requiring the district policy to
ensure that no specific group of pupils, including a group based
on race, ethnicity, language status, or special needs, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within the
district. However, compliance with this requirement could force
the placement of pupils in less appropriate settings.
Therefore, staff recommends that the bill be amended to strike
this requirement and instead require that the district policy
"seek to ensure" that that no specific group of pupils,
including a group based on race, ethnicity, language status, or
special needs, is disproportionately enrolled in continuation
schools within the district.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None received
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087