Senate Bill No. 237

Introduced by Senator Calderon

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Brown)

February 12, 2013

An act to amend Sections 51430 and 51442 of the Education Code, relating to retroactive high school diplomas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 237, as introduced, Calderon. High school diplomas: retroactive high school diplomas; veterans.

Existing law authorizes a high school district, unified school district, or county office of education to retroactively grant a high school diploma to veterans of World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, under specified conditions. Existing law also defines “veteran” for the purpose of retroactive high school diplomas.

This bill would make those provisions applicable to all veterans, and would revise the definition of veteran for purposes of those provisions to include, among other things, service in humanitarian missions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 51430 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

51430.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of end delete law, a high
school district, unified school district, or county office of education begin delete , end delete
may retroactively grant a high school diploma to a person who has
not received a high school diploma if he or she meets either of the
following conditions:

(1) The person was interned by order of the federal government
during World War II and was enrolled in a high school operated
by the school district or under the jurisdiction of the county office
of education immediately preceding his or her internment and did
not receive a high school diploma because his or her education
was interrupted due to his or her internment during World War II.

(2) The person is a veteran begin delete of World War II, the Korean War,
or the Vietnam War end delete begin insert , as defined in Section 51442 end insert , was honorably
discharged from his or her military service, was enrolled in a high
school operated by the school district or under the jurisdiction of
the county office of education immediately preceding his or her
military service begin delete in those wars end delete , and did not receive a high school
diploma because his or her education was interrupted due to his
or her military service begin delete in those wars end delete .

(b) A high school district, unified school district, or county
office of education may retroactively grant a high school diploma
to a deceased person who meets the conditions of paragraph (1)
or (2) of subdivision (a), to be received by the next of kin of the
deceased person.

SEC. 2.  

Section 51442 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

51442.  

For purposes of this article, “veteran” means a person
who has served 90 days or more in the military service of the
United States during a war with a foreign power begin insert , as defined in
Section 22804, end insert begin insert end insert begin insert a end insert begin insert humanitarian mission, end insert or begin delete during end delete any national
emergency declared by the President of the United States and who
has received an honorable discharge from that service.