BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 267
AUTHOR: Pavley
AMENDED: July 1, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: August 27, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
NOTE : This bill previously related to polling places on higher
education campuses and was heard by this Committee on April 24,
2013. This bill was subsequently gutted and amended to relate
to financial assistance for higher education clean energy
projects, and has again been gutted and amended to relate to the
high school exit exam. This is the first time the bill is being
heard in the Senate in its current form.
SUBJECT : High school exit exam: students with disabilities.
SUMMARY
This bill extends the implementation date on the use of
alternative means for an eligible pupil with a disability to
demonstrate academic achievement rather than passing the
California high school exit exam, thereby extending the
exemption from the requirement to pass the exit exam.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires pupils to successfully pass the California high
school exit exam (CAHSEE) as a condition of receiving a
diploma of graduation, in addition to completing state and
local graduation requirements.
(Education Code § 60851, 51225.3 and 51224.5)
2) Provides two options for eligible pupils with
disabilities to receive a diploma without passing the
CAHSEE:
a) Local waiver . The pupil with a disability
must have taken the CAHSEE with modifications pursuant
to that pupil's individualized education program (such
SB 267
Page 2
as using a calculator or having directions and answer
options read aloud) and achieved a "passing" score.
Upon the request of the parent, a school principal
must submit a request to the school district governing
board for a waiver of the requirement to pass the
CAHSEE. The governing board may waive the CAHSEE
requirement if the principal certifies that the pupil
has an active individualized education program, met
certain coursework requirements and has a score of at
least 350 on the CAHSEE. (EC § 60851(c))
b) Alternative means . Eligible pupils with a
disability are exempt from the requirement to pass the
CAHSEE until the State Board of Education (SBE)
determines that the alternative means by which a pupil
may demonstrate the same level of academic achievement
on the content standards required for passage of the
CAHSEE are either not feasible or that the alternative
means are implemented (once the SBE takes any action
on alternative means). Beginning July 1, 2015, an
eligible pupil with disabilities may participate in
the alternative means of demonstrating the level of
academic achievement in the content standards required
for passage of the CAHSEE. (EC § 60852.2(b) and §
60852.3)
3) Defines "eligible pupil with a disability" as a pupil
who meets all of the following criteria:
a) The pupil has an operative IEP or 504 plan
that indicates the pupil has an anticipated graduation
date and is scheduled to receive a high school diploma
on or after July 1, 2015.
b) The pupil has not passed the CAHSEE.
c) The school district or state special school
certifies that the pupil has satisfied or will satisfy
all other state and local requirements for the receipt
of a high school diploma on or after July 1, 2015.
d) The pupil has attempted to pass one or both
sections of the CAHSEE not yet passed at least twice
after grade 10, including at least once during grade
12, with any accommodations or modifications specified
in the pupil's IEP or 504 plan. (EC § 60852.2)
SB 267
Page 3
4) Allows a pupil with disabilities to continue to receive
special education and related services through age 21 if he
or she had an individualized education program (IEP) prior
to age 18 and has not yet completed his or her prescribed
course of study or has not met proficiency standards or has
not graduated from high school with a diploma. (EC § 56026
(c)(4)).
ANALYSIS
This bill extends the implementation date on the use of
alternative means for an eligible pupil with a disability to
demonstrate academic achievement rather than passing the
California high school exit exam, thereby extending the
exemption from the requirement to pass the exit exam.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Deletes the July 1, 2015, implementation date for eligible
pupils with a disability to use the alternative means to
demonstrate achievement in lieu of passage of the
California high school exit exam (CAHSEE).
2) Extends the implementation date for the use of the
alternative means to the time at which a pupil graduates,
thereby extending the CAHSEE exemption for eligible pupils
with disabilities.
3) Deletes the implementation date of the alternative means
and instead authorizes utilization of alternative means
upon a determination by the State Board of Education (SBE)
that the alternative means have been implemented.
4) Deletes obsolete language that authorizes the SBE to extend
the implementation date by up to one year. This language
is obsolete because the SBE already extended the date and
therefore has exhausted its statutory authority.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Background . The California high school exit exam (CAHSEE)
was established in 2000 and the requirement to pass the
CAHSEE as a condition of receiving a high school diploma
took effect with the class of 2006. A lawsuit was filed in
SB 267
Page 4
2002 that challenged the CAHSEE as an invalid and
discriminatory test for pupils with disabilities (Crawford
v. California Department of Education, later designated as
Kidd v. California Department of Education). A settlement
agreement was reached that required the California
Department of Education (CDE) to contract for a study of
the issues, and to specifically determine whether a group
of pupils have learned the material being tested but are
unable to demonstrate their mastery through the CAHSEE,
despite the use of permissible modifications and/or
accommodations.
Two legislative measures were enacted in 2006 that exempted
eligible pupils with disabilities from having to meet the
CAHSEE requirement for the classes of 2006 and 2007.
Legislation in 2008 established the option for an
alternative assessment for eligible pupils with
disabilities, beginning January 1, 2011. The State Board
of Education (SBE) established in regulations an
implementation date of July 1, 2012, and subsequently
extended this date to 2013. Legislation in 2012 further
extended the implementation date to July 1, 2015.
This bill deletes the July 1, 2015, implementation date for the
use of alternative means to demonstrate achievement in lieu
of passage of the CAHSEE, and instead extends the
implementation date the time at which a pupil graduates.
2) Exemption and alternative means . Current law and
regulation essentially exempt eligible pupils with a
disability from the requirement to pass the high school
exit exam (CAHSEE) until July 1, 2015, at which time pupils
may demonstrate achievement through the alternative means.
The exemption was initially set to expire once the
alternative means was either rejected or approved by the
SBE. The SBE determined in July 2010, that alternative
means are feasible but not implementable at that time; the
SBE linked the exemption (and implementation date for the
alternative means) to a specific date. That date has been
extended twice and is now set at July 1, 2015.
Alternative means, as identified by the SBE, is a two-tiered
system consisting of both a screening of alternative scale
scores determined to approximate a passing score on the
CAHSEE (certain scores on the California Standards Tests or
SB 267
Page 5
California Modified Assessment) and a collection of
evidence (work samples).
a) Tier I of the alternative means is a score of 300
on the California Standards Test (CST) in grade 10
English language arts, a score of 300 on the Algebra I
CST, a score of 350 on the California Modified
Assessment (CMA) in grade 10 English language arts,
and a score of 350 on the Algebra I CMA.
b) Tier II is a collection of evidence (such as work
samples).
The CDE's website continues to caution that alternative
means are not implementable at this time due to a lack of
state resources, the transition to the common core
standards, and the conversations regarding the continued
use of the CAHSEE in its current form.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/cahseewaiversexempt.asp
1) How many pupils ? According to the California Longitudinal
Pupil Achievement Data System, 2,616 pupils were granted a
high school diploma pursuant to the exemption in the
2012-13 school year. According to the California
Department Education, 4,837 pupils were granted a local
waiver in the same school year.
1) The future of CAHSEE. According to the Assembly Education
Committee's analysis, the CDE is developing a proposal for
legislative consideration to replace the current CAHSEE
that is consistent with the changes currently taking place
with the implementation of the common core standards and
related assessments. The CDE indicates that a new exit
exam would not go into effect until 2017-18 at the
earliest. This bill removes the implementation date on the
currently-identified alternative means rather than develop
an alternative to an assessment that will be replaced in a
few years.
2) Effect of the bill . Eligible pupils with disabilities
currently have two options to earn a high school diploma
without passing the CAHSEE:
a) Take the CAHSEE with modifications (as prescribed
by the pupil's IEP) and achieve a "passing" score and
seek a waiver (as described in #2b of the Background).
SB 267
Page 6
b) Utilize the alternative means exemption (as
described in #2a of the Background).
While the SBE has determined that alternative means are
feasible, it has also determined that use of alternative
means is not yet implementable. Therefore, the alternative
means will not be implemented on July 1, 2015. Keeping
this implementation date in place would have the effect of
removing one option for eligible pupils with a disability
to earn a diploma without passing the CAHSEE.
These pupils would be required to either pass the CAHSEE,
or "pass" it with modifications and seek a local waiver
(school districts may deny waiver).
The July 1, 2015, implementation date in current law means
that the first cohort of students that would be affected is
the Class of 2016 (beginning in the 2015-16 school year).
While it is an option to delay action and instead address
this issue in the next Legislative session, it appears
unlikely that any circumstances would change that alters
the viability of utilizing the alternative means.
Could extending the exemption be considered unfair by
allowing this population of pupils to earn a high school
diploma without passing the CAHSEE? Eligible pupils with
disabilities have been exempt from the requirement to pass
the CAHSEE since the inception of the exit exam.
3) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would impose no additional General
Fund (Prop 98) costs to school districts to comply with
this measure. School districts have implemented the CAHSEE
exemption process for eligible pupils with disabilities
since 2009.
SUPPORT
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
Coalition for Adequate Funding for Special Education
OPPOSITION
SB 267
Page 7
DJM Associates