Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1876

Introduced by Assembly Member Lopez

February 10, 2016

An act to add Section 51420.5 to the Education Code, relating to pupils.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1876, as amended, Lopez. Pupils: diploma alternatives: language options.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a high school equivalency certificate and an official score report, or an official score report only, to a person who has not completed high school and who meets specified requirements, including, among others, having taken all or a portion of a general education development test that has been approved by the State Board of Education and administered by a testing center approved by the State Department of Education, with a score determined by the state board to be equal to the standard of performance expected from high school graduates.

Commencing begin delete July end delete begin insert January end insert 1, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2019, end insert this bill would prohibit the department from approving or renewing approval of a contractor or testing center to administer the tests described above unless the contractor or testing center provides those tests in the top 5 primary languages used in the begin delete contractor or testing center’s service area. end delete begin insert state, as determined by the department based on United States Census data. end insert The bill would require begin insert that end insert an examinee begin delete to be able end delete begin insert be permitted end insert to take the test in the begin delete offered end delete language of his or her begin delete choice. end delete begin insert choice of the top 5 primary languages used in the state. end insert

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following:

(a) The intention in enacting the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual
Services Act was to provide for effective communication between
all levels of government in this state and the people of this state
who are precluded from utilizing public services because of
language barriers.

(b) It is in the interest of California to reduce language barriers
in obtaining high school equivalency certificates.

SEC. 2.  

Section 51420.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

51420.5.  

(a) Commencing begin delete July end delete begin insert January end insert 1, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2019, end insert the
department shall not approve or renew approval of a contractor or
testing center to administer tests for purposes of Section 51420
unless the contractor or testing center provides the general
educational development tests that have been approved by the state
board in the top five primary languages used in the begin delete contractor or
testing center’s service area. end delete begin insert state, as determined by the department
based on United States Census data. end insert

(b) An examinee shall be begin delete able end delete begin insert permitted end insert to take the test in the
begin delete offered end delete language of his or her begin delete choice. end delete begin insert choice of the top five primary
languages used in the state. end insert

(c) This section is intended to supplement and not supplant any
other requirements the department adopts for the approval of
contractors or testing centers under this article.