BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2306
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2306
(Frazier) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: High school graduation requirements: pupils
transferring from juvenile court schools
SUMMARY: Exempts students who transfer from juvenile court
schools to school districts after completion of 10th grade from
any local graduation requirements in excess of those required by
the state, and allows these students to earn a high school
diploma while in juvenile court school if they meet state
graduation requirements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines, for purposes of this act, "pupil" to mean a pupil
who, any time after he or she completes 10th grade, transfers
to a school district from a juvenile court school.
2)Requires school districts to exempt these students from all
coursework and other requirements adopted by the governing
board of the school district for high school graduation that
are in addition to the statewide coursework graduation
requirements, unless the school district makes a finding that
the student is reasonably able to complete the additional
requirements in time to graduate from high school.
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3)Requires that, if a student completes the state coursework
graduation requirements while attending a juvenile court
school, the county office of education (COE) issue a diploma
and exempt the student from any local graduation that are in
addition to the state requirements.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines juvenile court schools as public schools or classes in
any juvenile hall, juvenile home, day center, juvenile ranch,
juvenile camp, regional youth educational facility, or Orange
County youth correctional center, or in any group home housing
25 or more children and operating one or more additional sites
under a central administration, with acceptable school
structures at one or more centrally located sites to serve the
single or composite populations of juvenile court school
students.
2)Requires the county board of education to provide for the
administration and operation of juvenile court schools by the
county superintendent of schools or by contract with the
respective governing boards of the elementary, high school, or
unified school district in which the juvenile court school is
located.
3)Permits school district governing boards to establish local
graduation requirements in excess of those of the state.
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4)Requires a pupil who has had contact with the juvenile justice
system to be immediately enrolled in a public school.
5)Encourages local educational agencies (LEAs) to enter into
memoranda of understanding and create joint policies, systems,
including data sharing systems, transition centers, and other
joint structures, create uniform systems for calculating and
awarding course credit, and allow for the immediate enrollment
of pupils transferring from juvenile court schools.
6)Requires that, as part of their existing responsibilities for
coordinating education and services for youth in the juvenile
justice system, the COE and county probation department have a
joint transition planning policy that includes collaboration
with relevant LEAs to improve communication regarding dates of
release and the educational needs for pupils who have had
contact with the juvenile justice system, to coordinate
immediate school placement, and to ensure that probation
officers in the community have the information they need to
support the return of pupils who are being transferred from
juvenile court schools to public schools in their communities.
7)Requires LEAs to accept coursework satisfactorily completed by
a student while attending a juvenile court school, and
requires that the LEA issue partial course credit to students
who did not complete entire courses.
8)Requires that, if a student completes the graduation
requirements of his or her school district of residence while
being detained, the school district of residence issue to the
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student a diploma from the school the student last attended
before detention, or the county superintendent of schools may
issue the diploma.
9)Requires school districts to exempt students in foster care
and those who are homeless who transfer between schools after
their second year in high school from local graduation
requirements. Requires school districts to notify specified
individuals, including students in foster care and those who
are homeless, within 30 days of the date that they transfer
into a school, that they are exempt from local graduation
requirements.
10)Requires that the exemption from local graduation
requirements continue to apply to students in foster care even
if their court jurisdiction is terminated, or if students
transfer to another school or district.
11)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in
consultation with the Board of State and Community
Corrections, to convene a statewide group with stakeholders
from the community, advocacy organizations, and education and
probation department leaders to develop a model and study
existing successful county programs and policies for the
immediate transfer of educational records, uniform systems for
calculating and awarding credits, transition planning, and the
immediate enrollment of pupils who are being transferred from
juvenile court schools. This group is required to submit a
report of its findings and recommendations to the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2016.
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FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has been keyed a state mandated local
program by the Office of Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author's office states: "Juvenile court
school pupils often fall through the cracks when it comes to
high school graduation. When a pupil's school district has
implemented graduation requirements in addition to statewide
requirements, they pupil often does not have time to complete
those requirements when they have in fact completed statewide
requirements, leaving them without a diploma.
Allowing pupils who have had contact with juvenile court schools
to graduate high school with the statewide requirements will
provide them an opportunity to advance their education and
contribute to our economy while lowering their chances of
recidivism."
Juvenile court school outcomes and transition. According to the
CDE, as of October 2010, there were 83 Juvenile Court Schools
reporting an enrollment of 9,010 students. However, many
students attend juvenile court schools for a short period of
time, so this "point in time" number does not reflect the total
number of students served on an annual basis. CDE reports that
its demographic reports for prior school years indicate that the
total number of students served by these schools over the entire
year averaged over 42,000.
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A number of studies have found poor educational outcomes and
problems with transition back to school districts for these
students.
A 2016 report published by the Youth Law Center found
that many students do not re-enroll in school after leaving
a juvenile court school. The report notes that in the
2013-2014 school year, juvenile court schools students had
a dropout rate of 38%, compared to the statewide adjusted
dropout rate of 12%. The report noted that ten counties
had court school dropout rates of 60% or higher and that
another five had dropout rates ranging from 40% to 59%.
A 2013 analysis of the National Bureau for Economic
Research found that, compared to students who were charged
with a crime but not incarcerated, juvenile incarceration
is estimated to decrease the chances of high school
graduation by 13 percentage points and increase the chances
of adult incarceration by 22 percentage points.
A 2014 report by Southern Education Foundation found
that in 58 percent of California high school students in
juvenile facilities earned high school course credit,
compared with 46 percent nationally. They were less likely
to receive a high school diploma while incarcerated - 5
percent compared with 8 percent nationally.
A report by the CDE on students served with Title I,
Part D funds in At-Risk, Neglected, and Juvenile Detention
programs found that only 21% of juvenile court school
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students were enrolled at their local school within 30 days
after being released.
A 2010 report by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
at Georgetown University found that "reenrollment of youth
in schools following discharge from a juvenile correctional
facility has been a perennial challenge as schools and
school districts have resisted reenrollment of formerly
incarcerated youth."
State vs. local graduation requirements. While the state sets
minimum graduation course requirements, LEAs may require
additional coursework or other requirements for graduation.
Some school districts, for example require a course in health
education or community service hours, neither of which are
required by state law.
The author notes that students who transfer to a school district
after 10th grade may not have time within their remaining years
of education to meet local graduation requirements. This bill,
as with prior legislation pertaining to foster youth and
homeless students, is an effort to provide juvenile court school
students a better opportunity to graduate by meeting state
graduation requirements, when appropriate.
Current law also requires students in juvenile court schools to
be issued diplomas from their district of residence or the
county superintendent of schools if they meet the graduation
requirements of their school district of residence. This bill
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pertains to students who meet state graduation requirements
while in juvenile court schools, allowing them to obtain a
diploma while they may be unable to meet local graduation
requirements during their detention.
Some, but not all, students in juvenile court schools are
covered by law regarding exempting foster youth from local
graduation requirements. Current law exempts students in foster
care, as defined, from meeting local graduation requirements,
under specified conditions. The definition of foster care used
in that requirement refers to students who are subjects of a
petition under section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
Some of the students in juvenile court schools may meet that
definition, but others who attend juvenile court schools do not.
This bill would extend to all students in juvenile court
schools.
Require notification of right to exemption? Current law
requires school districts to notify students in foster care and
those who are homeless, within 30 days of the date that they
transfer into a school, that they are exempt from local
graduation requirements. This Committee approved the
legislation requiring that notice, recognizing that it may be
necessary in order to ensure that students are aware of their
rights and are able to exercise them. This bill extends the
right to exemption from local graduation requirements to
juvenile court school students, but does not require that they
be notified of their rights. Staff recommends that this bill be
amended to extend this notification requirement, as applicable,
to students in juvenile court schools.
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Juvenile court school transition workgroup report delayed. AB
2276 (Bocanegra, Chapter 901, Statutes of 2014) required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in consultation with
the Board of State and Community Corrections, to convene a
statewide group with stakeholders from the community, advocacy
organizations, and education and probation department leaders to
develop a model and study existing successful county programs
and policies for the immediate transfer of educational records,
uniform systems for calculating and awarding credits, transition
planning, and the immediate enrollment of pupils who are being
transferred from juvenile court schools. This group was
required to submit a report of its findings and recommendations
to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by
January 1, 2016. The CDE indicates that the report will be
released in early April.
Prior legislation. AB 167 (Adams, Chapter 224, Statutes of
2009) grants pupils in foster care an exemption from coursework
adopted by a school district in addition to statewide
requirements while the pupil is in grades 11 and 12.
SB 1088 (Price, Chapter 381, Statutes of 2012) prohibits a
school district from denying enrollment or readmission of a
pupil solely on the basis that he/she had contact with the
juvenile justice system.
AB 2276 (Bocanegra, Chapter 901, Statutes of 2014) requires a
pupil who has had contact with the juvenile justice system to be
immediately enrolled in a public school, and required the SPI,
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in consultation with the Board of State and Community
Corrections, to convene a statewide group of stakeholders to
study and report on juvenile court school transition.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087
AB 2306
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