BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2306
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2306 (Frazier)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(April 28, |SENATE: | 39-0 |(August 22, |
| | |2016) | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Requires school districts to exempt former juvenile
court school students who transfer into school districts after
their second year in high school from local graduation
requirements that exceed those of the state, and requires a
county office of education to issue a diploma of graduation to a
pupil who completes statewide coursework requirements for
graduation while attending a juvenile court school.
The Senate amendments:
1)Define "former juvenile court school pupil" as a student who,
upon completion of her or his second year of high school,
transfers to a school district from a juvenile court school,
except for a school district run by the Division of Juvenile
Justice.
AB 2306
Page 2
2)Add these students to the existing sections which provide
certain rights for students in foster care and those who are
homeless, thereby making the rights afforded to them subject
to complaint under the Uniform Complaint Procedures.
3)Prohibit a former juvenile court school student, the person
holding the right to make educational decisions for the
student, the student's social worker, or the student's
probation officer from requesting a transfer solely to qualify
the pupil for the exemptions.
4)State the intent of the Legislature that students in juvenile
court schools have a rigorous curriculum that includes a
course of study preparing them for high school graduation and
career entry, and fulfilling the requirements for admission to
the University of California and the California State
University.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Mandate: Unknown reimbursable state mandate costs,
potentially in the hundreds of thousands, related to expanding
the areas in which complaints may be made to local educational
agencies under the Uniform Complaint Procedures. Likely minor
costs for a county office of education to award a diploma for
juvenile court school students fulfilling statewide graduation
requirements. (Proposition 98)
2)The California Department of Education indicates costs to
implement this bill are minor.
COMMENTS:
AB 2306
Page 3
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
California Department of Education (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.
A number of studies have found poor educational outcomes and
problems with transition back to school districts for these
students.
1)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%.
2)A 2013 analysis of the National Bureau for Economic Research
AB 2306
Page 4
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.
3)A 2014 report by Southern Education Foundation found that in
58% of California high school students in juvenile facilities
earned high school course credit, compared with 46%
nationally. They were less likely to receive a high school
diploma while incarcerated - 5% compared with 8% nationally.
4)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 students were
enrolled at their local school within 30 days after being
released.
5)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."
Analysis Prepared by:
Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0004384
AB 2306
Page 5