BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2656
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|Author: |O'Donnell |
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|Version: |June 9, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupils: diploma alternatives: fee waiver: foster
youth
SUMMARY
This bill extends to foster youth the fee waivers for the
California High School Proficiency Exam and the high school
equivalency exam that are currently provided to students who are
homeless.
BACKGROUND
Fee waivers
Existing law:
1) Prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE)
from charging the fee for the high school proficiency exam
and the high school equivalency tests to a homeless child
or youth under the age of 25 years who can verify his or
her status as a homeless child or youth.
2) Prohibits a scoring contractor or testing center for the
general educational development test from charging the fee
to a homeless child or youth who is under age 25 years and
can verify his or her status as a homeless child or youth.
3) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
submit a report, by December 1, 2018, to the appropriate
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policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that
includes specified information relative to these fee
waivers.
High school proficiency exam
Existing law requires:
1) The following people to be permitted to have his or her
proficiency in basic skills verified according to criteria
established by the CDE:
a) Any person who is at least 16 years of age.
b) Any person who has been enrolled in grade 10
for one academic year or longer.
c) Any person who will complete one academic year
of enrollment in grade 10 at the end of the semester
during which the next regular examination will be
conducted.
1) The State Board of Education to award a "certificate of
proficiency" to people who achieve a passing score on the
proficiency exam. The certificate of proficiency is
equivalent to a high school diploma.
(Education Code § 48412)
The California Department of Education (CDE) has designated the
California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE) as the
test by which students may verify proficiency in basic skills.
The Sacramento County Office of Education administers the CHSPE
program under contract with the CDE.
High school equivalency tests
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to issue a California high school equivalency certificate
and an official score report to any person who has not completed
high school and who meets all of the following requirements:
1) Is a resident of California or is a member of the armed
services assigned to duty in California.
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2) Has taken all or a portion of a general educational
development test approved by the State Board of Education
(SBE) and administered by a test center approved by the
California Department of Education, with a score determined
by the SBE to be equal to the standard of performance
expected from high school graduates.
3) Meets one of the following:
a) Is at least 18 years of age.
b) Would have graduated from high school had he
or she remained in school and followed the usual
course of study toward graduation.
c) Is at least 17 years of age, has accumulated
fewer than 100 units of high school credit, and is
confined to a state or county correctional agency.
d) Is at least 17 years of age, has accumulated
fewer than 100 units of high school credit prior to
enrollment in a dropout recovery high school, and has
successfully completed the program offered by a
dropout recovery high school that provides the student
with all of the following:
i) Instruction aligned to state
academic content standards.
ii) The opportunity to complete the
requirements for a high school diploma.
iii) At least one year of instruction or
instruction followed by services related to the
academic program.
Existing law provides that a California high school equivalency
certificate is deemed to be a high school diploma for the
purpose of meeting the requirements of employment by all state
and local public agencies in California. (EC § 51420 and §
51425)
The State Board of Education has approved the use of three high
school equivalency tests:
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1) The General Educational Development Test (GED).
2) The High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
3) The Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC).
ANALYSIS
This bill extends to foster youth the fee waivers for the
California High School Proficiency Exam and the high school
equivalency exam that are currently provided to students who are
homeless. Specifically, this bill:
1) Prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE) from
charging the fee for the California High School Proficiency
Exam to an examinee who is a foster youth who is under the
age of 25 years.
2) Prohibits a contractor or testing center from charging a
fee to an examinee who is a foster youth who is under the
age of 25 years.
3) Expands the scope of the currently required report
regarding information relative to these fee waivers
4) Defines "foster youth" as any individual who is, or has
ever been, the subject of a petition before the juvenile
court and was removed from his or her home by the court.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, "Foster youth
and former foster youth face issues and circumstances that
make graduating from high school challenging or even
impossible. Only 50% of foster youth in the United States
receive a high school diploma. Only 10% of foster youth
will attend college and of that 10%, only 3% will graduate.
The high school proficiency exam and high school
equivalency tests are two alternative paths to
postsecondary education and the opportunities and benefits
that education provides. However, the fees for these exams
create a nearly impossible barrier for foster and former
foster youth to overcome."
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2) Parity. The fee waivers proposed by this bill are
currently provided to individuals who are homeless and who
are under the age of 25 years. This bill extends fee
waivers to foster youth.
3) Contract and Memorandum of Understanding. The California
Department of Education (CDE) is currently in contract with
the Sacramento County Office of Education for the
administration of the California High School Proficiency
Exam (CHSPE). This contract will expire on June 30, 2016;
the CDE issued a Request for Proposals in 2015 for a
contract to begin July 1, 2016. According to the CDE, it
is not possible to amend the new contract at this point;
CDE would need to adopt regulations to waive test fees
pursuant to this bill.
The CDE has Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with three
vendors for the high school equivalency tests: two were
renewed and effective January 1, 2016, and one expires on
December 31, 2016. According to the CDE, it is possible to
amend the MOUs, but CDE would first need to adopt
regulations to waive test fees pursuant to this bill.
4) Fiscal impact. The fee to take the California High School
Proficiency Exam is $110. The fee for the high school
equivalency tests varies, as determined by each test vendor
and test center; this fee is generally $120-$200. This
bill does not eliminate or waive the $20 fee charged by the
California Department of Education for the cost of awarding
certificates, issuing score reports, and maintaining
records, and the cost of providing all follow-up services
related to the completion of the test. This bill is silent
with regards to who covers the costs of these exams.
Presumably, the State will cover the costs, although it's
possible that fees for the exams could be increased and
therefore costs would be covered by other test-takers.
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
imposes:
a) Unknown special fund costs, likely minor, to
subsidize fees for foster youth and former foster
youth who choose to take any of the high school
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equivalency tests or the CHSPE. It is difficult to
predict the number of foster youth that will take
these tests. There are approximately 60,000 foster
youth in California. The author estimates there are
approximately 4,000 foster youth between the ages of
15-24 that do not receive a high school diploma.
Approximately 0.15% of eligible homeless students took
these tests last year. Assuming a similar percentage
of foster youth take these tests, the state would
incur costs of approximately $980 for the equivalency
exams and $770 for the CHSPE.
b) Special fund costs to the California Department
of Education of approximately $260,000 to provide
assistance and support to the foster youth community,
verify foster youth eligibility, adjust testing
contracts and report participation rates.
SUPPORT
Aspiranet
Association of California School Administrators
California Coalition for Youth
California Teachers Association
National Center for Youth Law
School Employers Association of California
OPPOSITION
None received.
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