BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2656 (O'Donnell) - Pupils: diploma alternatives: fee
waiver: foster youth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: June 9, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
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.
Fiscal
Impact:
The California Department of Education (CDE) anticipates costs
of $335,000 in the first year and $343,000 in ongoing support
to modify regulations for each test, renegotiate four
contracts that administer the test, and develop data tracking
mechanisms. Additional resources may be necessary to complete
AB 2656 (O'Donnell) Page 1 of
?
the report on fee waivers for these tests due December 1,
2018. (Special fund*)
Unknown revenue loss due to waived exam fees for foster youth.
Assuming 200 foster youth students take either exam, revenue
loss would be in the low tens of thousands. (Special fund*)
Staff notes that the Special Deposit Fund Account surplus is
an unlikely sustainable funding source for the long term.
Once it is depleted, costs would have to be covered by either
by testing contractors or by other test-takers, thereby also
creating a General Fund cost pressure.
* Special Deposit Fund Account
Background: CDE has designated the California High School Proficiency
Examination (CHSPE) as the test by which students may verify
proficiency in high school basic skills. Generally, students
that can take the test must be at least 16 years old. Some
students take the test and leave high school early to work or
attend college. The State Board of Education awards 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.
The State Board of Education has approved the use of three high
school equivalency tests for students 18 years old and older,
and 17 years old in some instances, for the purpose of receiving
a California High School Equivalency Certificate. These tests
include: (1) the General Educational Development Test (GED); the
High School Equivalency Test; and (3) the Test Assessing
Secondary Completion. Current 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.
(Education Code § 51420 and § 51425)
Existing law prohibits the 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.
Existing law authorizes the CDE to charge a fee for each
application to take the high school proficiency exam in an
amount sufficient to recover the costs of administering the
test. Current law provides that the loss of fees due to waiving
AB 2656 (O'Donnell) Page 2 of
?
examination fees for homeless youth, is deemed to be a cost of
administering this test for purposes of determining the costs of
administering the test.
Existing law requires that if a contractor or testing center
charges an examinee its own separate fee for the high school
equivalency exam, the contractor or testing center is prohibited
from charging the fee to a homeless youth. Existing law also
allows the CDE to use surplus funds in the Special Deposit Fund
Account to reimburse contractors for the loss of fees, if any.
Once the surplus is depleted, the contractors are required to
absorb the ongoing costs of the fee waiver.
Proposed Law:
This bill prohibits the CDE from charging a fee for the high
school proficiency examination or the high school equivalency
examination to a foster youth who is under the age of 25, as
defined. This bill also adds foster youth to the report that
CDE is required to complete by December 1, 2018, that includes
specified information regarding the exam fee waivers. This bill
defines a 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. This definition,
in effect, covers former foster youth as well.
Staff
Comments: 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.
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 CDE for the cost of awarding certificates,
issuing score reports, and maintaining records, and providing
follow-up services related to the completion of the test.
According to a report by WestEd done in 2013, The Invisible
Achievement Gap, there were 394,715 students age 17 or younger
enrolled in grade 12 in fall 2009, of which 2,674 were students
AB 2656 (O'Donnell) Page 3 of
?
in foster care. Of the 12th graders in foster care, 58 percent
graduated high school. A portion of the remaining 1,123 foster
youth students that did not graduate high school may, before
they turn 25 years old, choose to take either the high school
proficiency or equivalency test. The estimated number of foster
youth that have not graduated high school and are older than 17
years old, who would increase the number of foster youth
eligible for exam fee waivers, is unknown. Assuming 200
students take either test at an average test fee of $135,
revenue loss would be about $27,000. The forgone fees for the
exams could absorbed by the Special Deposit Fund Account in the
short term until the surplus is depleted. Once it is depleted,
costs would have to be covered by either by testing contractors
or by other test-takers, thereby also creating a General Fund
cost pressure.
-- END --