BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 252
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|Author: |Leno |
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|Version: |February 18, 2015 Hearing Date: |
| | March 25, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupils: diploma alternatives: fees
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a fee from being charged to homeless
youth for the high school proficiency exam and the high
school equivalency tests.
BACKGROUND
The federal McKinney-Vento Act defines "homeless children
and youths" as children and youths who lack a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes
children and youths who, among other situations, are sharing
the housing of other persons due to loss of housing,
economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in
motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the
lack of alternative adequate accommodations.
(United States Code, Title 42, § 11431 et. seq.)
High school proficiency exam
Current 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 California Department of
Education (CDE):
A. Any person who is at least 16 years of
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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
Current 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.
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.
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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:
(1) Instruction aligned to state
academic content standards.
(2) The opportunity to complete the
requirements for a high school diploma.
(3) At least one year of instruction
or instruction followed by services related
to the academic program.
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.
(EC § 51420 and § 51425)
The State Board of Education has approved the use of three
high school equivalency tests:
1. The General Educational Development Test (GED).
2. The High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
3. The Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC).
ANALYSIS
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This bill prohibits a fee from being charged to homeless
youth for the high school proficiency exam and the high
school equivalency tests. Specifically, this bill:
1. Prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE)
from charging the fee to a homeless child or youth 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 can verify his
or her status as a homeless child or youth.
3. Provides that "a homeless child or youth" is defined by
the federal McKinney-Vento Act (see Background).
4. Authorizes a homeless services provider that has
knowledge of the person's housing status to verify the
homeless status. This bill defines "homeless services
provider" to include all of the following:
A. A governmental or non-profit agency
receiving federal, state, county or municipal
funding to provide services to a homeless child or
youth, or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide
those services by a local homeless continuum of
care organization.
B. An attorney licensed to practice
law in California.
C. A local educational agency liaison
for homeless children and youth, or a school
social worker.
D. A human services provider or public
social services provider funded by the state to
provide homeless children or youth services,
health services, mental or behavioral health
services, substance use disorder services, or
public assistance or employment services.
E. A law enforcement officer
designated as a liaison to the homeless population
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by a local police department or sheriff's
department within the state.
F. Any other person or entity that is
qualified to verify an individual's housing
status, as determined by the California Department
of Education.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, "As
homelessness can make graduating from high school
challenging, or even impossible, other paths to
completing high school and accessing higher education
are extremely important to homeless youths. The high
school proficiency and equivalency exams are two paths
to postsecondary education and opportunities that can
greatly enhance homeless youths' future earning power
and ultimate stability. However, the fees for these
exams have increased in recent years to between $150
and $200. This cost presents an impossible barrier for
homeless youth."
2. Author's amendments. The author wishes to amend this
bill as follows:
A. Cap the age at which a homeless youth may be
eligible for fee exemption, to youth who have not
turned 25 years old.
B. Delete the list of "homeless services
provider" (other than a person or entity as
determined by the California Department of
Education) and instead provides a cross-reference
to an existing definition in the Health and Safety
Code. The definition of "homeless services
provider" in the Health and Safety Code is
identical to the list of individuals and entities
proposed for deletion from this bill (other than a
person or entity as determined by the California
Department of Education).
3. Verification of homelessness. The Health and Safety
Code includes a definition of "homeless services
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provider" for purposes of verifying homelessness to
obtain a certified birth certificate at no cost. The
Health and Safety Code also requires the California
Department of Public Health to develop an affidavit
attesting to the person's status as being homeless, and
requires both the homeless person and the homeless
services provider to sign the affidavit.
This bill does not specify the type of verification that
homeless services providers are to furnish to homeless
youth for the purposes of this bill. Should this bill
require an affidavit to serve as a uniform method of
verification to be accepted by test centers?
4. 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. This contract will expire on
June 30, 2016; the CDE will issue a Request for
Proposals this year for a contract to begin July 1,
2016. It is possible for the CDE to adjust the terms
of the next contract to prohibit fees from being
charged to homeless youth, pursuant to this bill.
The CDE has Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with three
vendors for the high school equivalency tests: two
expire on December 31, 2015, and one expires on
December 31, 2016. It is possible for the CDE to
renegotiate the MOUs with the test vendors; the vendors
in turn would need to renegotiate their contracts with
test centers (there are approximately 300 test centers
in California).
Should this bill require the contract for the California
High School Proficiency Exam and the MOUs for the high
school equivalency tests to include a prohibition on
raising fees for the exam and tests? (See Comment #7.)
5. How many homeless youth may be affected? According to
the California Homeless Youth Project, there were
approximately 270,000 homeless students in California
during the 2012-13 school year. According to
information provided by the author's office, it is
estimated that approximately 446 homeless youth take a
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high school equivalency test, and 416 take the high
school proficiency exam.
During the 2014-15 fiscal year, 84 school districts and
county offices of education received funds under the
federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Act in amounts ranging
from almost $24,000 to over $216,000. These funds are
not specifically designated to cover the costs of
exams.
6. What about foster youth? This bill affects homeless
youth, but not other special populations such as foster
youth. Should foster youth be exempt from paying fees
to take the high school proficiency and high school
equivalency exams?
7. 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.
8. Related and prior legislation.
RELATED LEGISLATION
SB 445 (Liu, 2015) requires homeless students to be allowed
to remain in the school of origin through the duration
of homelessness. SB 445 is pending in this Committee.
SB 636 (Liu, 2015) establishes the Homeless Youth Basic
Material Needs Assistance Program. SB 636 is scheduled
to be heard in the Senate Human Services Committee on
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April 14.
AB 1166 (Bloom, 2015) modifies the existing exemption for
foster and homeless youth from meeting locally imposed
high school graduation requirements to specify that the
exemption is to remain in place even if the student is
no longer homeless while enrolled in school. AB 1166
is pending referral in the Assembly.
AB 801 (Bloom, 2015) makes several changes to existing
provisions regarding priority enrollment at
institutions of higher education, requires "qualifying
institutions" to designate a homeless and foster
student liaison, and modifies residency requirements
for homeless youth. AB 801 is pending in the Assembly
Higher Education Committee.
AB 1228 (Gipson, 2015) adds current and former homeless
youth to existing provisions regarding priority housing
for foster youth at institutions of higher education.
AB 1228 is pending referral in the Assembly.
AB 982 (Eggman, 2015) gives priority for federal and state
subsidized child development services to homeless
children. AB 982 is pending in the Assembly Human
Services Committee.
AB 891 (Campos, 2015) among other things, establishes
priority enrollment in after school programs for
homeless youth and children in families receiving
CalWORKs benefits, and prohibits after school programs
from charging a fee to families of homeless youth. AB
891 is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 177 (Liu, Ch. 491, 2013) among other things, required
school districts, charter schools and county offices of
education to immediately enroll a homeless youth.
AB 1806 (Bloom, Ch. 767, 2014) extended policies and
procedures for suspension, expulsion, graduation
requirements and completed coursework to students who
are homeless that are currently provided to students
who are in foster care.
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AB 951 (Medina, 2013) would have required school districts
that designate a liaison for homeless children and
youths as required under the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act, to ensure the liaison is
properly trained regarding the rights of these children
to receive educational services. AB 951 was held in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Coalition for Youth
County Welfare Directors
Echoes of Hope
First Place for Youth
Housing California
LA Coalition to End Youth Homelessness
Larkin Street Youth Services
LINC Housing
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children
and Youth
Young Invincibles
OPPOSITION
None received.
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