BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 252|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 252
Author: Leno (D), et al.
Amended: 6/2/15
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/25/15
AYES: Liu, Huff, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Pan, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen
SUBJECT: Pupils: diploma alternatives: fees
SOURCE: California Coalition for Youth
Housing California
National Association for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth
DIGEST: This bill prohibits a fee from being charged to
homeless youth for the high school proficiency exam and the high
school equivalency tests.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law, 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.)
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Existing state law:
High school proficiency exam
1) Requires 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 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) Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) 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 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
3) 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:
a) Is a resident of California or is a member of the
armed services assigned to duty in California.
b) Has taken all or a portion of a general educational
development test approved by the SBE and administered by a
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test center approved by the CDE, with a score determined
by the SBE to be equal to the standard of performance
expected from high school graduates.
i) Meets one of the following:
ii) Is at least 18 years of age.
iii) Would have graduated from high school had he or
she remained in school and followed the usual course of
study toward graduation.
iv) 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.
v) 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.
4) 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 SBE has approved the use of three high school equivalency
tests:
a) The General Educational Development Test.
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b) The High School Equivalency Test.
c) The Test Assessing Secondary Completion.
This bill:
1) Prohibits the 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) Limits the scope of this bill to homeless youth who have not
reached the age of 25 years as of the date of the scheduled
exam.
3) 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.
4) Provides that "a homeless child or youth" is defined by the
federal McKinney-Vento Act (see existing law).
5) 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" as either of
the following:
a) A homeless services provider listed in the Health and
Safety Code, which includes all of the following:
i) 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.
ii) An attorney licensed to practice law in
California.
iii) A local educational agency liaison for homeless
children and youth, or a school social worker.
iv) A human services provider or public social
services provider funded by the state to provide
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homeless children or youth services, health services,
mental or behavioral health services, substance use
disorder services, or public assistance or employment
services.
v) A law enforcement officer designated as a liaison
to the homeless population by a local police department
or sheriff's department within the state.
b) Any other person or entity that is qualified to verify
an individual's housing status, as determined by the CDE.
6) Prohibits additional state funds from being appropriated for
purposes of implementing this bill.
Comments
Verification of homelessness. The Health and Safety Code
includes a definition of "homeless services provider" for
purposes of verifying homelessness to obtain a certified birth
certificate at no cost. The Health and Safety Code also
requires the 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.
Contract and Memorandum of Understanding. The CDE is currently
in contract with the Sacramento County Office of Education for
the administration of the CHSPE. 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).
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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 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 Act in amounts ranging from almost $24,000 to
over $216,000. These funds are not specifically designated to
cover the costs of exams.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
This bill prohibits additional state funding from being
provided to implement the fee exemptions and would therefore
require that they be absorbed at the local level. Costs are
estimated to be in the low to mid hundreds of thousands to
cover the loss of fee revenue.
The CDE indicates that this bill imposes minimal costs to CDE.
SUPPORT: (Verified6/1/15)
California Coalition for Youth (co-source)
Housing California (co-source)
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and
Youth (co-source)
Attorney General Kamala Harris
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California State PTA
City of West Hollywood
Common Sense Kids Action
County Welfare Directors
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Divinity Prophet and Associates
Echoes of Hope
First Place for Youth
Foster Care Counts
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
LA Coalition to End Youth Homelessness
Larkin Street Youth Services
LINC Housing
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
National Center for Youth Law
Public Counsel
San Diego Youth Service
Skid Row Housing Trust
Young Invincibles
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/1/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Public Counsel, the
challenges of homelessness lead to low rates of high school
graduation; California studies have found that as many as 75% of
homeless youths drop out of school. As homelessness can make
graduating from high school challenging, or even impossible,
alternative pathways to high school completion and eligibility
for post-secondary education are important to homeless youths.
SB 252 offers homeless youths a pathway to post-secondary
education and opportunities that can greatly enhance their
future earning power and career success.
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
6/2/15 13:59:22
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