BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 252| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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.) SB 252 Page 2 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 SB 252 Page 3 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. SB 252 Page 4 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 SB 252 Page 5 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). SB 252 Page 6 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 SB 252 Page 7 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 **** END **** SB 252 Page 8