BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 252
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
252 (Leno)
As Amended August 28, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Education |7-0 |O'Donnell, Chávez, | |
| | |Kim, McCarty, | |
| | |Santiago, Thurmond, | |
| | |Weber | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 252
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SUMMARY: Prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE)
from charging homeless youth a fee to take the California High
School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) and prohibits any contractor or
testing center from charging homeless youth a fee to take any
high school equivalency test (also known as the GED).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies no additional state funds will be appropriated for
purposes of implementing the requirements of the bill,
however; the bill authorizes the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to use surplus funds from the special
deposit account established for the high school equivalency
test, to be used to reimburse contractors for any loss of
fees.
2)Requires a contract executed by CDE for the provision of the
high school equivalency test to require the contracting party
to accept all examinees, including those that qualify for a
fee waiver pursuant to this bill.
3)Requires the CDE to include a provision in all memorandums of
understanding (MOUs) with contractors providing the high
school equivalency test, that if the surplus funds in the
special deposit account are depleted, the ongoing costs of a
fee waiver will be absorbed by the contractor.
4)Authorizes the CDE to adopt emergency regulations to implement
this bill as necessary.
5)Defines homeless youth as an individual who lacks fixed,
regular, and adequate residence as defined under the federal
McKinney-Vento Act and; the status as a homeless youth is
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required to be verified by homeless services provider such as
a government agency or law enforcement officer.
6)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), on or
before December 1, 2018, to submit a report to the Legislature
on the number of homeless youth that took a high school
proficiency test in each of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 calendar
years; the impact of the no cost testing option on homeless
youth; estimated number of homeless youth that may take a high
school proficiency test in future years; a recommendation for
a permanent funding source in future years; the annual and
projective administrative costs to CDE and reimbursement to
contractors. Sunsets the reporting requirement on January 1,
2020.
7)Contains a sunset date of July 1, 2019.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Approximately 49,000 homeless youth attended grades 10-12,
inclusive, according to 2013-14 data. For illustration,
assuming 1% of these students take the high school equivalency
exam at a cost of $140 per test; this would result in annual
costs of $68,600. This bill prohibits the use of additional
state funds to support the fee exemption; however, this bill
authorizes the CDE to use surplus funds from the GED special
deposit account through January 1, 2020, to support associated
costs. The CDE estimates the fund has a surplus of
approximately $1.3 million.
2)Assuming 1% of homeless students in grades 10-12 take the
CHSPE at a cost of $110 per test, this would result in annual
costs of $53,900. This bill prohibits additional state
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funding from being provided to implement fee exemptions,
therefore; any costs associated with a fee exemption for the
CHSPE would be absorbed by other test takers at the local
level. (The $1.3 million identified in the GED special
deposit account noted above cannot be used for costs
associated with the CHSPE).
3)CDE estimates one-time administrative costs of approximately
$100,900 and ongoing costs of approximately $77,000 to process
reimbursements to vendors and to collect and process data
related to reporting requirements in this bill. These costs
are 50% General Fund and 50% Special Funds. In addition, CDE
anticipates minor costs for regulations and for DGS to process
the contracts with test vendors.
COMMENTS: According to the author, during the 2012-2013 school
year, nearly 270,000 California students experienced
homelessness. Twenty-seven percent of these students were
enrolled in grades 9-12. California studies have found that as
many as 75% of older homeless youths drop out of school.
Exempting homeless youth from examination fees will remove
financial barriers and increase accessibility to the high school
proficiency and equivalency examinations.
High school equivalency exam. The state authorizes the high
school equivalency test (commonly referred to as the GED) as an
alternative to a high school diploma. The State Board of
Education has approved three high school equivalency tests for
use in California: one is provided by a not-for-profit company
and two are provided by for-profit companies. The state has
established a special deposit account for fees generated from
the test to be used for administrative purposes. Currently the
account has a surplus of $1.3 million. This amount fluctuates
annually depending on administrative needs. For example,
according to the CDE, last year the cost to administer the GED
was approximately $800,000; however, the state only collected
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$600,000.
This bill, until July 1, 2019, authorizes the CDE to use surplus
funds to reimburse contractors for any loss of funds as a result
of providing fee exemptions to homeless students. It is not
clear how long the account can sustain these reimbursements.
The bill calls for a study to review the sustainability of this
funding source. Additionally, if the surplus funds in the
special deposit account are depleted, the ongoing costs of a fee
waiver are required to be absorbed by the contractor.
California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE). The state also
authorizes the CHSPE as an alternative to a high school diploma.
CDE is responsible for the CHSPE and contracts with the
Sacramento County Office of Education, with support from
Educational Data Systems, Inc, to administer the test. Students
pay a fee of $110 to take the CHSPE for those who register by
the deadline, $135 for late registration, and $160 for emergency
registration.
Costs associated with providing a fee exemption to homeless
students will be passed on to other test takers. The CDE has
the authority under existing law to raise the fee as necessary
to cover these additional costs.
Analysis Prepared by:
Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001720
SB 252
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