BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 252|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 252
Author: Leno (D), et al.
Amended: 8/28/15
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
SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 6/3/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner,
Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 9/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Pupils: diploma alternatives: fees
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits a fee from being charged to
homeless youth for the high school proficiency exam and the high
school equivalency tests.
Assembly Amendments authorize the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), until July 1, 2019, to use surplus funds in
the Special Deposit Fund Account to reimburse contractors for
the loss of fees, if any; require a contract executed by the
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California Department of Education (CDE) to require that any
contracting party accept all examinees, including those entitled
to a fee waiver; require the SPI to submit a report , by
December 1, 2018, that includes specified information; provide
that the loss of fees is deemed to be a cost of administering
the high school proficiency exam; and require the SPI to adopt
emergency regulations to implement the provisions of this bill.
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.)
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 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.
2)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
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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 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
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.
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(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.
b) The High School Equivalency Test.
c) The Test Assessing Secondary Completion.
This bill:
1) 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 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) Provides that "a homeless child or youth" is defined by the
federal McKinney-Vento Act (see existing law).
4) 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.
5) Authorizes a homeless services provider that has knowledge
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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
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) Provides that the loss of fees is deemed to be a cost of
administering the high school proficiency exam.
7) Requires the SPI to submit a report , by December 1, 2018,
to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature that includes all of the following:
a) The number of homeless youth that took a high school
proficiency test in each of the 2016, 2017, and 2018
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calendar years.
b) The impact of the opportunity to take a high school
proficiency test at no cost on the number and percentage
of homeless youth taking a high school proficiency test.
c) The estimated number of homeless youth who may take a
high school proficiency test in future years.
d) Recommendations for a permanent funding source to
cover the cost of the waived fees.
e) The annual and projected administrative cost to the
CDE.
f) The annual and projected reimbursement to contractors
pursuant to this section.
8) Requires the SPI to adopt emergency regulations to implement
the provisions of this bill.
9) Authorizes the SPI, until July 1, 2019, to use surplus funds
in the Special Deposit Fund Account to reimburse contractors
for the loss of fees, if any. Requires a contract executed
by the CDE to require that any contracting party accept all
examinees, including those entitled to a fee waiver. Defines
"surplus funds" as funds remaining after the costs to the CDE
of administering high school equivalency certificates.
10)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
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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).
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: Yes Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
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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 general
educational development test special deposit account through
January 1, 2020, to support associated costs. The CDE
estimates the fund has a surplus of approximately $1.3
million.
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
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 general
educational development test special deposit account noted
above cannot be used for costs associated with the CHSPE).
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.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/2/15)
Los Angeles County Office of Education
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OPPOSITION: (Verified9/2/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Los Angeles County
Office of Education, "statistics show that in California, 75% of
homeless youth do not finish high school, impacting the future
of homeless young adults. Access to a certificate of
proficiency can be costly; $110 to $160 per exam depending on
deadline dates. There is also an additional fee of $20 for the
scoring center to score the student's test. The fees for these
tests may preclude a student from utilizing these services.
Access to these fee savings may allow and encourage homeless
youth to pursue post-secondary education."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 9/2/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by: Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/2/15 17:48:25
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