BILL ANALYSIS
AB 374
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 374 (Block) - As Introduced: February 23, 2009
SUBJECT : Dropout acknowledgement form
SUMMARY : Requires each school district to produce a
Consequences of Dropping Out Acknowledgment Form, as described,
and requires a high school administrator or other certificated
employee who becomes aware of the intent of a pupil to drop out
of school prior to reaching age 18 or completing the
requirements for high school graduation, to make every
reasonable effort to provide the pupil with a copy of the form.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires each school district to produce a Consequences of
Dropping Out Acknowledgment form, make copies of the form, and
make it available to each of its schools that offer any of
grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
2)Specifies that the form shall include:
a) Acknowledgment that the pupil has been informed of the
following:
i) The form does not grant a pupil the right to drop
out of school and that he or she remains subject to the
compulsory attendance requirements and truancy procedures
set forth in state law;
ii) The potential consequences of dropping out of school
include: greater difficulty in finding a job; reduced
income and purchasing power; a greater likelihood of
engaging in criminal activity; a greater likelihood of
spending time in jail and/or prison; a greater likelihood
of receiving welfare and/or other forms of public
assistance; fewer choices about where to live; and a
lesser likelihood of properly caring for and educating
children; and
iii) The pupil's right to reenroll in school to complete
the requirements for graduation from high school, the
procedure for reenrollment in school, and the
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availability of alternative educational services,
including continuation school, independent study, adult
education, community college, and the General Educational
Development (GED) tests.
b) Signature line for the pupil.
c) Parent acknowledgement that he or she has been informed
of the following:
i) His or her dependent remains subject to the
compulsory attendance requirements and truancy procedures
set forth in state law;
ii) The consequences of his or her child or dependent
dropping out of school prior to reaching 18 years of age
or completing the requirements for graduation from high
school, as described; and
iii) His or her child's or dependent's right to reenroll
in school to complete the requirements for graduation
from high school, the procedure for reenrollment in
school, and the availability of alternative educational
services, including continuation school, independent
study, adult education, community college, and the
General Educational Development (GED) tests.
d) Signature line for the parent.
3)Requires an administrator or other certificated employee of a
public school that offers any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
who becomes aware of the intent of a pupil to drop out of
school prior to reaching 18 years of age or completing the
requirements for graduation from high school, to make every
reasonable effort to provide the pupil with a copy of the
dropping out acknowledgment form provided by the school
district.
4)Makes findings and declarations related to the consequences of
dropping out.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years
not exempted by existing law is subject to compulsory
full-time education and shall attend the public full-time day
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school or continuation school or classes and for the full time
designated as the length of the schoolday by the governing
board of the school district in which the residency of either
the parent or legal guardian is located. Requires a parent,
guardian, or other person having control or charge of the
pupil to send the pupil to school, as specified.
2)Authorizes an attendance supervisor, a peace officer, a school
administrator, or a probation officer to arrest or assume
temporary custody, during school hours, of any minor subject
to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory
continuation education found away from his or her home and who
is absent from school without valid excuse within the county,
city, or city and county, or school district.
3)Provides that any pupil subject to compulsory full-time
education or to compulsory continuation education who is
absent from school without valid excuse three full days in one
school year or tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute
period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on three
occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is a
truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or
to the superintendent of the school district.
4)Requires, upon a pupil's initial classification as a truant,
the school district to notify the pupil's parent or guardian,
by first-class mail or other reasonable means that:
a) The pupil is truant;
b) The parent or guardian is obligated to compel the
attendance of the pupil at school;
c) Parents or guardians who fail to meet this obligation
may be guilty of an infraction and subject to prosecution;
d) Alternative educational programs are available in the
district;
e) The parent or guardian has the right to meet with
appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the
pupil's truancy;
f) The pupil may be subject to prosecution;
g) The pupil may be subject to suspension, restriction, or
delay of the pupil's driving privilege; and
h) It is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany
the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for
one day.
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5)Specifies that any parent, guardian, or other person having
control or charge of any pupil who fails to comply with
compulsory education laws, unless excused or exempted
therefrom, is guilty of an infraction and shall be punished as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : State-mandated local program.
COMMENTS : Dropping out of school is a process that stems from
various factors. According to research<1> conducted by Russell
Rumberger, director of the California Dropout Research Project
at the University of California, Santa Barbara, there are two
types of factors that predict whether students drop out or
graduate from high school: factors associated with individual
characteristics of students, and factors associated with the
institutional characteristics of their families, schools, and
communities. Individual factors that predict whether students
drop out or graduate from high school include: educational
performance, behaviors, attitudes, and background.
The author states, "Recent studies have shown that the high
school dropout rate is nearly 25% statewide, and as high as 33%
in places like Los Angeles. The dropout rate is especially high
among students of color. For African American students it is
41.6% and 30.3% for Latino students. Studies have also shown
that high school graduates create more wealth over their
lifetime, cost the state less money in public benefits, and are
less likely to end up in prison."
California schools are indeed facing a critical dropout problem
as is demonstrated by information from the California Department
of Education (CDE) that estimates a 21.1% dropout rate for the
2006-07 school year. The statistics show that minority students
fare much worse. The dropout rate for African-American students
was estimated at 35.8% and for Latino students at 26.7%.
Costs and consequences of dropping out : High school dropouts
experience higher rates of unemployment; lower earnings; poorer
health and higher rates of mortality; higher rates of criminal
behavior and incarceration; increased dependence on public
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<1>Why Students Drop Out of School:A Review of 25 Years of
Research. California Dropout Research Project Report 15. October
2008.
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assistance; and are less likely to vote.<2> The effects of
dropping out are detrimental not only to the individual student
but also to the state and its economy.
The California Dropout Research Project finds that over their
lifetimes, each cohort of dropouts costs California state and
local governments $9.5 billion in fiscal losses:
$3.1 billion in lost state and local tax revenues
$3.5 billion in health expenditures
$2.5 billion in crime expenditures
$400 million in welfare expenditures<3>
Conversely, the California Dropout Research Project estimates
that if the high school dropout rate for a single year was
reduced by 30% the aggregate savings to state and local
governments would be $1.9 billion, and social gains would amount
to $13.9 billion.<4>
While there is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed, it
is not clear that in its current form, this bill will yield the
desired outcome, and without further clarification,
implementation may be difficult.
The bill appears to be based on the assumption that that there
is a formal process of dropping out and that a student would
inform or give a clear indication to an administrator or a
counselor or teacher of his or her intent to dropout. Because
there is no formal process by which a pupil drops out of high
school and because the bill does not specify what indicators
counselors or teachers will use to determine that a child
intends to drop out, the implementation of this bill may prove
challenging. The most obvious factor that a teacher or an
administrator may use is the pupil's attendance record. It is
not clear however, how many absences or truancies an
administrator, teacher or counselor will consider before
providing the acknowledgment form to the pupil. Without any
further guidance, school staff would have to assume or guess
that a student intends to drop out in order to comply with the
---------------------------
<2> Ibid.
<3>The Economic Losses from High School Dropouts in California.
The California Dropout Research Project Policy Brief 1. August
2007.
<4> Ibid.
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provisions of this bill, and this could lead to improper
implementation. Consequently, the information may not get to
the students that the bill intends to reach.
Under existing law, a parent or guardian having control of a
pupil is obligated to compel attendance of the pupil at school.
Parents who fail to meet that obligation can be prosecuted and
fined. The form that both the student and the parent are
required to sign is essentially consent that they are intending
not to comply with the compulsory education laws, and it is
uncertain what benefit this will yield.
Information regarding the consequences of dropping out and the
options for alternative education could be important information
for all students to receive. Staff recommends the bill be
amended to instead require the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to develop a notice that includes information
regarding the consequences of dropping out and alternative
education options for pupils as described in this bill.
Additionally, the bill should be amended to require the notice
be posted on the CDE's Internet Web site, authorize districts to
download it and encourage districts to distribute this notice to
all high school students.
Arguments in support : The American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) writes, "A high school
education is an important factor to beginning a successful life.
The National High School Center reports high school drop-outs
are more likely to be unemployed, use public assistance, be
single parents, have children at a younger age, and earn
$260,000 less over a lifetime. AFSCME supports this bill in
hopes that the form will make potential drop-outs consider the
consequences of dropping out of high school."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Teachers Association
Opposition
None on file.
AB 374
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Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087