BILL ANALYSIS
AB 976
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 976 (Arambula) - As Amended: January 15, 2010
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Requires a school district, when it refers a pupil to an
alternative education program, to provide the pupil and his or
her parent/guardian with a listing of all alternative
education options and a description of the requirements the
pupil must fulfill in order to return to his or her school of
origin. Specifically, this bill:
2)Requires a pupil, his or her parent/guardian, and a school
district official to sign a statement affirming the
appropriateness of independent study as an alternative school
option, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time and on-going GF/98 mandated costs to school districts,
of approximately $975,000, to meet the requirements of this
measure. The majority of the costs are one-time and are
associated with developing materials to provide a description of
all alternative education options. The on-going costs are
related to the independent study statements required in the
bill.
COMMENTS
Background . K-12 pupils have several alternative education
options available to them other than traditional public schools,
including independent study, continuation education, home and
hospital instruction, community day schools, juvenile court
AB 976
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schools, and diploma-plus high schools. Many of these
alternative education options have specified requirements that
cause the pupil to attend one of these programs. For example,
pupils in the criminal justice system are educated in a juvenile
court school.
Independent study is an alternative instructional strategy, not
an alternative curriculum. Students work independently,
according to a written agreement and under the general
supervision of a credentialed teacher. According to the State
Department of Education's (SDE) website, "independent study
students follow the district-adopted curriculum and meet the
district graduation requirements. [This program] offers
flexibility to meet individual student needs, interests, and
styles of learning."
Independent study is a voluntary option chosen by pupils,
parents/guardians, or the school district. Pupils can enroll in
independent study on a short-term, long-term, or full-time
basis. For example, a pupil may take courses in a classroom, in
conjunction with some courses via independent study.
State law requires the education a pupil receives in
independent study to be equal in quality and quantity to that
offered in a classroom. For K-12 programs, the ratio of
independent study students to independent study teachers cannot
exceed the ratio of classroom-based students to classroom based
teachers. Likewise, school districts can operate independent
study as a program within a school, or as stand-alone charter
school. According to SDE, the independent study option was
utilized by 130,765 full-time K-12 pupils in 2007-08. SDE also
reports that 19,000 pupils enrolled in independent study
graduated from high school or passed a high school equivalency
exam in 2007-08.
According to the author, "Independent study is typically the
first alternative option offered to students, when students do
not perform well, and threaten the schools' ranking.
Independent study should not be the first option, it should be
the second or third option presented to parents."
This bill requires a school district, when it refers a pupil to
an alternative education program (independent study), to provide
the pupil and his or her parent/guardian a listing of all
alternative education options and a description of the
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requirements the pupil must fulfill in order to return to his or
her school of origin.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081