BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 381
AUTHOR: Wright
AMENDED: April 16, 2009
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: April 22, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : High School Instruction: Graduation requirements
SUMMARY:
This bill requires governing boards of districts maintaining
a high school to prescribe courses of study that provide
every pupil with the opportunity to be prepared to enter the
world of work with the skills and knowledge required for
remunerative employment, and prohibits districts from
adopting a college preparatory graduation requirement as
specified unless the district also requires an equal amount
of coursework to attain entry-level employment skills in
business or industry.
BACKGROUND
Current law requires school districts that maintain one or
more high schools to prescribe courses designed to provide
students with the skills and knowledge required for adult
life.
In order to graduate high school, current law requires all
pupils to pass both the English language arts and mathematics
portions of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and
complete the following 13 courses:
1) 2 years English.
2) 2 years mathematics.
3) 2 years science, including biological and physical
science.
4) 3 years social studies, including: United State history
and geography, one
semester of American government and one semester of
economics.
5) 1 year visual or performing arts or foreign language.
6) 2 years physical education, unless exempt by law.
SB 381
Page 2
Current law also authorizes school district governing boards
to adopt local requirements for high school graduation and
specify additional coursework required for a high school
diploma.
Existing law requires each school district maintaining any of
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses of study that 1)
fulfill the requirements and prerequisites for admission to
California public institutions of postsecondary education,
and 2) provide an opportunity for pupils to attain
entry-level employment skills in business or industry.
Current law permits districts to fulfill their responsibility
pursuant to number 2) by adopting a required curriculum that
meets or exceeds the model career technical education (CTE)
standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
High school students interested in attending a California
public university after graduation must complete the minimum
coursework for high school graduation and complete additional
coursework to meet the subject area requirements established
by the California State University (CSU) and the University
of California (UC) for undergraduate admission. The
following pattern of coursework is commonly referred to as
the "a-g" requirements:
a) 2 years of history/social science
b) 4 years of college preparatory English or
language instruction
c) 3 years of college preparatory mathematics (4
years recommended)
d) 2 years of laboratory science (3 years
recommended)
e) 2 years of a language other than English (3
years recommended)
f) 1 year visual and performing art
g) 1 year college preparatory electives
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Amends current law requiring districts to provide
students with skills and knowledge required for adult
life and instead requires districts to provide every
pupil with the opportunity to be prepared to enter the
SB 381
Page 3
world of work with sufficient marketable skills and
knowledge for legitimate remunerative employment as
specified.
2) Prohibits a school district from adopting graduation
requirements that meet or exceed the requirements and
prerequisites for admission to the state's public
postsecondary institutions unless the district also
adopts additional graduation requirements that require
the completion of an equal amount of coursework to
attain entry-level employment in business or industry
upon graduation from high school.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Local high school graduation requirements . Local
school districts establish the total number of units
required to earn a California high school diploma. Most
school districts in California require between 22 and 26
one-year courses (or the equivalent) for graduation, of
which 13 are the minimum course requirements established
by law and the remainder are a combination of local
requirements and electives. (Two semester courses equal
one year long course.) For example, school districts
frequently require students to complete coursework/units
in career technical education, computer literacy, or
health education to earn a high school diploma, and many
districts have adopted graduation requirements that
include capstone projects or
SB 381
Page 4
community service. To ensure more students are prepared
for college level work, many districts require
additional coursework in English, math, or other
subjects. A few districts have adopted graduation
requirements that incorporate all or most of the a-g
course requirements, essentially requiring 3-4
additional courses in math, English, or foreign
languages or visual and performing arts, along with
other local requirements such as computers, health, or
driver education. This bill would require students in
those districts to also complete 3-4 career technical
education (CTE) classes in order to graduate from high
school, thereby reducing the number of electives that
would otherwise be available for additional college
preparatory courses.
2) University admission requirements . High school
students interested in attending the University of
California (UC) or the California State University (CSU)
after graduation must complete the minimum coursework
for high school graduation and complete additional
college preparatory coursework, to meet the a-g
requirements. In addition to the basic a-g courses, UC
recommends UC-bound students take additional math,
science, and foreign language courses to be
competitively eligible for admission. Under the
provisions of this bill, a UC-bound student may need to
take more than 24 high school courses in order to
complete the recommended courses. Could this bill
reduce the number of students who might be admitted to
UC or other select universities because they are unable
to take coursework that would give them a competitive
advantage?
3) Is this a mandate ? Although the bill is not keyed as
a fiscal bill or as having mandated costs, staff notes
that the requirements imposed by this bill could have
the effect of mandating a higher level of service when
districts adopt a-g graduation requirements. Since all
students in those districts would be required to
complete "X" number of CTE classes, districts would be
required to offer a lot of CTE classes, and probably
multiple sections of those CTE classes. Given the high
cost of some CTE classes, this bill could result in
significant costs. Further, the lack of facilities,
equipment and teachers would create significant cost
pressure on the state. Finally, it is unclear whether
SB 381
Page 5
the requirements of this bill would apply to districts
that have already adopted a-g graduation requirements.
What about districts that currently require an extra
math and English class and then subsequently add one or
two additional classes that put them "over the top" -
how many CTE classes would be required?
4) Impact on schools . According to the author's office,
the intent of this bill is to require districts to
maintain curricular balance between courses that prepare
students for CSU and UC and courses that prepare
students for employment after high school. While
current law permits districts to determine how this
balance is maintained, this bill prescribes a one to one
ratio for districts that choose to adopt the a-g
graduation requirement. By imposing this ratio, could
this bill have a chilling effect on governing boards
wanting to raise academic standards for graduation?
More likely, districts will either require most but not
all of the a-g requirements (run right up to, but stay
under, the limit to avoid the mandate), or will simply
avoid adopting the a-g requirements. Either outcome
seems unlikely to result in an increase in CTE classes
or achieve curricular balance. Further, could this bill
inadvertently result in districts reducing academic
course offerings in order to add CTE classes,
potentially creating some form of tracking to manage
enrollment?
5) Prior and related legislation . Several measures
aimed at increasing the availability of CTE classes have
been before this Committee. SB 1543 (2006, Chapter 669,
2006) required the CSU and requested the UC to adopt
standards for CTE classes to satisfy the general
elective requirement (UC and CSU satisfied this
requirement in spring 2008); SB 672 (Torlakson, 2007)
would have added two CTE courses to state graduation
requirements; AB 1586 (DeSaulnier, 2008), which would
have required the CSU and requested the UC to accept any
CTE class that meets the curriculum standards adopted by
the SBE was heard by this Committee on June 26, 2008 and
failed passage on a 3-6 vote; and SB 147 (DeSaulnier),
which was amended in this Committee to require the CSU
and urge the UC to determine which CTE courses satisfy
the completion of a general elective course requirement
for purposes of university admission. Finally, AB 554
(Furutani) would authorize pupils to substitute CTE
SB 381
Page 6
courses for the physical education and visual and
performing arts/foreign language classes in state
graduation requirements.
SUPPORT
California Business Education Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Space Authority
OPPOSITION
Association of California School Administrators
Californians for Justice
Public Advocates