BILL NUMBER: SB 651	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 6, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Romero and Steinberg

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Section 48070.6 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil retention.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 651, as amended, Romero. Pupil retention.
   Existing law requires the governing board of each school district
and each county superintendent of schools to adopt policies regarding
pupil promotion and retention. Existing law requires the Commission
on Teacher Credentialing, the state board, and the department to
provide to the State Chief Information Officer the individual
nonpersonally identifiable or aggregate data related to adequate
yearly progress, graduation rates, pupils who drop out of school, and
demographics of pupils and teachers.
   This bill would require the Superintendent, on or before August 1,
 2010   2011  , and annually thereafter,
to submit to the Governor, the Legislature, and the state board, a
report called the Annual Report on Dropouts in California. The bill
would require, among other things, the report contain specified
information on dropout rates, graduation rates, pupil promotion
rates, course enrollment patterns, and behavioral data. The bill
would require that the report include data from the most recent year
and, at a minimum, the two prior years. The bill would also require
the Superintendent to make an oral presentation of the contents of
the report to the state board and to make the contents of the report
available on the department's Internet Web site.  The bill would
state the intent of the Legislature that the report be usable by
specified groups for analyzing the high rate of dropouts in
California. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 48070.6 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   48070.6.  (a) On or before August 1,  2010  
2011  , and annually thereafter, the Superintendent shall submit
to the Governor, the Legislature, and the state board, a report that
shall be called the Annual Report on Dropouts in California. The
report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) One-year adjusted dropout rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive.

   (2) Four-year derived dropout rates for grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

   (3) Two- or three-year derived dropout rates, as appropriate, for
middle schools.
   (4) Grade 9 to grade 10 promotion rates.
   (5) Percentage of high school pupils at each grade level who are
on track to earn sufficient credits to graduate.
   (6) The average number of nonpromotional school moves that a pupil
makes between grades 6 to 12, inclusive.
   (7) "Full-year" dropout rates for alternative schools.
   (8) Relevant data on school climate and pupil engagement from the
California Healthy Kids Survey.
   (9) California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) passage
rates.
   (10) Other available data relating to dropout or graduation rates
or pupil progress toward high school graduation.
   (b) When cohort dropout rates can be calculated accurately using
longitudinal data, the rates described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) shall be replaced by dropout rates for cohorts of
pupils entering high school.
   (c) When cohort dropout rates can be calculated accurately using
longitudinal data, the rates described in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) shall be replaced by dropout rates for cohorts of
pupils entering middle school.
   (d) If data is available, the report shall also include all of the
following:
   (1) Rates at which pupils graduate in four, five, and six years.
   (2) Course enrollment patterns by school and school district,
including college preparatory curriculum and career technical
education.
   (3) Behavioral data by school and district, including suspensions
and expulsions.
   (e) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented in the report, organized as follows:
   (1) By state.
   (2) By county.
   (3) By district.
   (4) By school.
   (f) The report shall include data from alternative middle and high
schools, including continuation high schools, community day schools,
juvenile court schools, special schools, opportunity schools, and
schools attended by wards of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice.
   (g) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented for the following subgroups, if the subgroup consists
of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a valid test score, and the
subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total population of
pupils at a school who have valid test scores:
   (1) Grade level.
   (2) Ethnicity.
   (3) Gender.
   (4) Socioeconomic status.
   (5) Limited English proficiency.
   (6) Disability status.
   (h) The report shall include data from the most recent year and,
at a minimum, the two prior years, so that comparisons can be made
easily.
   (i) The Superintendent or his or her designee shall make an oral
presentation of the contents of the report to the state board at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the board.
   (j) The Superintendent shall make the contents of the report
available on the department's Internet Web site in a format that is
easy for the public to access and understand.
   (k) If inclusion of school-level data would render the written
report unwieldy, the data may be omitted from the written report and
posted on the department's Internet Web site. 
   (l) It is the intent of the Legislature that the report prepared
by the Superintendent be usable by schools, districts, policymakers,
researchers, parents, and the public, for purposes of identifying and
understanding trends, causal relations, early warning indicators,
and potential points of intervention to address the high rate of
dropouts in California.