BILL ANALYSIS �
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|1/11SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 57|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 57
Author: Carter (D), et al
Amended: 6/1/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted, 6/1/11
SUBJECT : Dropout Recovery Week
SOURCE : School for Integrated Academies and
Technologies
DIGEST : This resolution declares the week of June 6
through June 12, 2011, to be Dropout Recovery Week and
states the Legislatures intent to encourage the support of
dropout recovery high schools with creative teaching
strategies, alternative assessments, and adequate
resources.
ANALYSIS :
This resolution finds:
1.Research suggests that fewer than 70 percent of 9th
grade pupils in California, and in some school
districts, fewer than 50 percent, graduate from high
school.
2.A recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of
California found that strong majorities of public school
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parents and adults across political parties, regions,
and demographic groups view the dropout rate as a big
problem.
3.Research by the Alliance for Excellent Education
demonstrates that if only one-half of the dropouts were
recovered in California's six largest metropolitan
areas, the economic benefits to California would be
staggering: those recovered dropouts would invest an
additional $247 million a year, increase home sales by
$2.92 billion during their careers, support an
additional 6,800 jobs to the midpoint of their careers,
and increase state and local tax revenues by $129
million every year.
4.Research further demonstrates that reengaged learners
demonstrate higher civic engagement, contribute to the
cultural strengths of their communities, and are
significantly less likely to be unemployed, on public
assistance, or arrested for a violent crime.
5.There exist dropout recovery high schools in California
that provide significant social, economic, and academic
benefits to their pupils and to California's population
as a whole.
6.Dropout recovery high schools face significant
challenges in reengaging pupils into academic endeavors,
including: (a) dropouts who reenter high school often
perform significantly below grade level; (b) pupils who
drop out display a gradual process of disengagement from
school that encompasses years of academic and behavioral
difficulties, absenteeism, and stressful life
circumstances; (c) reengagement into a high school
setting can be difficult and take a significant amount
of time; and (d) pupils who have dropped out once are
significantly more likely to drop out again.
7.Research by WestEd found that one-half of the dropouts
who return to school stay for one year or less,
one-third of returning dropouts fail to complete even
one course after they reenroll, and only 18 percent of
returning dropouts graduate.
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8.Successful dropout recovery high schools attract and
retain high-quality staff committed to meeting the
instructional needs of the whole pupil.
9.Successful dropout recovery high schools utilize
multiple strategies to overcome these challenges,
including state-of-the-art technology, career technical
education to reach a variety of learning modalities,
accelerated learning pedagogies, competency-based,
rather than seat time-based, instruction, and open entry
and open exit enrollment.
10.Reengaged learners are no longer at risk of failure but
at promise of success.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/8/11)
School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (source)
County School Facilities Consortium
United Teachers Los Angeles
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In support, the United Teachers
Los Angeles (UTLA) states, "Student drop out recovery has
been of concern to UTLA for many reasons and they too are
trying to get attention, to do something about it?.This
resolution will also help focus attention on the drop out
issue. It is UTLA's hope that ACR 57 along with our
efforts will get action on finding viable solutions to the
drop out problem."
CPM:cm 6/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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