BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1705
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1705 (Silva) - As Amended: April 26, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill delays implementation of the California High School
Exit Exam (CAHSSE) alternative assessment for pupils with
disabilities from 2011 to 2015. Further authorizes the State
Board of Education (SBE) to extend this date by one year via the
regulatory process.
FISCAL EFFECT
No additional GF/98 costs to school districts to comply with
this measure. Since 2009, school districts have implemented the
CAHSEE exemption process for eligible pupils with disabilities.
COMMENTS
1)Background . AB 2040 (Nunez), Chapter 666, Statutes of 2008,
required the SBE to explore alternative means for eligible
pupils with disabilities who have fulfilled all of the
requirements for a high school diploma except passage of
CAHSEE. Specifically, Chapter 666 specified these pupils have
the opportunity to demonstrate through alternative means they
have achieved the same level of academic achievement required
for passage of the CAHSEE.
Chapter 666 defined "eligible pupil with a disability" as a
pupil who meets all of the following criteria:
a) The pupil has an operative individualized education
program (IEP) pursuant to the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or a Section 504 plan
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adopted pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act that
indicates the pupil has an anticipated graduation date and
is scheduled to receive a high diploma on or after July 1,
2015.
b) The pupil has not passed the CAHSEE.
c) The school district or state special school certifies
the pupil has satisfied or will satisfy all other state and
local requirements for the receipt of a high school diploma
on or after July 1, 2011.
d) The pupil has attempted to pass those sections not yet
passed of the CAHSEE at least twice after grade 10,
including at least once in grade 12, as specified.
AB 2040 also required the SBE, by October 1, 2010, to adopt
regulations for the alternative means assessment. Likewise,
this bill required an eligible pupil with a disability,
beginning January 1, 2011, to demonstrate his or her academic
content knowledge via the alternative means as described by
SBE's regulations.
AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Fourth Extraordinary Session,
Statutes of 2009, exempts eligible pupils with disabilities
from the CAHSEE graduation requirement until the SBE makes a
determination that an alternative means assessment is not
feasible or the alternative assessment is implemented. Pupils
with disabilities are still required to take the CAHSEE in
tenth grade to satisfy state and federal requirements; the
test, however, is not used for accountability or graduation
purposes.
2)Purpose . Chapter 666 authorized the SBE to extend the
operative date (January 1, 2011) of the alternative means
assessment for eligible pupils with disabilities by up to two
years, if it determines that an extension is necessary for the
implementation of the regulations.
Through regulation, the SBE established July 1, 2012 as the
implementation date of the alternative means assessment.
Essentially this means eligible pupils with disabilities will
be required to take the alternative means assessment in order
to receive a high school diploma beginning with the 2013-14
school year.
The State Department of Education (SDE) contends the July 1,
2012 implementation date of the alternative means assessment
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is not feasible. Specifically, it reports few districts
participated in the alternative means assessment pilot and as
such, not enough information was gathered to properly evaluate
this option. SDE also argues implementing a second pilot
would be too costly.
Without a true implementation of an alternative means
assessment, eligible pupils with disabilities are left with
having to pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school
diploma because the SBE established an implementation date for
this alternative assessment via regulations. Specifically,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, sponsor of this
bill, argues: "To implement alternative means aligned to the
content standards currently assessed by the CAHSEE could be
costly and would likely be for a relatively small number of
students potentially for a short period of time."
The author further states: "While the state has determined
that is it feasible to create alternative means for eligible
pupils to satisfy the CAHSEE �graduation] requirement, it
would be unlikely to complete its studies and fully implement
it by the dates set forth in AB 2040 and it would be
inefficient to do so while also implementing a different set
of �academic content] standards in the coming years."
This bill extends the implementation date of the alternative
means assessment for eligible pupils with disabilities until
2015.
3)Pupils with disabilities high school diploma data . According
to SDE, the overall rate of pupils with disabilities aged 17,
18 and 19 years old leaving high school with a diploma has
increased over the past three years, from 62% in 2009, to 77%
in 2010, and 81% in 2011. Likewise, the percentage of pupils
with disabilities receiving diplomas without waivers or the
CAHSEE exemption has also increased from 56% in 2009 to 60% in
2010 and 2011.
The number of pupils with disabilities receiving a diploma
with a CAHSEE exemption has increased in direct proportion to
the decrease in the number of pupils with disabilities
receiving a certificate of completion. In 2010 (first year of
the CAHSEE exemption), 11% of pupils with disabilities
received a high school diploma using an exemption and 8%
received certificates of completion. In 2011, 15% of pupils
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with disabilities received a high school diploma using an
exemption and 7% received certificates of completion.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081