BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1705|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1705
Author: Silva (R)
Amended: 4/26/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/20/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/2/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/21/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : High school exit examination: pupils with
disabilities
SOURCE : Superintendent of Public Instruction
DIGEST : This bill delays by two and one-half years the
implementation of alternative means of demonstrating the
same level of academic achievement as required for passage
of the high school exit exam, thereby extending the
exemption from the requirement that eligible pupils with
disabilities pass the high school exit exam as a condition
of receiving a high school diploma.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
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1.Requires pupils to successfully pass the high school exit
exam (HSEE) as a condition of receiving a diploma of
graduation, in addition to completing state and local
graduation requirements.
2.Provides two options for eligible pupils with
disabilities to receive a diploma without passing the
HSEE:
A. Eligible pupils with a disability are exempt from
the requirement to pass the HSEE until the State Board
of Education (SBE) determines that the alternative
means by which a pupil may demonstrate the same level
of academic achievement on the content standards
required for passage of the HSEE are either not
feasible or that the alternative means are implemented
(once the SBE takes any action on alternative means).
B. Upon the request of a parent of a pupil with a
disability, a school principal must submit a request
to the school district governing board for a waiver of
the requirement to pass the HSEE. The pupil with a
disability must have taken the HSEE with modifications
(such as using a calculator or having directions and
answer options read aloud) and achieved a score of at
least 350 on one or both sections of the HSEE. The
governing board may waive the HSEE requirement if the
principal certifies that the pupil has an active
individualized education program (IEP), met certain
coursework requirements and has a score of at least
350 on the HSEE.
1.Defines "eligible pupil with a disability" as a pupil who
meets all of the following criteria:
A. The pupil has an operative IEP or 504 plan that
indicates that the pupil has an anticipated graduation
date and is scheduled to receive a high school diploma
on or after January 1, 2011.
B. The pupil has not passed the HSEE.
C. The school district or state special school
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certifies that the pupil has satisfied or will satisfy
all other state and local requirements for the receipt
of a high school diploma on or after January 1, 2011.
D. The pupil has attempted to pass one or both
sections of the HSEE; not yet passed at least twice
after grade 10, including at least once during grade
12, with any accommodations or modifications specified
in the pupil's IEP or 504 plan.
1.Requires the SBE to convene a panel to make
recommendations to the SBE and SPI, by October 1, 2009,
regarding specific options for alternative assessments or
other means by which eligible pupils with disabilities
may demonstrate that they have achieved the same level of
academic achievement required for passage of the HSEE.
The SBE was required to adopt regulations, if it
determines it is feasible to create alternative means for
pupils to demonstrate the same level of achievement, by
October 1, 2010.
2.Beginning January 1, 2011, authorizes an eligible pupil
with disabilities to participate in the alternative means
of demonstrating the level of academic achievement in the
content standards required for passage of the HSEE. The
SBE is authorized to extend this date by up to two years
if it determines that an extension is necessary for
appropriate implementation. Pupils who successfully
demonstrate the same level of academic achievement
through one or more alternative means are deemed to have
satisfied the HSEE requirement.
3.Allows a pupil with disabilities to continue to receive
special education and related services through age 21 if
he or she had an individualized education program (IEP)
prior to age 18 and has not yet completed his or her
prescribed course of study or has not met proficiency
standards or has not graduated from high school with a
diploma.
The State Board of Education, on March 26, 2012, by
emergency regulation extended the beginning date of the
implementation of alternative means from January 1, 2012
to January 1, 2013.
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This bill delays by two and a-half years the implementation
of alternative means of demonstrating the same level of
academic achievement as required for passage of the high
school exit exam, thereby extending the exemption from the
requirement that eligible pupils with disabilities pass the
high school exit exam as a condition of receiving a high
school diploma. Specifically, this bill:
1.Extends, from January 1, 2011 to July 1, 2015, the date
when eligible pupils with a disability may participate in
the alternative means of demonstrating the level of
academic achievement in the content standards required to
pass the high school exit exam. (While this extension
appears to be for longer than two and a-half years, the
State Board of Education adopted regulations establishing
January 1, 2013 as the implementation date of the
alternative means, therefore, this bill has the effect of
extending the exemption from January 1, 2013 to July 1,
2015.)
2.Reduces, from two years to one year, the length of time
that the SBE may extend the implementation date of the
alternative means.
3.Extends to July 1, 2015, in the definition of eligible
pupil with a disability, the date by which the pupil has
or will have satisfied all state and local graduation
requirements and is scheduled to receive a high school
diploma.
Comments
Exemption and alternative means . Existing law and
regulation exempt eligible pupils with a disability from
the requirement to pass the HSEE until January 1, 2013.
The exemption is linked to the alternative means for
demonstrating achievement of standards that are required to
pass the HSEE. The exemption expires once the alternative
means is either rejected or approved by the SBE. The SBE
determined, in July 2010, that alternative means are
feasible but extended from January 1, 2011 to January 1,
2013, through regulation, the statutory implementation date
of alternative means. The Department of Education
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continues to caution that alternative means are not
implementable at this time due to a lack of state
resources, the transition to the common core standards, the
upcoming reauthorization of the state's assessment system,
and undeveloped second tier of alternative means.
The action of the SBE determining that alternative means
are feasible, in conjunction with implementation dates
established in regulation, results in the expiration of the
exemption on January 1, 2013. Therefore, eligible pupils
with a disability in grade 12 in the upcoming school year
will be required to pass the HSEE as a condition of
receiving a high school diploma (unless the pupil receives
a local waiver (score of 350 with modifications) or can
achieve certain scores on the California Standards Test or
California Modified Assessment.
Alternative means is a two-tiered system consisting of both
a screening of alternative scale scores determined to
approximate a passing score on the HSEE (certain scores on
the California Standards Tests or California Modified
Assessment) and a collection of evidence (work samples).
Tier I of the alternative means is a score of 300 on the
California Standards Test (CST) in grade 10 English
language arts, a score of 300 on the Algebra I CST, a
score of 350 on the California Modified Assessment (CMA)
in grade 10 English language arts, and a score of 350 on
the Algebra I CMA.
Tier II is a collection of evidence (such as work
samples).
New streamlined waiver . Current law authorizes the SBE to
grant waivers that are necessary or beneficial to the
content and implementation of a pupil's IEP. Based on this
authority, the SBE recently adopted a streamlined waiver
policy to waive the HSEE graduation requirement for
eligible pupils with disabilities who have not passed the
HSEE but have demonstrated competency by achieving a scale
score (approximate to a passing score on the HSEE) on the
CST or CMA.
The streamlined waiver is essentially Tier I of the
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alternative means. Implementation of Tier I of the
alternative means through a streamlined waiver process,
instead of truly through alternative means, prevents the
exemption from expiring until the regulatory sunset of
January 1, 2013. This bill extends the sunset to July 1,
2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/5/12)
Superintendent of Public Instruction (source)
Advisory Commission on Special Education
Association of California School Administrators
California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Los Angeles Unified School District
School for Integrated Academics and Technologies
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/5/12)
DJM Associates
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "While
the state has determined that it is feasible to create
alternative means for eligible students to satisfy the
CAHSEE 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 standards in the coming
years that have been recently adopted."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue, "While the
need for AB 1705 could be eliminated by timely action by
the State Board of Education in the next six months, I also
recognize that addressing regulatory details for a complete
CAHSEE Alternative Means program per AB 2040 may take more
than six months, and communicating the full Alternative
Means programs to local school personnel as well as parents
and students affected by the Alternative Means program
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could well take more than six months. Also, I would point
out that changes for a potentially new statewide assessment
program in 2014-15 will not change the ultimate need for a
complete Alternative Means program for Students with
Disabilities - no purely quantitative system will ever
address the complex and unique needs for Alternative Means
for the CAHSEE graduation requirement for some Students
with Disabilities. Thus, there will always be need for a
qualitative judgmental component for a complete Alternative
Means system. Therefore, I would suggest AB 1705 be
amended to extend authority for the State Board of
Education to implement a complete CAHSEE Alternative Means
program until January 1, 2014. Such an amendment would
also extend the 2009 budget trailer bill exemption to the
CAHSEE graduation requirement for selected Students with
Disabilities to the Class of 2012."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/21/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chesbro, Fletcher, Gorell, Roger
Hern�ndez, Perea
PQ:nl 7/5/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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