BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 578|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 578
Author: Negrete McLeod (D)
Amended: 4/14/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-1, 3/23/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Liu, Price, Simitian,
Vargas
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Hancock, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/11/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Pavley, Price,
Runner, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lieu
SUBJECT : Foster youth: course credit
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill applies an existing requirement
regarding the provision of course credit specifically to
foster youth, requires the credit to be applied to the same
subject matter in which the coursework was taken by a
foster youth, and prohibits a school district from
requiring a foster youth to retake a course for which full
or partial credit was awarded.
ANALYSIS :
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Existing Law
1.Requires each public school district and county office of
education to accept for credit full or partial coursework
satisfactorily completed by a pupil while attending a
public school, juvenile court school, or non-public
non-sectarian school or agency.
2.Requires a school district to exempt a pupil in foster
care from all coursework and other requirements adopted
by a school district that are in addition to the
statewide coursework requirements if the pupil, while he
or she is in grade 11 or 12, transfers into the district
from another district or between high schools within the
district, unless the district makes a finding that the
pupil is reasonably able to complete the additional
requirements in time to graduate from high school while
he or she remains eligible for foster care.
This bill requires that course credit be applied to the
same subject matter in which the coursework was taken by a
foster youth, and prohibits a school district from
requiring a foster youth to retake a course for which full
or partial credit was awarded. Specifically, this bill:
1.Applies to foster youth the existing requirement that
full or partial credit be provided for coursework
satisfactorily completed while attending another school
district, a juvenile court school, or a nonpublic
non-sectarian school or agency even if the pupil did not
complete the entire course.
2.Requires the credit to be applied to the same subject
matter as the coursework completed in the prior school.
3.Prohibits a school district from requiring a pupil in
foster care to retake a course or portions of a course
for which the district has provided full or partial
credit.
4.Defines "foster youth" to mean any child who has been
removed from his or her home pursuant to certain sections
of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC), is the
subject of a petition filed under certain sections of the
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WIC, or has been removed from his or her home and is the
subject of a petition filed under certain sections of the
WIC.
Related Legislation
SB 699 (Runner), 2011-12 Session, caps the age at which
foster youth who transfer schools in the 11th or 12th grade
may be exempt from local graduation requirements that
exceed state graduation requirements. (In Senate Education
Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
Coursework credit Minor costs, if any; unlikely
reimbursable General
restrictions
Credit recovery Potentially significant cost
pressure General
programs
SUPPORT : (Per Senate Education Committee analysis)
County of San Bernardino
County Welfare Directors Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Current law requires schools to award students full or
partial credits for coursework satisfactorily completed
while attending a public school, juvenile court school, or
non-public, non-sectarian school. While statute requires
that these credits must be accepted, there is nothing in
statute requiring schools to apply the accepted credits
toward the core curriculum and graduation requirements.
Often the transferred credits are applied toward elective
requirements rather than to the core curriculum. This
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practice often means that foster youth will lag behind
their peers, essentially losing months of academic progress
with each change in school placement due to no fault of
their own."
CPM:cm 4/14/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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