BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 699
AUTHOR: Runner
AMENDED: April 7, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Foster Youth: Exemption from Local High School
Graduation
Requirements.
SUMMARY
This bill conforms existing law relative to the exemption
of certain foster youth from locally imposed high school
graduation requirements to recently enacted statutes that
enable foster youth to remain eligible for support beyond
age 18.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires a pupil to pass both the English language
arts and mathematics portions of the California High
School Exit Exam and complete the following courses as
a condition of graduating from high school:
a) Three years of English.
b) Two years of mathematics.
c) Two years of science, including biological
and physical sciences.
d) Three years of social studies, including
United States history and geography; world
history, culture, and geography; one semester of
American government and civics, and one semester
of economics.
e) One year of visual or performing arts or
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foreign language.
f) Two years of physical education. (Education
Code � 60851 and 51225.3)
2) Requires one of the two years of mathematics to meet
or exceed the rigor of the content standards for
Algebra I. (EC � 51224.5)
3) Authorizes school districts to impose additional
coursework requirements as a condition of graduation
from high school. (EC � 51225.3)
4) Requires school districts to exempt a pupil in foster
care from district graduation requirements that exceed
state requirements if the pupil transfers to the
district, or transfers from one high school to another
within a district, in the 11th or 12th grade, 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. (EC
� 51225.3)
5) Requires school districts to notify a pupil who has
been granted an exemption if the exemption will affect
the pupil's ability to gain admission to a
postsecondary institution. (EC � 51225.3)
6) Until January 1, 2012, allows a child who is in foster
care and who is attending high school or the
equivalent level of vocational or technical training
on a full-time basis, or is in the process of pursuing
a high school equivalency certificate, prior to his or
her 18th birthday, to continue to receive foster care
aid beyond his or her 18th birthday so long as the
child continues to reside in a foster care placement,
continues to attend high school or the equivalent on a
full-time basis, and the child is reasonably expected
to complete the educational or training program or to
receive a high school equivalency certificate, before
his or her 19th birthday. (Welfare & Institutions
Code � 11403)
7) Beginning January 1, 2012, foster youth are eligible
to receive support up to 19 years of age; effective
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January 1, 2013, up to 20 years of age; and effective
January 1, 2014, up to 21 years of age, as long as
certain conditions are met, including when one or more
of the following conditions exist:
a) The youth is completing secondary education
or a program leading to an equivalent credential.
b) The youth is enrolled in an institution
which provides postsecondary or vocational
education.
c) The youth is participating in a program or
activity designed to promote, or remove barriers
to employment.
d) The youth is employed for at least 80 hours
per month.
e) The youth is incapable of doing any of the
activities described above due to a medical
condition, and that incapability is supported by
regularly updated information in the case plan of
the youth. (WIC � 11403)
8) Requires school districts to accept for credit full or
partial coursework satisfactorily completed by a pupil
while attending a public school, juvenile court
school, or nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency.
(EC � 48645.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill conforms existing law relative to the exemption
of certain foster youth from locally imposed high school
graduation requirements to recently enacted statutes that
enable foster youth to remain eligible for support beyond
age 18. Specifically, this bill:
1) Clarifies existing law relative to the exemption of
certain foster youth from locally imposed high school
graduation requirements, to specify that the timeframe
for a pupil to reasonably complete the additional
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coursework is by the end of the school year in which
the pupil turns 18 (rather than while eligible for
foster care).
2) Authorizes the pupil and the person who holds the
right to make educational decisions for the pupil to,
at any time, decide that exemption from local
graduation requirements is not in the best interest of
the pupil. In those situations, the pupil shall not
be exempted from completing local graduation
requirements.
3) Requires a school district to notify a pupil who
transfers schools while in 11th or 12th grade and in
foster care and, as appropriate, notify the person who
holds the right to make educational decisions for the
pupil, whether or not the pupil qualifies for an
exemption. This notification must be made within 30
days of the pupil transferring into a new school.
4) Authorizes a school district to exempt a pupil from
local graduation requirements at any time if the pupil
meets the criteria for exemption.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Purpose of the bill . According to the author, "Youth
in foster care regularly endure multiple housing
placements and school transfers while in high school.
Often these school transfers take place mid-semester
or mid-quarter. As a consequence, foster youth
frequently lose credits and fall behind. SB 699 will
clarify AB 167 (Adams, Ch. 223, 2009), which exempts
high school students in foster care who transfer
schools or school districts from local graduation
requirements. The passage of
AB 12 (Beall, Ch. 559, 2010) provided transitional
services to foster youth ages 18-21. SB 699 is
necessary to clarify the confusion created by the
implementation of both AB 167 and AB 12."
2) Age vs. grade . This bill attempts to strike a balance
between allowing foster youth to graduate from high
school on time and incenting pupils to remain in high
school longer in order to complete locally imposed
graduation requirements (whether by the choice of the
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pupil or the school). This bill clarifies that while
a foster youth should complete all coursework if the
pupil has time prior to graduation, a foster youth who
is eligible for support beyond age 18 should not be
kept in high school until age 21 to allow time to
complete all local graduation requirements.
This bill requires a foster youth to complete the
additional requirements in time to graduate from high
school by the end of the school year during which the
pupil reaches his or her 18th birthday. Staff
recommends an amendment to instead provide that a
pupil is not eligible for an exemption if the school
district finds that the pupil is reasonably able to
complete the additional coursework in time to graduate
from high school at the completion of the fourth year
of high school (without any reference to age).
SUPPORT
California CASA Association
OPPOSITION
None on file.