BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1135
AUTHOR: Runner
AMENDED: May 9, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: May 16, 2012
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Graduation requirements: pupils in foster care.
SUMMARY
This bill provides clarification and reconciles
inconsistencies between existing statutes relative to
exempting foster youth from local graduation requirements
and extending eligibility for foster care 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,
foreign language, or beginning with the 2012-13
school year, career technical education.
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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 into the
district, or transfers from one high school to another
within a district, while 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, and the person holding the
right to make educational decisions for the pupil, if
the exemption will affect the pupil's ability to gain
admission to a postsecondary institution. The
notification must also include information about
transfer opportunities available through the
California Community Colleges. (EC � 51225.3)
6) Beginning January 1, 2012, foster youth are eligible
to receive support up to 19 years of age; effective
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
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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. (Welfare & Institutions Code � 11403)
7) 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 provides clarification and reconciles
inconsistencies between existing statutes relative to
exempting foster youth from local graduation requirements
and extending eligibility for foster care beyond age 18.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Clarifies that the existing exemption from local
graduation requirements applies only to a pupil who
meets both of the following criteria:
a) The pupil transfers between
schools during or after the pupil's third year of
high school.
b) The pupil is currently in foster
care, or was in foster care at the time of
transfer.
2) Provides that, to determine whether a pupil is in the
third year of high school, either the number of
credits the pupil has earned to the date of transfer
or the length of the pupil's school enrollment may be
used, whichever will qualify the pupil for the
exemption.
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3) Limits the duration of time that a foster youth may
have to complete local graduation requirements, as
determined by the school district, from the duration
of the pupil's eligibility for foster care (which may
now extend beyond age 18) to the end of the pupil's
fourth year of high school.
4) Requires, within 30 days of the date that a pupil who
may qualify for the exemption transfers into a school,
the school district to notify the pupil and the person
holding the right to make educational decisions for
the pupil of the availability of the exemption and
inform the pupil and education rights holder whether
the pupil qualifies for the exemption.
5) Requires a school district to exempt a pupil at any
time if an exemption is requested and the pupil
qualifies for the exemption.
6) Prohibits a school district from revoking the
exemption.
7) Prohibits a school district from requiring or
requesting the pupil to graduate before the end of his
or her fourth year of high school if the pupil is
exempted from local graduation requirements and
completes the statewide graduation requirements before
the end of his or her fourth year in school and would
otherwise be entitled to continue attending school.
8) Expands existing notification requirements to describe
how, in addition to if, any waived graduation
requirements will affect the pupil's ability to gain
admission to a postsecondary educational institution.
9) Includes an urgency clause to ensure that pupils in
foster care who are eligible for foster care benefits
(became age 18) are eligible for the exemption and
graduate from high school in the current school year.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "Youth in
foster care regularly suffer multiple housing
placements and school transfers while in high school.
Often these school transfers take place mid-semester
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or mid-quarter. As a consequence, foster youth
frequently lose credits and fall behind. SB 1135 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 1135 is necessary to clarify the
confusion created by the implementation of both AB 167
and AB 12."
2) The problem . This bill attempts to strike a balance
between allowing foster youth to graduate from high
school on time and incenting foster youth to remain in
high school longer in order to complete locally
imposed graduation requirements (whether by the choice
of the pupil or the school). Current law does not
allow a foster youth to be exempt from local
graduation requirements if the school district
determines that the pupil is reasonably able to
complete the additional requirements in time to
graduate while the pupil remains eligible for foster
care. Eligibility for foster care used to end at age
18 but is now at age 19, in 2013 will be at age 20,
and in 2014 will be at age 21. This bill clarifies
that while a foster youth should complete all
coursework if the pupil has time prior to graduation,
a pupil who is eligible for foster care beyond age 18
should not be kept in high school beyond the fourth
year of high school to allow time to complete all
local graduation requirements.
3) Fiscal impact . According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis of prior legislation, "This new
notification requirement expands a reimbursable
mandate on school districts. To the extent that these
required notifications can be incorporated into a
single communication, the costs will likely be minor
to add text to the notification. The extent of the
costs will depend upon how this new mandate is
implemented at the local level."
"School districts will also incur costs to modify
procedures for determining which pupils are exempt.
Existing law provides a blanket exemption to all high
school pupils in foster care who transfer to a new
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school. Verifying that a high school student is in
foster care is straightforward. This bill, however,
only exempts pupils "during or after their third year
of high school", and specifies how third year should
be determined based on credits of length of
enrollment. This bill also specifies that the pupil
is exempt if he or she either was in foster care at
the time of transfer, or is in foster care at some
point after the transfer. New notifications could be
triggered for foster youth entering foster care after
having transferred to a school in their third year of
high school. This requires a school to identify those
pupils and send additional notification to them and
the adult holding the right to make educational
decisions for the pupil within 30 days of entering
foster care."
4) Related legislation . SB 1469 (Runner) is similar but
not identical to this bill and is pending in the
Senate Rules Committee.
5) Prior legislation . SB 699 (Runner, 2011) was similar
to SB 1469 and was held on the Senate Appropriations
Committee suspense file.
SUPPORT
Children Now
Glenn County Human Resource Agency
National Center for Youth Law
OPPOSITION
None on file.