BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          SB 1135 (Runner) - Foster Youth: Graduation Requirements. 
          
          Amended: May 9, 2012            Policy Vote: Education 8-0
          Urgency: Yes                    Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: May 21, 2012      Consultant: Jacqueline 
          Wong-Hernandez
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. 

          
          Bill Summary: SB 1135 changes the requirements for qualifying 
          for an existing exemption from local graduation requirements, 
          which applies to certain foster youth. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Likely minor, but potentially significant expansion of a 
              reimbursable state mandate on local educational agencies.

          Background: In addition to passing both portions of the 
          California High School Exit Exam, current law requires the 
          completion of the following courses to receive a high school 
          diploma:
                 Three years of English.
                 Two years of mathematics.
                 Two years of science, including biological and physical 
               science.
                 Three years of social studies, including: United States 
               history and geography, one semester of government and one 
               of economics.
                 One year of visual or performing arts or a foreign 
               language.
                 Two years of physical education, unless exempted.

          Existing law also allows school district governing boards to add 
          additional requirements beyond those specified in law, such as 
          health or other courses that meet requirements for admission to 
          the University of California or the California State University 
          (a-g requirements). 

          AB 167 (Adams, 2009) exempts high school students in foster care 
          who transfer schools or school districts in grades 11 or 12 from 
          any local graduation requirements (beyond state requirements). 








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          It also requires districts to notify pupils who receive 
          exemptions if these exemptions will affect their ability to gain 
          admission to postsecondary educational institutions and to 
          provide information about community college transfer 
          opportunities. The notification requirement constituted a 
          reimbursable state mandate on schools.

          Proposed Law: This bill revises and recasts statutory provisions 
          related to graduation requirements for foster youth. 
          Specifically, this bill:
                 Provides, in an attempt to clarify statute, the grade 
               levels during which a transfer would trigger the exemption 
               and the allowable parameters of a district finding that a 
               pupil can reasonably complete the local requirements by 
               graduation.
                 Applies the exemption to a former foster youth pupil who 
               was in foster care at the time of a qualifying transfer, 
               but is no longer in foster care.
                 Requires the school district to notify a pupil within 30 
               days of a pupil's transfer, require the school district to 
               notify the pupil who may qualify for the exemption and his 
               or her education rights holder, and inform them of whether 
               or not the pupil qualifies for the exemption. 

          Related Legislation: SB 699 (Runner) 2011 was similar to this 
          bill, and was held on this Committee's Suspense File.

          Staff Comments: This bill applies an existing exemption from 
          local graduation requirements for certain foster youth to former 
          foster youth in similar situations. School districts will likely 
          incur costs to modify procedures for determining which pupils 
          are exempt. Existing law provides a blanket exemption to all 
          high school all pupils in foster care who transfer to a new 
          school during grades 11 or 12. This bill specifies that a 
          qualifying transfer would take place during or after a pupil's 
          third year, and provides for how third year should be determined 
          based on credits or length of enrollment. This bill also 
          specifies that the pupil is exempt if he or she was in foster 
          care at the time of transfer, even if he or she is no longer in 
          foster care. 

          Additionally, this bill requires that within 30 days of the date 
          that a pupil who may qualify for the exemption from local 
          graduation requirements transfers into a school, the school 








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          district must notify the pupil and the adult holding the right 
          to make educational decisions for the pupil of the availability 
          of the exemption, and that the pupil qualifies or does not 
          qualify for an exemption. This new notification requirement 
          deadline expands an existing reimbursable mandate on school 
          districts for such notifications. To the extent that the 
          existing notifications do not significantly change, and that the 
          former foster youth expansion is a small number, the costs will 
          likely be minor. The extent of the costs will depend upon how 
          the newly mandated duties are implemented at the local level.