SB 237, as amended, Calderon. High school diplomas: retroactive high school diplomas: veterans.
Existing law authorizes a high school district, unified school district, or county office of education to retroactively grant a high school diploma to veterans of World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, under specified conditions. Existing law also defines “veteran” for the purpose of retroactive high school diplomas.
This bill would make those provisions applicable to all veterans, and would revise the definition of veteran for purposes of those provisions to include, among other things, service in humanitarian missions.
Existing law also requires each pupil completing grade 12, unless he or she is granted a waiver for specified reasons, to successfully pass the high school exit examination as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation or a condition of graduation from high school.
This bill would require the governing board of a high school district, unified school district, or county office of education, before granting a retroactive high school diploma, as specified, to require a person eligible to receive a retroactive high school diplomabegin insert who began service after May 1, 1973,end insert to pass the high school exit examinationbegin delete or verify thatend deletebegin insert, unlessend insert the person has satisfactorily completed at least 1⁄2 of the coursework required for grade 12.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 51430 of the Education Code is amended
2to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and except as
4provided in subdivision (c), a high school district, unified school
5district, or county office of education may retroactively grant a
6high school diploma to a person who has not received a high school
7diploma if he or she meets either of the following conditions:
8(1) The person was interned by order of the federal government
9during World War II and was enrolled in a high school operated
10by the school district or under the jurisdiction of the county office
11of education immediately preceding his or her internment and did
12not receive a high school diploma because his or her education
13was interrupted due to his
or her internment during World War II.
14(2) The person is a veteran, as defined in Section 51442, was
15honorably discharged from his or her military service, was enrolled
16in a high school operated by the school district or under the
17jurisdiction of the county office of education immediately
18preceding his or her military service, and did not receive a high
19school diploma because his or her education was interrupted due
20to his or her military service.
21(b) A high school district, unified school district, or county
22office of education may retroactively grant a high school diploma
23to a deceased person who meets the conditions of paragraph (1)
24or (2) of subdivision (a), to be received by the next of kin of the
25deceased person.
26(c) The governing board of a high school district, unified school
27district, or county office of education shall, before granting a
28retroactive high school diploma pursuant to subdivision (a)begin insert to a
29person who began service after May 1, 1973end insert, requirebegin delete aend deletebegin insert theend insert person
30who is eligible to receive a retroactive high school diploma to pass
31the high school exit examination required for high school
P3 1graduation pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850)
2of Part 33begin delete or verify thatend deletebegin insert, unlessend insert
the person has satisfactorily
3completed at least one-half of the coursework required for grade
412.
Section 51442 of the Education Code is amended to
6read:
For purposes of this article, “veteran” means a person
8who has served 90 days or more in the military service of the
9United States during a war with a foreign power, as defined in
10Section 22804, a humanitarian mission, or any national emergency
11declared by the President of the United States and who has received
12an honorable discharge from that service.
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