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AB-1015 High schools: requirements for graduation.(2007-2008)

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AB1015:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  January 07, 2008

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1015

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Brownley

February 22, 2007

An act to amend Section 33126 add Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 60865) to Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school accountability high schools.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1015, as amended, Brownley. School accountability report card. High schools: requirements for graduation.
Existing law requires each pupil completing grade 12 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 Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the Secretary for Education and the High School Exit Examination Standards Panel, to identify alternative criteria and measures by which high school pupils who are regarded as proficient but unable to pass the high school exit examination may demonstrate their competence and receive a high school diploma. The Superintendent would be required to hold in different areas of the state at least 3 public hearings related to the demonstration of competency to receive a high school diploma. The hearings would be required to include consideration of testimony by various individuals and a review of high school exit examination results and the multiple measures approaches used for high stakes educational decisions in other states. The Superintendent is required to report his or her findings and make recommendations for the development of a multiple measures approach to the Legislature no later than October 1, 2009.

(1)The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act requires the governing board of a school district to develop a school accountability report card for each school in the district that includes assessments of various school conditions, including an assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil that includes a reporting of the average of actual salaries paid to certificated instructional personnel at the schoolsite. The act prohibits any change to its provisions, except a change to further its purposes enacted by a bill passed by a vote of 23 of the Legislature and signed by the Governor.

This bill instead would require that the assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil include a reporting of the average of actual salaries paid to fully credentialed teachers and teachers with emergency teaching permits. By potentially requiring school districts to include additional information or otherwise modify the existing information in their school accountability report cards, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: TWO_THIRDSMAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 60865) is added to Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER  9.5. High School Graduation Competency

60865.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Basing the high stakes decision of high school graduation on performance on a single examination is a violation of professional standards.
(2) States that use multiple measures to evaluate the proficiency required to graduate from high school have richer, more varied high school curricula.
(3) High school pupils from states that use multiple measures to evaluate the proficiency required to graduate from high school score higher than pupils from states that use a single measure on norm referenced tests.
(4) Involving teachers in the development of locally developed performance measures of pupil proficiency results in stronger connections between what is measured in the assessments and what is taught in the classroom.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish a process to lead to the development of a multiple measures approach to determine eligibility to receive a high school diploma. It is further the intent of the Legislature that additional measures supplement and not replace the high school exit examination established pursuant to Section 60850 and that, in using a multiple measures approach, no single measure be used as the only determinant of eligibility to receive a high school diploma.

60866.
 (a) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Secretary for Education and the High School Exit Examination Standards Panel established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 60850, shall identify alternative criteria and measures by which high school pupils who are regarded as proficient but unable to pass the high school exit examination may demonstrate their competence and receive a high school diploma. The alternative criteria shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) An exemplary academic record, as evidenced by transcripts.
(2) Alternative assessments, including local and state developed standards-aligned performance assessments of equal rigor to, and in the academic areas covered by, the high school exit examination.
(3) Opportunities for pupils to demonstrate competence through the development of portfolios of finished coursework or the completion of other learning projects.
(b) The Superintendent shall hold in different areas of the state at least three public hearings related to the demonstration of competency to receive a high school diploma. The hearings shall include the consideration of testimony by independent assessment experts, teachers, pupils, parents, and the public, and a review of both of the following:
(1) High school exit examination results, with specific attention to differences in test results among pupil subgroups, including, but not limited to, English language learners.
(2) The multiple measures approaches used for high stakes educational decisions in other states.
(c) The Superintendent shall report his or her findings pursuant to this section and make recommendations for the development of a multiple measures approach to the Legislature no later than October 1, 2009.