51224.

 The governing board of any school district maintaining a high school shall prescribe courses of study designed to provide the skills and knowledge required for adult life to pupils attending schools within the district, including providing every pupil with the opportunity to be prepared to enter the world of work with sufficient marketable skills and knowledge for legitimate remunerative employment, as described in Section 51004. The governing board shall prescribe courses of study, including, but not limited to, a course of study designed to prepare prospective pupils for admission to state colleges and universities and a course of study for career technical training pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 51228.

51225.3.

 (a) Commencing with the 1988–89 school year, no pupil shall receive a diploma of graduation from high school who, while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, has not completed all of the following:

(1) At least the following numbers of courses in the subjects specified, each course having a duration of one year, unless otherwise specified.

(A) Three courses in English.

(B) Two courses in mathematics.

(C) Two courses in science, including biological and physical sciences.

(D) Three courses in social studies, including United States history and geography; world history, culture, and geography; a one-semester course in American government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics.

(E) One course in visual or performing arts or foreign language. For the purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in this subparagraph, a course in American Sign Language shall be deemed a course in foreign language.

(F) Two courses in physical education, unless the pupil has been exempted pursuant to the provisions of this code.

(2) Other coursework as the governing board of the school district may by rule specify, except as provided in subdivision (c).

(b) The governing board, with the active involvement of parents, administrators, teachers, and pupils, shall adopt alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study which may include practical demonstration of skills and competencies, supervised work experience or other outside school experience, career technical education classes offered in high schools, courses offered by regional occupational centers or programs, interdisciplinary study, independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary institution. Requirements for graduation and specified alternative modes for completing the prescribed course of study shall be made available to pupils, parents, and the public.

(c) (1) In order to maintain a balance of course offerings for all pupils pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 51228, a school district shall not adopt a graduation requirement pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) that commences with the 2010–11 school year and requires the completion of additional coursework to meet or exceed the requirements and prerequisites for admission to a four-year California public university unless the district also adopts an optional graduation requirement that requires the completion of an equal amount of coursework to attain entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon graduation from high school. This optional graduation requirement shall include the coursework required in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51225.3 and a sequence unless the district also requires the completion of a sequence of at least three career and technical education courses. The governing board of the school district shall ensure that the sequence of career and technical education courses is aligned with the curriculum content standards for career and technical education adopted by the State Board of Education state board pursuant to Section 51225, that preserves a pupil’s full array of options after high school.

51228.

 (a) Each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study fulfilling the requirements and prerequisites for admission to the California public institutions of postsecondary education and shall provide a timely opportunity to each of those pupils to enroll within a four-year period in each course necessary to fulfill those requirements and prerequisites prior to graduation from high school.

(b) Each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study that provides an opportunity for those pupils to attain entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon graduation from high school, and shall offer to each of those pupils the opportunity to enroll within a four-year period in each course necessary to fulfill this requirement prior to graduation from high school. Districts are

(c) A school district is encouraged to provide all pupils with a rigorous academic curriculum that integrates academic and career skills, incorporates applied learning in all disciplines, and prepares all pupils for high school graduation and career entry.

(d) A school district that adopts a required curriculum that meets or exceeds the model standards developed and adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 51226 shall be deemed to have fulfilled its responsibilities pursuant to subdivision (b).

(e) A school district that adopts a required curriculum pursuant to subdivision (c) (d) that meets or exceeds the model standards developed by the state board pursuant to Section 51226, or that adopts alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51225.3, may substitute pupil demonstration of competence in the prescribed subjects through a practical demonstration of these skills in a regional occupational center or program, work experience, interdisciplinary study, independent study, credit earned at a postsecondary institution, or other outside school experience, as prescribed by Section 51225.3.