(1) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and a county superintendent of schools to adopt policies regarding pupil promotion and retention, and requires a pupil to be promoted or retained only as provided for in those policies.
For the 2021–22 academic year, this bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to implement an interim policy regarding the retention of pupils who, in the 2020–21 academic year, had enrolled in any grade or who were entering kindergarten. The bill would require, on or before July 1, June 15, 2021, the school district, county office of
education, or charter school to notify those pupils’ parents of their authority to request the pupil be retained in the pupil’s 2020–21 grade level for the 2021–22 academic year, as specified. The bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to consult with the requesting parent, the pupil, and the pupil’s teacher, and would require consideration of the pupil’s academic data, any other information relevant to whether retention is in the pupil’s best interests, academically and socially, and assurances that a retention decision is consistent with the pupil’s individualized education program. The bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to notify the requesting parent of its retention decision on or before August 1, July 15, 2021. By
imposing new duties on school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to prescribe regulations requiring the evaluation of a pupil’s achievement for each marking period. When a teacher provides the pupil with a grade for a course, existing law requires the grade, in the absence of clerical or mechanical mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency, to be final. Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district or the superintendent of the district from ordering a change in the pupil’s grade unless the teacher who determined the grade is given an opportunity, to the extent practicable, to be included in all discussions relating to the grade change.
This bill would authorize the parent, guardian, or education rights holder of a pupil, or, for a pupil
who is 18 years of age or older, the pupil, who was enrolled in high school and enrolled in a course during the 2020–21 school year to apply to the pupil’s school district, county board of education, or charter school to change the letter grade for that course to a Pass or No Pass grade on the pupil’s transcript. The bill would require the school district, county office of education, or charter school to make the requested change, as specified. The bill would require the California State University, and encourage private postsecondary institutions and the University of California, to accept, and to notify the State Department of Education whether the institution will accept, those changed transcripts for admission purposes. The bill would require the department to develop the application for the grade change request and to provide related assistance to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. By requiring local educational entities
agencies to perform specified duties regarding the grade change option, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law requires a school district or charter school to exempt certain categories of pupils who transfer between schools any time after completion of the 2nd year of high school, or who participate in a specified newcomer program, from all coursework and other requirements adopted by the governing body of the school district or charter school that are in addition to certain statewide coursework requirements unless the school district or charter school makes a finding that the pupil is reasonably able to complete the graduation requirements of the school district or charter school in time to graduate from high school by the end of the pupil’s 4th year of high school. Existing law requires a school district or charter school to take specified actions if it determines the pupil is
reasonably able to complete those graduation requirements within the pupil’s 5th year of high school.
This bill would require a school district or district, charter school school, or county office of education to exempt all pupils who, in the 2020–21 school year, were in their 3rd or 4th year of high school from all coursework and other requirements adopted by the governing body of a school district or district,
charter school
school, or county office of education that are in addition to the statewide coursework requirements, and to separately provide, for all pupils who, in the 2020–21 school year, were in their 3rd or 4th year of high school and who are not on track to graduate in the 2020–21 or 2021–22 school year, the opportunity to complete the statewide coursework required for graduation, which may include, among other opportunities for completion of the coursework, a 5th year of instruction. By requiring school districts and charter schools local educational agencies to perform additional duties in complying with the exemption requirements, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
(5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.