Juvenile court school pupils: graduation requirements and continued education options.

Under existing law, if a pupil completes the statewide coursework requirements for graduation while attending a juvenile court school, a county office of education is required to issue to the pupil a diploma of graduation and is prohibited from requiring the pupil to complete coursework or other requirements that are in addition to the statewide coursework requirements. Existing law, notwithstanding that requirement that the county office of education issue a diploma of graduation, permits the pupil to take coursework or other requirements adopted by the county board of education, and to defer the granting of the diploma until the pupil is released from the juvenile detention facility, as provided. Upon the release from a juvenile detention facility of a pupil who is entitled to a diploma, existing law authorizes that pupil to elect to decline the issuance of the diploma for the purpose of enrolling the pupil in a school operated by a local educational agency to take additional coursework, as specified. Existing law requires county offices of education to comply with specified notice and consultation procedures for these pupils, and to grant a diploma under specified circumstances, as provided. This bill would revise and recast these provisions by, among other things, requiring a county office of education to exempt from all coursework or other requirements of the county office of education that are in addition to the statewide coursework requirements a pupil who (1) transfers into a juvenile court school any time after the completion of the pupil's 2nd year of high school, (2) completes the statewide coursework requirements for graduation while attending a juvenile court school, and (3) is in their 3rd or 4th year of high school, unless the county office of education makes a finding that the pupil is reasonably able to complete these local graduation requirements in time to graduate from high school by the end of the pupil's 4th year of high school. The bill would require the county office of education to notify a pupil who may qualify for the exemption from local graduation requirements, the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, and the pupil's social worker and probation officer of the availability of the exemption and whether the pupil qualifies for the exemption, within 30 calendar days of the date that the pupil transfers into a juvenile court school for an enrollment period in the juvenile court school of at least 30 days, as provided. The bill would prohibit a county office of education from requiring or requesting that a pupil who is exempted from the local graduation requirements and completes the statewide coursework requirements graduate before the end of the pupil's 4th year of high school, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also revise and recast the notice and consultation procedures for the above-described pupils by, among other things, requiring the county office of education to notify the pupil, the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, and the pupil's social worker and probation officer about how waiving the local coursework requirements that are in addition to statewide requirements may affect the pupil's postsecondary education or vocation plans, other options available to the pupil, including, but not limited to, staying enrolled in high school, possible credit recovery, and any transfer opportunities available through the California Community Colleges, and the option to defer or decline the exemption and take additional coursework, as provided. The bill would impose similar notice and consultation requirements on county offices of education, as applied to (1) a juvenile court school pupil who a county office of education determines is reasonably able to complete the local graduation requirements after the pupil's 4th year of high school, and (2) a juvenile court school pupil who a county office of education determines is not reasonably able to complete the local graduation requirements after the pupil's 4th year of high school, but is reasonably able to complete the statewide coursework requirements after the pupil's 4th year of high school, as provided. The bill would require specified exemptions from local graduation requirements be granted within 30 days, as provided. If a pupil is not eligible for the exemption from local graduation requirements, the bill would require a county office of education to reevaluate that pupil's eligibility, according to specified procedures. The bill would prohibit a county office of education from requiring or requesting a juvenile court school pupil to transfer schools in order to qualify for an exemption from local graduation requirements, and would also prohibit a juvenile court school pupil, the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, the pupil's social worker, and the pupil's probation officer from requesting a transfer solely to qualify for this exemption. The bill would require each county office of education to report annually to the State Department of Education the number of court school pupils who, for the prior school year, graduated with an exemption from the local graduation requirements, as provided, and would require the department to make this data publicly available on an annual basis aligned with other reporting timelines for the California School Dashboard graduation data. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.