BILL NUMBER: SB 252	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leno
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Beall, Hancock, and Wieckowski)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Chiu, Dababneh, Cristina
Garcia, Lackey, Maienschein, McCarty, and Santiago)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 48412 and 51421 of the Education Code,
relating to pupils.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 252, as introduced, Leno. Pupils: diploma alternatives: fees.
   (1) Existing law authorizes certain persons, including, among
others, any person 16 years of age or older, to have his or her
proficiency in basic skills taught in public high schools verified
according to criteria established by the State Department of
Education. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to
award a certificate of proficiency to persons who demonstrate that
proficiency. Existing law requires the department to develop
standards of competency in basic skills taught in public high schools
and to provide for the administration of examinations prepared by or
with the approval of the department to verify competency. Existing
law authorizes the department to charge a fee for each examination
application in an amount sufficient to recover the costs of
administering the requirements of these provisions, but prohibits the
fee from exceeding an amount equal to the cost of test renewal and
administration per examination application.
   This bill would prohibit the department from charging the fee for
an examination application to a homeless child or youth who can
verify his or her status as a homeless youth. The bill would
authorize a homeless services provider, as defined, that has
knowledge of the person's housing status to verify the person's
status for purposes of these provisions.
   (2) Existing law separately requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to issue a high school equivalency certificate and an
official score report, or an official score report only, to a person
who has not completed high school and who meets specified
requirements, including, among others, having taken all or a portion
of a general education development test that has been approved by the
state board and administered by a testing center approved by the
department, with a score determined by the state board to be equal to
the standard of performance expected from high school graduates.
Existing law authorizes the Superintendent to charge an examinee a
one-time fee to pay costs related to administering these provisions
and issuing a certificate, as specified. Existing law limits the
amount of the fee to $20 per person and requires each scoring
contractor to forward that fee to the Superintendent.
   This bill would, for purposes of those provisions, prohibit a
scoring contractor or testing center that charges its own separate
fee from charging that separate fee to an examinee who can verify his
or her status as a homeless child or youth. The bill would authorize
a homeless services provider, as defined, that has knowledge of the
person's housing status to verify the person's status for purposes of
these provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 48412 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   48412.  (a)  Any   (1)    
A  person 16 years of age or older, or who has been enrolled in
the 10th grade for one academic year or longer, or who will complete
one academic year of enrollment in the 10th grade at the end of the
semester during which the next regular examination will be conducted,
 shall be permitted to   may  have his or
her proficiency in basic skills taught in public high schools
verified according to criteria established by the State Department of
Education. 
   The State Board of Education 
    (2)     The state board  shall award a
"certificate of proficiency" to persons who demonstrate that
proficiency. The certificate of proficiency shall be equivalent to a
high school diploma, and the  State Department of Education
  department  shall keep a permanent record of the
issuance of all  the  certificates.
   (b)  (1)    The  State Department of
Education   department  shall develop standards of
competency in basic skills taught in public high schools and shall
provide for the administration of examinations prepared by or with
the approval of the department to verify competency. Regular
examinations shall be held once in the fall semester and once in the
spring of every academic year on a date, as determined by the
 State Department of Education, which  
department,   that  will enable notification of
examinees and the schools they attend, if any, of the results thereof
not later than two weeks prior to the date on which that semester
ends in a majority of school districts  which  
that  maintain high schools. 
   In 
    (2)     In  addition to regular
examinations, the  State Department of Education 
 department  may, at the discretion of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction,   Superintendent,
 conduct examinations for all eligible persons once during each
summer recess and may conduct examinations at any other time that the
superintendent deems necessary to accommodate eligible persons whose
religious convictions or physical handicaps prevent their attending
one of the regular examinations.
   (c)  (1)    The  State Department of
Education   department  may charge a fee for each
examination application in an amount sufficient to recover the costs
of administering the requirements of this section. However, the fee
shall not exceed an amount equal to the cost of test renewal and
administration per examination application. All fees levied and
collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the State
Treasury for remittance to the current support appropriation of the
 State Department of Education   department
 as reimbursement for costs of administering this section. Any
reimbursements collected in excess of actual costs of administration
of this section shall be transferred to the unappropriated surplus of
the General Fund by order of the Director of Finance. 
   (2) The department shall not charge the fee to a homeless child or
youth, as defined in paragraph (2) of Section 725 of the federal
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)),
who can verify his or her status as a homeless child or youth. A
homeless services provider that has knowledge of the person's housing
status may verify the person's status for purposes of this
paragraph.  
   (3) For purposes of this subdivision, a "homeless services
provider" includes all of the following:  
   (A) A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving federal, state,
county, or municipal funding to provide services to a homeless child
or youth, or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide those services
by a local homeless continuum of care organization.  
   (B) An attorney licensed to practice law in this state.  

   (C) A local educational agency liaison for homeless children and
youth designated as such pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of
Title 42 of the United States Code, or a school social worker. 

   (D) A human services provider or public social services provider
funded by the state to provide homeless children or youth services,
health services, mental or behavioral health services, substance use
disorder services, or public assistance or employment services. 

   (E) A law enforcement officer designated as a liaison to the
homeless population by a local police department or sheriff's
department within the state.  
   (F) Any other person or entity that is qualified to verify an
individual's housing status, as determined by the department. 
   (d) The  State Board of Education   state
board  shall adopt rules and regulations as are necessary for
implementation of this section.
   (e) The  State Department of Education  
department  shall periodically review the effectiveness of the
examinations administered pursuant to this section. The costs of this
review may be recovered through the fees levied pursuant to
subdivision (c).
  SEC. 2.  Section 51421 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   51421.  (a) The  superintendent  
Superintendent  may charge a one-time only fee, established by
the State Board of Education, to be submitted by an examinee when
registering for the test sufficient in an amount not greater than the
amount required to pay the cost of administering this article ,
including costs related to subdivision (b),  and for the cost of
providing  all followup  services related to the
completion of the general educational development test. The amount of
each fee may not exceed twenty dollars ($20) per person.
   (b) The examinee shall be responsible for submitting to the
Superintendent  of Public Instruction all subsequent requests
  both of the following requests: 
    (1)     A request  for  a 
duplicate  copies   c   opy  of
the  California  high school equivalency 
certificate and all requests   certificate. 
    (2)     A request  to forward 
reports   a report  of the results of  the
applicant's   a  general educational development
test to  a  postsecondary educational  institutions.
  institution.  
   (c) (1) If, for purposes of this article, a scoring contractor or
testing center charges an examinee its own separate fee, the scoring
contractor or testing center shall not charge that fee to a homeless
child or youth, as defined in paragraph (2) of Section 725 of the
federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a
(2)), who can verify his or her status as a homeless child or youth.
A homeless services provider that has knowledge of the person's
housing status may verify the person's status for purposes of this
subdivision.  
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, a "homeless services
provider" includes all of the following:  
   (A) A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving federal, state,
county, or municipal funding to provide services to a homeless child
or youth, or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide those services
by a local homeless continuum of care organization.  
   (B) An attorney licensed to practice law in this state.  

   (C) A local educational agency liaison for homeless children and
youth designated as such pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of
Title 42 of the United States Code, or a school social worker. 

   (D) A human services provider or public social services provider
funded by the state to provide homeless children or youth services,
health services, mental or behavioral health services, substance use
disorder services, or public assistance or employment services. 

   (E) A law enforcement officer designated as a liaison to the
homeless population by a local police department or sheriff's
department within the state.  
   (F) Any other person or entity that is qualified to verify an
individual's housing status, as determined by the department.