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SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that a tentative settlement agreement* has been reached in a lawsuit challenging the requirement that students with disabilities take and pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The proposed settlement is subject to court approval.

The tentative settlement agreement for Courtney Kidd, et al. v. O'Connell, et al. (also known as the Chapman case), stipulates that the California Department of Education shall hire an independent external consultant to conduct a study examining students who have taken, but not passed, the CAHSEE with modifications and/or accommodations specified in their respective Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans, and who have satisfied or will satisfy all other requirements for graduation from high school. The study will try to identify whether there are students who have mastered the material tested by the CAHSEE but who, due to their disabilities, cannot demonstrate that knowledge even with accommodations and/or modifications. Throughout the Kidd (Chapman) litigation, the plaintiffs who filed the case have not been able to identify for the court any specific students who meet these criteria.  

"I am pleased that we have reached an agreement that continues to hold high standards for students with disabilities while recognizing and respecting their individual education plans," O'Connell said. "Since the inception of the Exit Exam, students with disabilities have been taking more rigorous courses and have become better prepared for the CAHSEE and also for college or careers in the challenging global economy. The Exit Exam has also pushed California's education system to better focus on and meet the needs of students with disabilities."

The only requirement that the tentative settlement agreement imposes on the state is to conduct the aforementioned study. The agreement does not extend an exemption process that was in place for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years allowing students with disabilities who were unable to pass the CAHSEE but met other certain requirements to receive a diploma.

The tentative settlement agreement also does not change current law that allows students with disabilities to take the Exit Exam with accommodations or modifications that are specified in the students' IEP or 504 plan, or to apply for a waiver of the CAHSEE requirement if the student takes one or both parts of the CAHSEE with a modification and receives the equivalent of a passing score. If the student's local school district grants the waiver, and all other graduation requirements have been met, then the student is eligible to receive a high school diploma. O'Connell is currently sponsoring Assembly Bill 1503, authored by Assemblymember Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), which will streamline this waiver process in order to make it easier for parents and their children to utilize.

O'Connell also noted that state and federal law allow students with disabilities to continue to receive special education and related services until age 22 if they had an IEP prior to age 18 and have not graduated with a diploma.

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*For a copy of the tentative settlement agreement, please contact the Communications Division at the e-mail and telephone number listed above.