What is AB 347?
AB 347, sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction O’Connell, signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, and taking effect immediately, amends Education Code sections 1240, 35186, 37254, 52378, and 52380. The bill ensures that eligible students will be offered the intensive instruction and services they need to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), and allows students who have not passed the CAHSEE to receive two consecutive years of intensive instruction, or until they pass the exam, whichever comes first. AB 347 further states that the Uniform Complaint Procedure is to be used to resolve any deficiencies related to the intensive instruction and services provided to students who have not passed the CAHSEE.
Does AB 347 apply to every local educational agency?
The conditions and requirements of AB 347 apply to every local educational agency (LEA) that accepts funding. However, every eligible student defined in the relevant code sections is entitled to services.
Under AB 347, is the student obligated to take the intensive instruction before taking the CAHSEE?
No, the student is not obligated to receive intensive instruction.
After AB 347 is enacted, will we consider students to be enrolled as long as they participate in intensive instruction and take the exam? Will they be reported on the California Basic Education Data System (CBEDS), etc.? How will this affect graduation rates?
A student must be enrolled to take the CAHSEE, per California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 1200(c) and (d). However, regarding enrollment as a condition for a student to obtain services and or get course credit, the student should adhere to whatever local process already exists. Nothing in the current supplemental instruction laws requires enrollment to obtain services. Students who are enrolled in a program leading to a high school diploma are not reported as dropouts. A student who is not enrolled in such a program is reported as a dropout, even if that student continues to work toward passing the CAHSEE. Students who are taking the CAHSEE beyond grade twelve are instructed to include the statewide student identifier (SSID) on the answer document. Without the SSID, the student’s score will be processed, but the score will not be in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and the school may not receive credit for the student’s subsequent graduation.
May LEAs require that post-grade twelve students who have not passed the CAHSEE receive their intensive instructions and services at an adult education site or a continuation school?
Yes, the LEA has discretion to provide intensive instruction at a time and place deemed appropriate by the LEA for those post-grade twelve students who have not passed the CAHSEE. (EC Section 37254 (c)(2).)
If students are provided instruction under AB 347 through an adult education program, do they receive a high school diploma from the comprehensive high school for their year of graduation or do they need to complete an adult education diploma?
LEAs make this decision according to the policies set forth by their local governing boards.
What does intensive instruction include?
Education Code Section 37254(c)(3) defines intensive instruction and services for the purposes of AB 347. Intensive instruction and services may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
- Individual or small group instruction.
- The hiring of additional teachers.
- Purchasing, scoring, and reviewing diagnostic assessments.
- Counseling.
- Designing instruction to meet specific needs of eligible pupils.
- Appropriate teacher training to meet the needs of eligible pupils.
- Instruction in English-language arts or mathematics, or both, that eligible pupils need to pass those parts of the high school exit examination not yet passed. A LEA may employ different intensive instruction and services strategies more aligned to the needs and circumstances of pupils who have not passed one or both parts of the high school exit examination by the end of grade twelve as compared to grade twelve pupils with similar needs in a comprehensive high school of the LEA.
Intensive instruction and services may be provided during the regular school day provided that they do not supplant the instruction of the pupil in the core curriculum areas as defined in Paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 60603, or physical education instruction (EC Section 37254(c)(2)). LEAs may also provide eligible students with intensive instruction on Saturdays, evenings, or at a time and location deemed appropriate by the LEA.
How will compliance with AB 347 be monitored?
Each county superintendent shall verify that pupils who have not passed the CAHSEE by the end of grade twelve are informed that they are entitled to receive intensive instruction and services for up to two consecutive academic years after completion of grade twelve or until the pupil has passed both parts of the CAHSEE, whichever comes first, and that pupils who have elected to receive intensive instruction and services are being served (EC Section 1240 (c)(2)(E)).
How does a LEA comply with AB 347 if it does not offer adult education or post graduation services?
LEAs have the discretion to determine how they will meet the obligations required by AB 347. Intensive instruction and services must be provided for two consecutive academic years after completion of grade twelve, or until the pupil has passed both parts of the exit exam, whichever comes first.
Does AB 347 apply to students who have been expelled from school?
AB 347 does not exclude students who are under an expulsion order from receiving intensive services. Students who are expelled may receive appropriate services at the school they are currently attending, such as a county community day school or continuation high school.
AB 347 refers to an “appropriate diagnostic assessment.” Is there one that the CDE is recommending, or is this up to the LEAs?
The CDE does not recommend a particular diagnostic assessment. It is up to the LEAs to “ensure that each eligible pupil receives an appropriate diagnostic assessment to identify that pupil’s areas of need.”
Does AB 347 apply to students who, in addition to not yet meeting the CAHSEE requirement, lack other requirements to earn their high school diploma (e.g., students who are credit deficient and have not passed the CAHSEE)?
Yes, because the statute does not differentiate between students who have not passed the CAHSEE and have successfully met all other requirements, and students who have both not passed the CAHSEE and still need to complete other requirements, services must be offered to all students who, by the end of grade twelve, have not met the CAHSEE requirement.
