Section 48412 Of Article 2. Pupils Exempt From California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 27. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 2.
48412
. (a) (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, 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.
(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
department shall keep a permanent record of the issuance of all
certificates.
(b) (1) The 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 semester of
every academic year on a date, as determined by the 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
that maintain high schools.
(2) In addition to regular examinations, the department may, at
the discretion of the 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 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
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 an examinee who
meets all of the following criteria:
(A) The examinee qualifies as 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)).
(B) The examinee has not attained 25 years of age as of the date
of the scheduled examination.
(C) The examinee can verify his or her status as a homeless child
or youth. A homeless services provider that has knowledge of the
examinee's housing status may verify the examinee's status for
purposes of this subparagraph.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, a "homeless services
provider" includes either of the following:
(A) A homeless services provider listed in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) Any other person or entity that is qualified to verify an
individual's housing status, as determined by the department.
(4) The loss of fees pursuant to paragraph (2), if any, shall be
deemed to be a cost of administering this section for purposes of
paragraph (1).
(d) (1) The state board shall adopt rules and regulations as are
necessary for implementation of this section.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the state board shall adopt
emergency regulations, as necessary, to implement the provisions of
subdivision (c), as amended by the act that added this paragraph. The
adoption of these regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, and safety, or general welfare.
(e) The 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).
(f) (1) On or before December 1, 2018, the Superintendent shall
submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of
the Legislature that includes, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(A) The number of homeless youth that took a high school
proficiency test in each of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 calendar years.
(B) The impact of the opportunity to take a high school
proficiency test at no cost on the number and percentage of homeless
youth taking a high school proficiency test.
(C) The estimated number of homeless youth who may take a high
school proficiency test in future years.
(D) Recommendations for a permanent funding source to cover the
cost of the waived fees.
(E) The annual and projected administrative cost to the
department.
(F) The annual and projected reimbursement to contractors pursuant
to this section.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
(g) Additional state funds shall not be appropriated for purposes
of implementing paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).