CDCAN REPORT 011-2006 SB 517 Passes - Exempts 2006 Special Ed Students from Exit Exam.htm

CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
#0011-2006 January 19, 2006 Thursday
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified action
1225 8th Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814 916/446-0013 Fax: 916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director email: martyomoto@rcip.com website: www.cdcan.us

CA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM AGREEMENT
* Exempts Current High School Senior Special Ed Students
* Sen. Romero's SB 517 Passes Assembly Committee
* Dept of Ed and Schwarzenegger Administration Agree
* Impacts About 25,000 Special Education Students
* CDCAN Townhall Telemeeting on Spec Ed 1/20 1PM

SACRAMENTO - Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) introduced today emergency legislation that would exempt about 25,000 special education high school seniors scheduled to graduate in 2006 from the California High School Exit Exam. The bill would require those students to meet certain criteria before they could receive a diploma. The legislation, SB 517, will carry out one part of the terms of settlement from a class action lawsuit, Chapman v. California Department of Education, filed on behalf of special education students. The Governor is expected to sign the bill, according to his education secretary, Alan Bersin.

Romero, who is the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, amended the language of the agreement into a bill, SB 517, which was approved this afternoon (January 19) in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is expected to pass the full Assembly and Senate next week.

NOTE: CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Hall Telemeeting scheduled for January 20 Friday at 1 PM to 2:45 PM will focus on special education, including update on high school exit exam legislation, mediation and other issues. Sen. Romero's office has been invited to provide an update.

“Just in time, this legislation provides a measure of justice to many hardworking high-school students who are otherwise on track to graduate this year,” said Senator Romero, who also serves on the Senate Education Committee.

Romero said her bill ...is about equal access to well earned diplomas It’s a compromise bill that ends a long, expensive, and courageous battle for thousands of kids who faced being left out of the 2006 high school commencement ceremonies.”

Disability rights advocates were generally pleased with the the Romero legislation as a temporary one year solution for the special education students graduating this year. Melissa Kasnitz, an attorney for the Oakland disability rights organization that brought the suit, said while they support SB 517, it does nothing to settle the entire lawsuit, which also requires changes to the California High School Exit Exam for special education students beyond those graduating this year.

Previous Bill Was Vetoed Last Fall By Governor
An independent evaluation of the impact of the high school exit exam by an independent consulting firm, Human Resources Research Organization found that special education students perform disproportionately lower than all other subgroups, including English Learners, with little or no improvement in scores over time and after several administrations of the exam. A lawsuit was filed against the state Department of Education when talks with advocates failed to produce changes in the exam that they claim was needed to correct problems impacting special education students. The case was settled last August. In response to that court settlement, Sen. Romero pushed forward SB 586 in late August that included a two year exemption for special education students, which Governor Schwarzenegger, at the urging of State Schools Superindentent Jack O'Connell, vetoed. This time around however, SB 517 would only provide for a one year exemption, allowing time for the State to correct problems concerning the High School Exit Exam that impact special education students.

What SB 517 Would Do
Current state law requires that every California student, beginning with the Class of 2006, to pass the High School Exit Exam in order to graduate. SB 517 exempts this 2006 special education high school seniors from this requirement if they meet the following conditions:
* They have an Individualized Education Plan
* Are on a diploma track for graduation in 2006
* Complete all other state and local graduation requirements;
* Have taken the California High School Exit Exam at least twice beyond 10th grade, including at least once during the current senior year with the necessary accommodation and or modification specified in the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), but failed the exam.

The bill will also require school districts to certify whether such special education students have been provided with remedial or supplemental instruction focused on the math and English language arts skills tested in the California High School Exit Exam. The bill also requires the State Board of Education to review any appeal filed against a school district or state special school that fails to grant a 2006 high school diploma to a student meeting the criteria.

NEXT STEPS
* SB 517 was amended January 19 and passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee also on January 19. It heads to the Assembly Floor next week for a vote, where approval is expected. It then heads to the Senate Floor, probably later next week, where approval is expected and then heads to the Governor
* Governor - Governor is expected to sign the bill, which will go into effect immediately as an emergency or urgency bill.
* CDCAN Townhall Telemeeting scheduled on January 20, 2006 Friday at 1:00 PM to 2:45 PM on special education issues including the latest on SB 517, mediation. Sen. Romero has been invited to speak at this free non-partisan townhall. See CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us, click under "Townhall Telemeetings" for more information.

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The California Disability Community Action Network is a non-partisan link to thousands of Californians with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, seniors and their families, community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them. If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely, get off of it) please send an email with that request to: martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us Sharing information is part of our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy this (attribution is nice). We're all in this together!