SECTIONS 48070-48070.6 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 48070-48070.6

48070. The governing board of each school district and each county
superintendent of schools shall adopt policies regarding pupil
promotion and retention. A pupil shall be promoted or retained only
as provided in the policies adopted pursuant to this article.

48070.5. (a) In addition to the policy adopted pursuant to Section
48070, the governing board of each school district and each county
board of education shall, in those applicable grade levels, approve a
policy regarding the promotion and retention of pupils between the
following grades:
(1) Between second grade and third grade.
(2) Between third grade and fourth grade.
(3) Between fourth and fifth grade.
(4) Between the end of the intermediate grades and the beginning
of middle school grades which typically occurs between sixth grade
and seventh grade, but may vary depending upon the grade
configuration of the school or school district.
(5) Between the end of the middle school grades and the beginning
of high school which typically occurs between eighth grade and ninth
grade, but may vary depending upon the grade configuration of the
school or school district.
(b) The policy shall provide for the identification of pupils who
should be retained and who are at risk of being retained in their
current grade level on the basis of either of the following:
(1) The results of the assessments administered pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33 and
the minimum levels of proficiency recommended by the State Board of
Education pursuant to Section 60648.
(2) The pupil's grades and other indicators of academic
achievement designated by the district.
(c) The policy shall base the identification of pupils pursuant to
subdivision (b) at the grade levels identified pursuant to paragraph
(1) and (2) of subdivision (a) primarily on the basis of the pupil's
level of proficiency in reading. The policy shall base the
identification of pupils pursuant to subdivision (b) at the grade
levels identified pursuant to paragraphs (3) through (5) of
subdivision (a) on the basis of the pupil's level of proficiency in
reading, English language arts, and mathematics.
(d) (1) If either measure identified in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (b) identifies that a pupil is performing below the
minimum standard for promotion, the pupil shall be retained in his or
her current grade level unless the pupil's regular classroom teacher
determines in writing that retention is not the appropriate
intervention for the pupil's academic deficiencies. This written
determination shall specify the reasons that retention is not
appropriate for the pupil and shall include recommendations for
interventions other than retention that in the opinion of the teacher
are necessary to assist the pupil to attain acceptable levels of
academic achievement. If the teacher's recommendation to promote is
contingent upon the pupil's participation in a summer school or
interim session remediation program, the pupil's academic performance
shall be reassessed at the end of the remediation program, and the
decision to retain or promote the pupil shall be reevaluated at that
time. The teacher's evaluation shall be provided to and discussed
with the pupil's parent or guardian and the school principal before
any final determination of pupil retention or promotion.
(2) If the pupil does not have a single regular classroom teacher,
the policy adopted by the school district shall specify the teacher
or teachers responsible for the promotion or retention decision.
(e) The policy shall provide for parental notification when a
pupil is identified as being at risk of retention. This notice shall
be provided as early in the school year as practicable. The policy
shall provide a pupil's parent or guardian the opportunity to consult
with the teacher or teachers responsible for the decision to promote
or retain the pupil.
(f) The policy shall provide a process whereby the decision of the
teacher to retain or promote a pupil may be appealed. If an appeal
is made, the burden shall be on the appealing party to show why the
decision of the teacher should be overruled.
(g) The policy shall provide that pupils who are at-risk of being
retained in their current grade be identified as early in the school
year, and as early in their school careers, as practicable.
(h) The policy shall indicate the manner in which opportunities
for remedial instruction will be provided to pupils who are
recommended for retention or who are identified as being at risk for
retention.
(i) The policy adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted
at a public meeting of the governing board of the school district.
(j) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
retention of a pupil not included in grade levels identified pursuant
to subdivision (a), or for reasons other than those specified in
subdivision (b), if such retention is determined to be appropriate
for that pupil. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit a governing board from adopting promotion and retention
policies that exceed the criteria established in this section.

48070.6. (a) On or before August 1, 2011, and annually thereafter,
utilizing data produced by the California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System pursuant to Section 60900 and other available
data, the Superintendent shall submit to the Governor, the
Legislature, and the state board, a report that shall be called the
Annual Report on Dropouts in California. The report shall include,
but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) One-year dropout rates for each of grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
(2) Four-year cohort dropout rates for grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(3) Two- or three-year cohort dropout rates, as appropriate, for
middle schools.
(4) Grade 9 to grade 10 promotion rates.
(5) Percentage of high school pupils for each of grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, who are on track to earn sufficient credits to graduate.
(6) The average number of nonpromotional school moves that pupils
make between grades 6 to 12, inclusive.
(7) "Full-year" dropout rates for alternative schools, including
dropout recovery high schools, calculated using a methodology
developed by the Superintendent to appropriately reflect dropout
rates in each type of alternative school.
(8) An explanation of the methodology or methodologies used to
calculate "full-year" dropout rates for alternative schools pursuant
to paragraph (7).
(9) Passage rates on the high school exit examination adopted
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 60850.
(10) Other available data relating to dropout or graduation rates
or pupil progress toward high school graduation.
(b) When cohort dropout rates can be calculated accurately using
longitudinal data, the rates described in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) shall be replaced by dropout rates for cohorts of
pupils entering middle school.
(c) When data is available, the report shall also include all of
the following:
(1) Rates at which pupils graduate in four, five, and six years,
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of
Section 52052.
(2) Percentage of high school graduates and dropouts who completed
courses that are certified by the University of California as
meeting admission requirement criteria for the University of
California and California State University systems.
(3) Percentage of high school graduates and dropouts who completed
two or more classes in career technical education.
(4) Percentage of high school graduates and dropouts who completed
both course sequences described in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(5) Behavioral data by school and district, including suspensions
and expulsions.
(6) Truancy rates.
(7) GED earning rates.
(8) Chronic absentee rates, as defined in Section 60901.
(d) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented in the report, organized as follows:
(1) By state.
(2) By county.
(3) By district, both including and excluding charter schools.
(4) By school.
(e) The report shall include data from alternative middle and high
schools, including continuation high schools, community day schools,
juvenile court schools, special schools, opportunity schools, and
schools attended by wards of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice.
(f) The report may include relevant data on school climate and
pupil engagement from the California Healthy Kids Survey.
(g) If possible, the data listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
be presented for the following subgroups, if the subgroup consists
of at least 50 pupils, and the subgroup constitutes at least 15
percent of the total population of pupils at a school:
(1) Grade level.
(2) Ethnicity.
(3) Gender.
(4) Low socioeconomic status.
(5) English learners.
(6) Special education status.
(h) The first Annual Report on Dropouts in California shall
include data from the most recent year. Subsequent annual reports
shall include data from the most recent year and, at a minimum, the
two prior years, so that comparisons can be made easily.
(i) The Superintendent or his or her designee shall make an oral
presentation of the contents of the report to the state board at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the board.
(j) The Superintendent shall make the contents of the report
available on the department's Internet Web site in a format that is
easy for the public to access and understand.
(k) If inclusion of school-level data would render the written
report unwieldy, the data may be omitted from the written report and
posted on the department's Internet Web site.
(l) It is the intent of the Legislature that the report prepared
by the Superintendent be usable by schools, districts, policymakers,
researchers, parents, and the public, for purposes of identifying and
understanding trends, causal relations, early warning indicators,
and potential points of intervention to address the high rate of
dropouts in California.
(m) For purposes of this section, dropouts shall be defined using
the exit/withdrawal codes developed by the department.
(n) For purposes of this section, "dropout recovery high school"
has the same meaning as defined in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (4)
of subdivision (a) of Section 52052.