SECTIONS 48980-48985 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 48980-48985

48980. (a) At the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the
regular school term, the governing board of each school district
shall notify the parent or guardian of a minor pupil regarding the
right or responsibility of the parent or guardian under Sections
35291, 46014, 48205, 48207, 48208, 49403, 49423, 49451, 49472, and
51938 and Chapter 2.3 (commencing with Section 32255) of Part 19 of
Division 1 of Title 1.
(b) The notification also shall advise the parent or guardian of
the availability of individualized instruction as prescribed by
Section 48206.3, and of the program prescribed by Article 9
(commencing with Section 49510) of Chapter 9.
(c) The notification also shall advise the parents and guardians
of all pupils attending a school within the school district of the
schedule of minimum days and pupil-free staff development days, and
if minimum or pupil-free staff development days are scheduled
thereafter, the governing board of the district shall notify parents
and guardians of the affected pupils as early as possible, but not
later than one month before the scheduled minimum or pupil-free day.
(d) The notification also may advise the parent or guardian of the
importance of investing for future college or university education
for their children and of considering appropriate investment options,
including, but not limited to, United States savings bonds.
(e) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
pupil that each pupil completing grade 12 is required to successfully
pass the high school exit examination administered pursuant to
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850) of Part 33. The
notification shall include, at a minimum, the date of the
examination, the requirements for passing the examination, and shall
inform the parents and guardians regarding the consequences of not
passing the examination and shall inform parents and guardians that
passing the examination is a condition of graduation.
(f) Each school district that elects to provide a fingerprinting
program pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 32390) of
Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 shall inform parents or
guardians of the program as specified in Section 32390.
(g) The notification also shall include a copy of the written
policy of the school district on sexual harassment established
pursuant to Section 231.5, as it relates to pupils.
(h) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of all
existing statutory attendance options and local attendance options
available in the school district. This notification component shall
include all options for meeting residency requirements for school
attendance, programmatic options offered within the local attendance
areas, and any special programmatic options available on both an
interdistrict and intradistrict basis. This notification component
also shall include a description of all options, a description of the
procedure for application for alternative attendance areas or
programs, an application form from the district for requesting a
change of attendance, and a description of the appeals process
available, if any, for a parent or guardian denied a change of
attendance. The notification component also shall include an
explanation of the existing statutory attendance options, including,
but not limited to, those available under Section 35160.5, Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 46600) of Part 26, and subdivision (b) of
Section 48204. The department shall produce this portion of the
notification and shall distribute it to all school districts.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing board
of each school district annually review the enrollment options
available to the pupils within its district and that the districts
strive to make available enrollment options that meet the diverse
needs, potential, and interests of the pupils of California.
(j) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian that a
pupil shall not have his or her grade reduced or lose academic credit
for any absence or absences excused pursuant to Section 48205 if
missed assignments and tests that can reasonably be provided are
satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time, and
shall include the full text of Section 48205.
(k) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the
availability of state funds to cover the costs of advanced placement
examination fees pursuant to Section 52244.
(l) The notification to the parent or guardian of a minor pupil
enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, also shall include the
information required pursuant to Section 51229.

48980.3. The notification required pursuant to Section 48980 shall
include information regarding pesticide products as specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 17612.

48981. The notice shall be sent at the time of registration for the
first semester or quarter of the regular school term. The notice may
be sent by regular mail or by any other method normally used to
communicate with the parents or guardians in writing.

48982. The notice shall be signed by the parent or guardian and
returned to the school. Signature of the notice is an acknowledgment
by the parent or guardian that he has been informed of his rights but
does not indicate that consent to participate in any particular
program has either been given or withheld.

48983. If any activity covered by the sections set forth in Section
48980 will be undertaken by the school during the forthcoming school
term, the notice shall state that fact and shall also state the
approximate date upon which any of such activities will occur.

48984. No school district shall undertake any activity covered by
the sections set forth in Section 48980 with respect to any
particular pupil unless the parent or guardian has been informed of
such action pursuant to this article or has received separate special
notification.

48985. (a) If 15 percent or more of the pupils enrolled in a public
school that provides instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1
to 12, inclusive, speak a single primary language other than English,
as determined from the census data submitted to the department
pursuant to Section 52164 in the preceding year, all notices,
reports, statements, or records sent to the parent or guardian of any
such pupil by the school or school district shall, in addition to
being written in English, be written in the primary language, and may
be responded to either in English or the primary language.
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64001, the department
shall monitor adherence to the requirements of subdivision (a) as
part of its regular monitoring and review of public schools and
school districts, commonly known as the Categorical Program
Monitoring process, and shall determine the types of documents and
languages a school district translates to a primary language other
than English, the availability of these documents to parents or
guardians who speak a primary language other than English, and the
gaps in translations of these documents.
(c) Based on census data submitted to the department pursuant to
Section 52164 in the preceding fiscal year, the department shall
notify a school district, by August 1 of each year, of the schools
within the school district, and the primary language other than
English, for which the translation of documents is required pursuant
to subdivision (a). The department shall make that notification using
electronic methods.
(d) The department shall use existing resources to comply with
subdivisions (b) and (c).