Pupil instruction: examination fees: International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and advanced placement courses.

Existing law authorizes a system of incentives to encourage high schools to operate International Baccalaureate Diploma Programs, and to encourage pupils in these schools to enroll in, attempt, and pass the International Baccalaureate course of study and examinations that lead to the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, from funds appropriated for the purpose of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, to annually allocate to each school district, on behalf of each high school or middle school within the district that offers the program, up to $25,000 for each participating high school and middle school to cover the costs of professional development required by the program and to help pay the test fees for low- and middle-income pupils in need of financial assistance. Existing law authorizes a school district receiving economic impact aid funds to expend any portion of those funds to pay for all or part of the costs of one or more advanced placement examinations that are charged to economically disadvantaged pupils, as defined. This bill would, to the extent federal funding is available, establish a grant program, administered by the State Department of Education, for the purpose of awarding grants to cover the costs of advanced placement examination fees or International Baccalaureate examination fees, or both, for eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils, as defined. The bill would authorize a school district to apply to the department for grant funding under the program based on the number of economically disadvantaged pupils in the school district who will take the next offered advanced placement examinations and would require that grants be expended only to pay the fees required of eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils to take an advanced placement or International Baccalaureate examination, or both. The bill would require funding priority be given to advanced placement examination fees if there is insufficient funding allocated to the grant program in a given fiscal year.