School finance: college readiness: grants and notification.

(1) Existing law establishes the College Readiness Block Grant to provide California's high school pupils, particularly unduplicated pupils, additional supports to increase the number of pupils who enroll at institutions of higher education and complete an undergraduate degree within 4 years. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate funds under the program to certain local educational agencies during the 2015–16 fiscal year to be available for expenditure or encumbrance through the 2018–19 fiscal year. This bill would repeal provisions establishing the College Readiness Block Grant. The bill would establish the A–G Completion Improvement Grant Program, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to provide additional supports to local educational agencies to help increase the number of California high school pupils, particularly unduplicated pupils, who graduate high school meeting the A–G subject matter requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University. If sufficient funds have been appropriated for the program, the bill would require the Superintendent to allocate $200,000,000 for the 2021–22 fiscal year under the program, as A–G Access Grants and A–G Success Grants, to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools meeting certain requirements to be available for expenditure or encumbrance through the 2025–26 fiscal year. The bill would require those funds to be used for activities that directly support pupil access to, and successful completion of, the A–G subject matter requirements, as prescribed. The bill would require the Superintendent to annually post on the State Department of Education's internet website in an easily accessible location a list of each local educational agency's and each individual high school's A–G completion rate, as defined. (2) Existing law requires each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study that fulfills the requirements and prerequisites for admission to the California public institutions of postsecondary education. This bill would impose that requirement on each county office of education or charter school maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, commencing with the 2026–27 school year, and would expressly include the A–G subject matter requirements for admission to the California State University and the University of California in that requirement. By imposing additional duties on county offices of education and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires a school district offering any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to provide the parent or guardian of each minor pupil enrolled in any of those grades in the school district with written notification containing certain information relating to A–G subject matter requirements and career technical education. This bill would impose that requirement on each county office of education or charter school maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and would require additional information to be included in the notification, including the A–G completion rate, as defined, for each high school within the local educational agency. The bill would require a local educational agency offering grade 8 to provide the parent or guardian of each minor pupil enrolled in grade 8 in the local educational agency with written notification of certain information relating to A–G subject matter requirements. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.