Urgency Measure AB 104

Assembly Bill 104 (Effective July 1, 2021)

On July 1, 2021 Governor Newsom signed this bill into law, taking effect immediately. The new law impacts districts, COEs and charter schools (LEAs) by imposing the following new activities:

Pupil Retention Requests Activities:

For students receiving deficient grades (D, F, No Pass, or equivalent) in at least half of the student’s coursework in the 2020-21 school year, the parent/guardian can send a written request to the LEA asking to retain the student for the 2020-21 school year. If the LEA receives a request, it must offer to consult with the parent, student, administrator, and teacher within 30 calendar days of receiving the written request. The consultation must:

• Discuss the available learning recovery options, interventions and supports available to the student including access to prior semester courses where the student received a D or F letter grade in the 2020-21 school year,

• Discuss research on the effects of pupil retention and the types of interventions and supports that can be beneficial to the student, and

• Consider the student’s academic data and any other relevant information to help determine if retention is in the student’s best interest.

If not retained, the student must be offered specific interventions and support as found in Education Code section 43520, as well as access to prior semester courses in which the student received a D or F letter grade in 2020-21, credit recovery, or other supports as specified in section 51225.

The above activities do not apply to students who were enrolled in grade 12 during the 2020-21 school year.

Grade Changes for High School Students:

Parents/guardians of a student enrolled in high school during the 2020-21 school year can now request to have the LEA change a letter grade earned in 2020-21 to a “Pass” or “No Pass” grade.

By July 16th, the CDE must post on its website and provide LEAs with a grade change application template. Once the CDE posts this information, LEAs will have 15 calendar days to post a notice on their website and provide written notice to students and parents/guardians explaining the grade change option.

By July 21st, the CDE must post on its website and provide LEAs with a list of California post-secondary institutions that have indicated that they will accept for admission purposes a transcript with a Pass or No Pass grade instead of a letter grade.

The time-frame for parents/guardians to submit their grade change application is within 15 calendar days from the date the LEA posts the notice on their website and provides the written notice to students and parents/guardians. LEAs cannot accept applications after this date. Once an application is received, the student’s transcript must be changed and the parent/guardian notified of the change within 15 calendar days of receiving the request.

High School Student Coursework Options:

LEAs serving high school students are now required to exempt students who were enrolled in their third or fourth year of high school during 2020-21 and are not on track to graduate in four years, from all coursework that are in addition to the statewide coursework requirements specified in Ed. Code section 51225.3.

AB 104 also requires students who were enrolled in their third or fourth year of high school during 2020-21 who are not on track to graduate in the 2020-21 or 2021-22 school years, to be given the opportunity to complete any statewide coursework required for graduation. This includes giving the student the opportunity to complete the coursework through a fifth year of instruction, credit recovery, or other opportunity to complete the required coursework.

As a reminder, AB 104 was an urgency measure that took effect on July 1st. If you have questions about these new requirements, please feel free to reach out.

Until next time,

Mike Brown, Risk Management Program Manager Organizational Effectiveness ∙ Leadership ∙ Achievement SCHOOL INNOVATIONS & ACHIEVEMENT Makers of Award-Winning Software & Service 916.669.5116 Direct 800.487.9234 Main (x5116) 888.487.6441 Fax 877.954.4357 Help Desk

mikeb@sia-us.com