BILL NUMBER: AB 374AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Block FEBRUARY 23, 2009 An act to add Section 48209 to the Education Code, relating to high school pupils. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 374, as amended, Block. Consequences of dropping out notice. (1) Existing law subjects each person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not exempted under specified statutes to compulsory full-time or continuation education. Existing law requires each person subject to compulsory full-time or continuation education who is not exempted to attend a public full-time day school or continuation school or classes for the full time designated as the length of the schoolday by the governing board of the school district in which the residency of either the parent or legal guardian is located and requires each parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the pupil to send the pupil to the appropriate school or classes for the designated periods of time each schoolday. Existing law prescribes truancy procedures for pupils who do not comply with these provisions. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to produce a consequences of dropping out notice, as described, to inform pupils of the consequences of dropping out of school prior to reaching 18 years of age or completing the requirements for graduation from high school. The bill would require the Superintendent to make the notice available to school districts by posting it on the Internet Web site of the department.The bill would encourage a school district, county office of education, or charter school that offers any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to download the consequences of dropping out notice and distribute it to pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares that the findings of both of the following projects support the consequences listed in the consequences of dropping out notice proposed by this act: (a) "The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts," a report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates. (b) The Civil Rights Project in association with the University of California at Los Angeles and Harvard University. SEC. 2. Section 48209 is added to the Education Code, to read: 48209. (a) The Superintendent shall produce a consequences of dropping out notice, as described in subdivision (b), to inform pupils of the consequences of dropping out of school prior to reaching 18 years of age or completing the requirements for graduation from high school. The Superintendent shall make the notice available to school districts by posting it on the Internet Web site of the department. (b) The consequences of dropping out notice shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following information: (1) The potential consequences of dropping out of school prior to reaching 18 years of age or completing the requirements for graduation from high school include: greater difficulty in finding a job; a reduced income and purchasing power; a greater likelihood of engaging in criminal activity; a greater likelihood of spending time in jail, prison, or both; a greater likelihood of receiving welfare, other forms of public assistance, or both; fewer choices about where to live; and a lesser likelihood of properly caring for and educating children. (2) The right of a pupil to reenroll in school to complete the requirements for graduation from high school and the procedure for reenrollment in school. (3) The availability of alternative educational services, including continuation school, independent study, adult education, community college, and the General Educational Development (GED) tests.(c) A school district, county office of education, or charter school that offers any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, is encouraged to download the consequences of dropping out notice and distribute it to pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.