Bill Signed to Remove Graduation Barriers for At-Risk Youth

On September 22, 2016, Governor Brown signed into law AB 2306 by Assemblyman Jim Frazier, which requires school districts to exempt a student from local high school graduation requirements once the student transfers to the district from a juvenile court school. It also clarifies that pupils in juvenile court schools have a rigorous curriculum that includes a course of study preparing them for high school graduation and career entry and fulfilling the requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University. The bill removes barriers to graduation and encourages systems to make reforms to begin building a bridge from probation to higher education.  Earlier this year, YLC released a report, Educational Injustice, detailing California’s legal, moral, and practical responsibility to better support the education of students in court schools.  Youth Law Center was one of a number of groups supporting the bill; see article appearing in The Reporter on signing of this important legislation.