California § 48645.5 - Each public school district and county office of education shall accept for credi

§ 48645.5. Each public school district and county office of education shall accept for credi

(a) Each public school district and county office of education shall accept for credit full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed by a pupil while attending a public school, juvenile court school, or nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency. The coursework shall be transferred by means of the standard state transcript. If a pupil completes the graduation requirements of the pupil’s school district of residence while being detained, the school district of residence shall issue to the pupil a diploma from the school the pupil last attended before detention or, in the alternative, the county superintendent of schools may issue the diploma. (b) A pupil shall not be denied enrollment or readmission to a public school solely on the basis that the pupil has had contact with the juvenile justice system, including, but not limited to: (1) Arrest. (2) Adjudication by a juvenile court. (3) Formal or informal supervision by a probation officer. (4) Detention for any length of time in a juvenile facility or enrollment in a juvenile court school. (c) Pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (f) of Section 48853.5, a pupil who has had contact with the juvenile justice system shall be immediately enrolled in a public school. (d) (1) If a pupil transfers into a juvenile court school any time after the completion of the pupil’s second year of high school and completes the statewide coursework requirements for graduation specified in Section 51225.3 while attending a juvenile court school, and the pupil is in their third or fourth year of high school, the county office of education shall exempt the pupil from all coursework or other requirements of the county office of education that are in addition to the statewide coursework specified in Section 51225.3, unless the county office of education makes a finding that the pupil is reasonably able to complete the local graduation requirements in time to graduate from high school by the end of the pupil’s fourth year of high school. (2) To determine whether a juvenile court school pupil is in the third or fourth year of high school, the number of credits the pupil has earned to the date of transfer, the length of the pupil’s school enrollment, or, for pupils with significant gaps in school attendance, the pupil’s age as compared to the average age of pupils in the third or fourth year of high school, may be used, whichever will qualify the pupil for the exemption. (3) Within 30 calendar days of the date that a pupil who may qualify for the exemption from local graduation requirements pursuant to this section transfers into a juvenile court school for an enrollment period in the juvenile court school of at least 30 days, the county office of education shall notify the pupil, the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, and the pupil’s social worker and probation officer of the availability of the exemption and whether the pupil qualifies for the exemption. If the county office of education fails to provide timely notice pursuant to this section, the pupil shall be eligible for the exemption from local graduation requirements pursuant to this section once notified, even if that notification occurs after the termination of the court’s jurisdiction over the pupil, if the pupil otherwise qualifies for the exemption pursuant to this section. (4) The county office of education shall comply with all of the requirements of Section 48645.7. (e) If a juvenile court school pupil is exempted from local graduation requirements pursuant to this section and completes the statewide coursework requirements specified in Section 51225.3 before the end of the pupil’s fourth year of high school and that pupil would otherwise be entitled to remain in attendance at the school, the county office of education shall not require or request that the pupil graduate before the end of the pupil’s fourth year of high school. (f) For the purposes of this section, “local graduation requirements” means the coursework and other requirements for high school graduation adopted by the county board of education.