CA AB2181

County offices of education must exempt juvenile court school pupils from local graduation requirements if the pupil transfers after completing 2nd year of high school, completes statewide coursework while in 3rd or 4th year of high school, unless the county determines the pupil can reasonably complete local requirements by end of 4th year.

County offices must notify pupils, education rights holders, social workers, and probation officers within 30 calendar days of transfer whether they qualify for the exemption and must inform them of potential impacts on postsecondary education, credit recovery options, and California Community Colleges transfer opportunities.

County offices cannot require or request pupils to transfer schools to qualify for exemptions, and pupils, education rights holders, social workers, and probation officers cannot request transfers solely to obtain exemptions.

Pupils exempted from local requirements cannot be required to graduate before the end of 4th year of high school, and exemptions remain valid after court jurisdiction ends; pupils retain the option to defer or decline exemptions and take additional coursework.

County offices must report annually to the State Department of Education the number of court school pupils who graduated with exemptions, disaggregated by cohort, race, and disability status; the department must make this data publicly available aligned with California School Dashboard reporting timelines.