Theresa Harrington

Richmond High Counselor Edel Alejandre, right, speaks to students who have been denied their diplomas because they were unable to take and pass the exit examination after the July test was abruptly cancelled.

Theresa Harrington

Richmond High Counselor Edel Alejandre, correct, speaks to students who accept been denied their diplomas because they were unable to take and pass the go out examination after the July examination was abruptly cancelled.

The governor on Wednesday signed a beak that eliminates the California Loftier Schoolhouse Get out Exam graduation requirement for seniors in the grade of 2022 who didn't laissez passer it.

Senate Nib 725 past Loni Hancock, D­-Oakland, was rapidly passed past the Assembly concluding Thursday and past the Senate on Monday as urgency legislation to solve a dilemma that arose when well-nigh 5,000 students were denied the opportunity to retake the test in July. The state Department of Didactics cancelled the examination considering its contract with the testing company was expiring and education officials wanted to avoid spending millions of dollars to renew the contract for a test that some believed was outdated, since it was not aligned with the new Common Cadre standards.

Gov. Jerry Brownish did not issue a argument about why he signed the bill. But his part issued a statement that said he did non want students' futurity plans to be jeopardized.

"Students who've been accustomed into college should not exist prevented from starting class this fall because of a test counterfoil they could not control," said Deputy Press Secretarial assistant Deborah Hoffman. "The governor signed this neb to ensure these students begin their college careers."

A separate bill, SB 172 past Sen. Carol Liu, D­-La Cañada Flintridge, which aims to suspend the examination through 2017­-xviii and create a committee to discuss alternatives, will be addressed Thursday by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. But Hancock gutted and amended a beak dealing with visual and performing arts to expedite a solution for form of 2022 seniors who had completed all other graduation requirements. Some of those students said their higher admissions were rescinded, they were unable to join the military, or they had chore offers withdrawn considering they didn't receive diplomas.

Richmond High School students Brenda Diaz and Felipe Campos are amid 37 students in the Westward Contra Costa Unified School Commune who volition now receive diplomas thanks to the legislation. The district is planning a special graduation anniversary for the group, but has not yet set a date.

"I experience then great. I feel and then happy. I'm so excited," Diaz said in a phone interview Tuesday, after Chocolate-brown's office appear he planned to sign the beak. "I learned to never give upwards."

Laughing happily during a separate phone interview, Campos was equally elated as he realized his goal of joining the Ground forces could finally come true.

"That'south really something I've always wanted to do since I was a child,­ kind of a big dream for me," he said, calculation that he was glad he spoke out about his predicament. "I feel amazing. It was really worth it. If you don't fight for what you lot want, you're never going to get anywhere. In almost a calendar month, I'll be going to boot military camp, if everything goes correctly."

Some districts didn't await for the legislation to pass before giving students diplomas. During the past 2 weeks, trustees in the San Francisco Unified, Oakland Unified and East Side Marriage Loftier School districts removed the get out exam as a graduation requirement and issued diplomas so students would no longer be left in limbo.

Oakland is planning a graduation ceremony next month for the 67 students affected, merely the other two districts consider the dates of their special board meetings their students' graduation dates.

Chris Funk, superintendent of the E Side Union district, criticized the state Department of Educational activity'southward decision to cancel the exam and said the Legislature was taking too long to fix the trouble.

"The fact that they made the decision to save money is the worst decision I've ever heard of by the Department of Educational activity," Funk said. "So, I would expect our Legislature to have immediate action. Ii weeks to do something is not immediate action – not when you have kids trying to enroll in college."

Jack O'Connell

Jack O'Connell

Representatives from other districts praised the governor and Legislature for their action. "The governor is making the right decision in our mind," said Oakland commune spokesman Troy Flint. "He's acting in favor of justice, in favor of disinterestedness and in favor of rewarding students for their hard work and providing them with the opportunity they've earned to achieve a brighter hereafter."

Nellie Meyer, superintendent of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, said twoscore students – mostly English language language learners ­– would receive diplomas as a result of the bill. She also expressed support for SB 172, proverb she believes Smarter Balanced tests could exist used every bit high school exit exams.

"We should be able to find cutoff points that align with 8th­-course mathematics and 10th­-grade English," she said. "If there'south a way we could avert testing students more than nosotros need to, I'm all for it."

Jack O'Connell, who authored the legislation that required the exit exam before he served as land Superintendent of Public Teaching from 2003-eleven, said in an EdSource commentary that this specific examination, put into identify in 2006, "was always meant to exist temporary."

"We were transitioning to new land bookish standards, and we knew those standards would change again in the future," he said. "I've e'er believed that our assessment and accountability systems need to exist coherent and avoid duplicative and unnecessary testing, and the electric current version of the high school exit exam is neither aligned to our standards nor essential to the development of our new accountability system."

After students spoke out about the negative event of the test cancellation earlier this calendar month, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued an Aug. xiii news release asking public universities to help students who were denied access because they didn't pass the examination.

"No student's dream of a college education should be delayed because of an anomaly," Torlakson said, in a prepared statement. "That's why I am working closely with college administrators and the Legislature to remedy the situation and assistance these students stay on runway for higher."

He noted that SB 172 was "making its way through the Legislative process," but didn't mention that information technology would not get into effect until Jan, if information technology passes.

Tom Torlakson

Tom Torlakson

"With the legislation to suspend the California High School Exit Exam progressing, the $11-million­-a­-year contract to administer the test was not renewed, and therefore the July test was not offered equally in past years," according to Torlakson'southward news release.

But others appeared to arraign Torlakson and his section. Attorney General Kamala Harris called the decision to cancel the test "a thoughtless bureaucratic blunder" in an Aug. 14 statement.

"This oversight creates real and firsthand harm for these students," she said.

A San Francisco district news release pointed out that Torlakson cancelled the test before SB 172 was considered by the Senate, "leaving many seniors without an additional opportunity to obtain a high school diploma."

Several Republican legislators also asked for accountability, saying they don't desire to do away with testing and this contract controversy should accept been anticipated well in advance.

The California Land University system announced last week that it would non plow away applicants who met all other graduation requirements except for passing the exit exam. In improver, the state Department of Education decided not to penalize districts that defied land law past granting diplomas to students in the class of 2022 who met all other graduation requirements, said Communications Director Bill Ainsworth in an electronic mail.

Ainsworth said it would have price nigh $ii meg to administer the July test. However, he noted that the Department of General Services prohibited the extension of the exam contract by instead requiring new Asking for Proposals for the test.

The land informed schools on June i that the July test would be cancelled, causing frustration not only for students in the grade of 2015, only also for those from previous years who accept met all graduation requirements except for passing the examination. At present that those in the class of 2022 tin receive diplomas, many students who have been trying for years to pass are wondering whether they can receive the same exemption.

Monica Billy, whose daughter didn't pass the exam in 2014, merely met all other graduation requirements, has taken her pleas for an exemption to the land Department of Education. Her daughter, she said, can't get federal fiscal help to attend community higher without a diploma.

Some teaching section officials told her the Legislature might address all students who oasis't passed the exam in SB 172. Deputy Superintendent Keric Ashley said the bill is nevertheless being amended.

"In the meantime," he said, "the California Department of Education is having our contractor prepare to offer the next administration of CAHSEE in Nov, if the beak is unsuccessful."

Audio interviews recorded and edited last calendar week by Matt Levin.

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