48980-48985
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 48980-48985
48980. (a) At the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term, the governing board of each school district shall notify the parent or guardian of a minor pupil regarding the right or responsibility of the parent or guardian under Sections 35291, 46014, 48205, 48207, 48208, 49403, 49423, 49451, 49472, and 51938 and Chapter 2.3 (commencing with Section 32255) of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1. (b) The notification also shall advise the parent or guardian of the availability of individualized instruction as prescribed by Section 48206.3, and of the program prescribed by Article 9 (commencing with Section 49510) of Chapter 9. (c) The notification also shall advise the parents and guardians of all pupils attending a school within the school district of the schedule of minimum days and pupil-free staff development days, and if minimum or pupil-free staff development days are scheduled thereafter, the governing board of the district shall notify parents and guardians of the affected pupils as early as possible, but not later than one month before the scheduled minimum or pupil-free day. (d) The notification also may advise the parent or guardian of the importance of investing for future college or university education for their children and of considering appropriate investment options, including, but not limited to, United States savings bonds. (e) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the pupil that each pupil completing grade 12 is required to successfully pass the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 60850) of Part 33. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the date of the examination, the requirements for passing the examination, and shall inform the parents and guardians regarding the consequences of not passing the examination and shall inform parents and guardians that passing the examination is a condition of graduation. (f) Each school district that elects to provide a fingerprinting program pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 32390) of Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 shall inform parents or guardians of the program as specified in Section 32390. (g) The notification also shall include a copy of the written policy of the school district on sexual harassment established pursuant to Section 231.5, as it relates to pupils. (h) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of all existing statutory attendance options and local attendance options available in the school district. This notification component shall include all options for meeting residency requirements for school attendance, programmatic options offered within the local attendance areas, and any special programmatic options available on both an interdistrict and intradistrict basis. This notification component also shall include a description of all options, a description of the procedure for application for alternative attendance areas or programs, an application form from the district for requesting a change of attendance, and a description of the appeals process available, if any, for a parent or guardian denied a change of attendance. The notification component also shall include an explanation of the existing statutory attendance options, including, but not limited to, those available under Section 35160.5, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 46600) of Part 26, and subdivision (b) of Section 48204. The department shall produce this portion of the notification and shall distribute it to all school districts. (i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing board of each school district annually review the enrollment options available to the pupils within its district and that the districts strive to make available enrollment options that meet the diverse needs, potential, and interests of the pupils of California. (j) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian that a pupil shall not have his or her grade reduced or lose academic credit for any absence or absences excused pursuant to Section 48205 if missed assignments and tests that can reasonably be provided are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time, and shall include the full text of Section 48205. (k) The notification shall advise the parent or guardian of the availability of state funds to cover the costs of advanced placement examination fees pursuant to Section 52244. (l) The notification to the parent or guardian of a minor pupil enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, also shall include the information required pursuant to Section 51229. 48980.3. The notification required pursuant to Section 48980 shall include information regarding pesticide products as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 17612. 48981. The notice shall be sent at the time of registration for the first semester or quarter of the regular school term. The notice may be sent by regular mail or by any other method normally used to communicate with the parents or guardians in writing. 48982. The notice shall be signed by the parent or guardian and returned to the school. Signature of the notice is an acknowledgment by the parent or guardian that he has been informed of his rights but does not indicate that consent to participate in any particular program has either been given or withheld. 48983. If any activity covered by the sections set forth in Section 48980 will be undertaken by the school during the forthcoming school term, the notice shall state that fact and shall also state the approximate date upon which any of such activities will occur. 48984. No school district shall undertake any activity covered by the sections set forth in Section 48980 with respect to any particular pupil unless the parent or guardian has been informed of such action pursuant to this article or has received separate special notification. 48985. (a) If 15 percent or more of the pupils enrolled in a public school that provides instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, speak a single primary language other than English, as determined from the census data submitted to the department pursuant to Section 52164 in the preceding year, all notices, reports, statements, or records sent to the parent or guardian of any such pupil by the school or school district shall, in addition to being written in English, be written in the primary language, and may be responded to either in English or the primary language. (b) Pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64001, the department shall monitor adherence to the requirements of subdivision (a) as part of its regular monitoring and review of public schools and school districts, commonly known as the Categorical Program Monitoring process, and shall determine the types of documents and languages a school district translates to a primary language other than English, the availability of these documents to parents or guardians who speak a primary language other than English, and the gaps in translations of these documents. (c) Based on census data submitted to the department pursuant to Section 52164 in the preceding fiscal year, the department shall notify a school district, by August 1 of each year, of the schools within the school district, and the primary language other than English, for which the translation of documents is required pursuant to subdivision (a). The department shall make that notification using electronic methods. (d) The department shall use existing resources to comply with subdivisions (b) and (c).