(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that juveniles with a high school diploma or California high school equivalency certificate who are detained in, or committed to, a juvenile hall shall have access to rigorous postsecondary academic and career technical education programs that fulfill the requirements for transfer to the University of California and the California State University and prepare them for career entry, respectively.
(b) (1) A county probation department in collaboration with a county office of education, and in partnership with the California Community Colleges or the California State University, or in voluntary partnership the University of California, shall ensure that juveniles with a high school diploma or California high school equivalency certificate who are detained in, or committed to, a juvenile hall have access to, and can choose to participate in, public postsecondary academic and career technical courses and programs, including courses and programs offered online through asynchronous and synchronous instruction or in-person instruction, and for which they are eligible based on eligibility criteria and course schedules of the in-county, to the extent possible, public postsecondary education campus providing the course or program. County probation departments, in coordination with county offices of education, may use juvenile court school classrooms and computers, in accordance with agreements entered into pursuant to Section 48646 of the Education Code, for the purpose of implementing this section. County probation departments are also encouraged to develop other educational partnerships with local public postsecondary campuses, as is feasible, to provide programs on campus and onsite at the juvenile hall and, to the extent offered by a California community college, the California State University, or the University of California, the probation department, in collaboration with the county office of education, shall ensure that juveniles have access to programs and dual enrollment options offered on campus and onsite at the juvenile hall.
(2) These programs shall be considered part of the current responsibilities of the county probation department to provide and coordinate services for juveniles that enable the juveniles to be law-abiding and productive members of their families and communities.
(c) For purposes of this section, “juvenile” means any person detained in, or committed to, a juvenile hall.
(d) This section does not preclude juvenile court school pupils who have not yet completed their high school graduation requirements from concurrently participating in postsecondary academic and career technical education programs.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 48, Sec. 92. (SB 114) Effective July 10, 2023.)