District outlines new alternate-diploma pathway for students with significant cognitive disabilities
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Summary
District special-education staff presented an alternate pathway aligned with AB 181, SB 114, SB 141 and SB 153 that allows eligible students who take the California Alternate Assessment (CAA) to earn a regular high-school diploma under team-determined criteria; trustees asked about eligibility, safeguards and counts.
Director of Special Education Delia Casillas and colleagues presented the Special Education Alternate Pathway to a diploma required by state law, explaining who qualifies, how eligibility is decided and how the pathway aligns with postsecondary and employment opportunities.
Casillas said the pathway exists under state legislation (AB 181, SB 114, SB 141, SB 153). Eligible students who take the California Alternate Assessment (CAA) may earn a regular diploma by meeting statewide minimum requirements; districts may require additional local credits. The district’s team-based process (IEP team, school psychologists, counselors, case managers, principals and teachers) decides eligibility rather than a single individual. Casillas said the pathway may adjust certain elective-credit requirements and remove a year of math for some students while preserving a traditional diploma and emphasizing postsecondary options such as community college, internships and employment supports.
Trustees pressed on safeguards. Casillas and staff said the alternate pathway is individualized through the IEP process; students still have to meet goals specified in their IEPs and may be required to demonstrate competencies in work-based learning, CTE completion, tutoring and counseling. The director estimated approximately 257 students in the district have active IEPs and suggested about 10% of that population might be appropriate for the alternate pathway over time, though staff said exact eligibility will be determined case-by-case.
Board members raised concerns about recognition and awards: whether students on alternate pathways would be eligible for certain principal’s awards or other honors. Staff said course grading and awards practices are not changed by the pathway and that districts may design recognition opportunities to be equitable.
Casillas said the district has started steps to implement the pathway and will return with specific procedures, criteria, and an approval timeline or board action as needed.