AP Classes for California High School Students
Education bill to provide grants for AP classes passes the state Senate; Assembly votes next
By Tom Lee

If the state Assembly passes a bill just approved by the Senate, soon every high school student in California will have access to Advanced Placement (AP) classes, an option previously not available to many lower-income schools.

Last week the state Senate voted in favor of one of six education reform bills in Governor Gray Davis’ 2000-2001 reform package. Authored by Martha Escutia (D-Montebello), Senate Bill 1504 would extend the AP program to California high schools, providing all students with a chance to take challenging courses.

AP courses are advanced honors classes designed for high school students who want to do college level work. At the completion of the course, students can choose to take an AP exam covering the subject of the course. If they pass the test with a satisfactory mark, the students can earn college-credit units, enabling them to opt out of introductory courses in college.

Currently 253 high schools in California offer three or fewer AP courses. It is Davis’ intent that by fall 2000, all high schools in California will have one AP course and by fall 2001, every student in California will have access to at least four AP courses.

“The Governor feels very strongly that every student who wants to take advanced courses should have the opportunity. It will raise expectations of California high schools and students,” said Ann Bancroft, spokesperson for the interim Secretary for Education Susan K. Burr. “The Governor does not want any child to be left behind.”

Davis allotted $29.5 million in the 2000-2001 budget for the bill. Of that money, $16.5 million would be used as grants for 550 high schools to start and maintain AP programs. The cost would include professional development, training teachers, tutorial services for students, as well as books, equipment, and instructional materials required of AP courses. The grants would be distributed over a four-year period in decreasing amounts with each high school receiving $30,000 the first year and $7,500 the fourth year.

According to Bancroft, the grants would be given to high schools on a need-based system, with first priority going to schools without any AP programs. Second priority would go to schools without math and science AP courses and then to campuses with low college participation rates. Next in line for the grants would be schools in which the majority of students are on reduced or subsidized lunch programs.

Schools with an already established AP program could benefit by having their curriculum expanded. “It gives a broader spectrum of classes students could take, maybe even expanding into foreign languages,” said Kamille Morishige, principal of San Francisco’s Washington High School, which offers some 20 AP courses, one of the largest AP programs in the Bay Area. At Washington High School, the AP program is largely externally funded by other sources because the AP curriculum and books differ from the ones adopted by the district. But the Senate bill would make it a little bit easier to obtain funding.

“In some extent it would be the same kids taking more AP courses but it would also prepare other students so that they can have the opportunity to take an AP course senior or junior year,” Morishige said.

The bill would also provide $5 million to the Advancement Via Individualism Determination (AVID) program to mentor and prepare students from middle school on. The funding would help develop pre-Advanced Placement programs in junior highs to prepare students for AP courses.

The remaining $8 million of the budget would go to the University of California for the development of AP courses online. These classes, most of which will be math and science courses, will aid students living in rural areas.

“Small schools have no capacity to offer a whole menu of enriched courses for their students. Online courses give more opportunities for students, especially in rural areas or schools with low numbers of students,” said Bancroft.

While the bill is not a reaction to the ban on affirmative action in the University of California system’s admissions process, it does offer underrepresented minorities from more disadvantaged schools a chance to gain access to some of the privileges afforded better-funded schools. “It would benefit students from low social-economic backgrounds who would otherwise not necessarily be pushed to that level,” said Bancroft. “It would prepare students from low-income schools who have the capacity but not the opportunity to participate in AP classes.”

Morishige agreed: “It would in some ways level the playing field for students in low-income neighborhoods.”