AB 271

This bill creates a grant program for recovery high schools. The bill defines a

recovery high school as a public, private, or tribal school operating only high school

grades that 1) is specifically designed for pupils in recovery from a substance use

disorder or a mental health disorder that coexists with a substance use disorder, 2)

awards high school credits that count towards a high school diploma awarded by the

school or high school credits that will transfer and count towards a high school

diploma awarded by a school district, and 3) is located in a physical location that is

separate from any other public, private, or tribal school. Under the bill, to be eligible

for a grant, a recovery high school must meet the following criteria:

1. The recovery high school must be governed by a governing board of no fewer

than five members.

2. The recovery high school must limit its enrollment to no more than 10, 20,

or 30 pupils, depending on the number of years that the recovery high school has been

in operation.

3. The recovery high school must employ a director who is responsible for the

recovery school's daily operations.

4. If the recovery high school is a private school, the private school is a nonprofit

organization.

5. The recovery high school provides evidence that it has at least one other

source of funding to support its operations.

6. The recovery high school requires prospective pupils to apply and conditions

eligibility for enrollment on the following: that pupil desires to be sober; that the

pupil commits to attend the recovery high school daily; that the pupil consents to

weekly drug testing; and that the pupil agrees to a 30-day probationary period at the

end of which the pupil's enrollment may be terminated.

The bill requires the Department of Public Instruction to annually award a

grant in the amount of $500,000 to each recovery high school that applies to DPI and

meets the eligibility requirements listed above. If in any fiscal year the amount

appropriated for this purpose is insufficient to pay the full amount of the grant to all

eligible recovery high schools, DPI must prorate the amount of the grants among the

eligible recovery high schools. Under the bill, if a recovery high school closes during

a school year during which it receives a grant, the recovery high school is required

to return any unused grant proceeds to DPI.

Finally, the bill requires a recovery high school that receives a grant to report

various information to DPI by August 1 following the school year in which the

recovery high school received the grant. The information a recovery high school is

required to report includes an independent financial audit of the recovery high school

conducted by an independent certified public accountant and a written report on the

recovery high school's operations in the previous school year.