• Grade Change Request Form

    On July 1, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill into law. This law is called AB (Assembly Bill) 104.

    AB 104 provides new options to address student learning loss due to COVID-19 school closures and distance learning. AB 104 makes three specific changes to the law. First, AB 104 establishes a new retention request process. Second, AB 104 allows grade changes for high school students. Last, AB 104 provides an exemption to the high school graduation requirement for specific juniors and seniors. Each change is explained below, which needs to be shared with students and parents/caregivers/families.

    Retention Request Process 

    AB 104 requires schools to set up a retention request process. Retention means that a student will repeat their last grade. This process is only for the 2021-2022 school year.

    If you would like your child to be retained, you must send a written retention request to the school. Your child must have received a D, F, a No Pass, or similar grade in at least half of their classes in the 2020-2021 school year. You cannot submit a retention request for a student who was in twelfth grade in the 2020-2021 school year.

    Once you submit a retention request, the school must hold a meeting. This meeting is called a consultation. This meeting must be held within 30 days of your request. The meeting must include you, your child, an administrator, and a teacher. The team will talk about your retention request. The team must talk about:

    • learning recovery options (this includes specific interventions and supports and access to prior courses in which your child received a D or F letter grade in the 2020-2021 school year, credit recovery, or other support),
    • your child’s academic data,
    • any information on whether retention is in your child’s best interests, including academic and social interests,
    • the research on the effects of retention, and
    • the types of interventions and supports that have been shown to help students.

    The school must make a decision on whether to retain your child within 10 days of this meeting. Any decision to retain must be consistent with your child’s Individualized Education Program.

    If your child is retained, they will repeat the same grade that they were in last year (2020-2021 school year). The school must offer your child extra interventions and supports. If your child is not retained, the school can still offer your child specific interventions and supports. The school can also offer your child access to courses from the 2020-2021 school year that your child received a D or F in, credit recovery, or other supports.

    Grade Changes For High School Students

    AB 104 allows parents/guardians, educational rights holders, or a high school student to apply for a grade change. Grade changes can only be made for high school students. You can request to change a letter grade for a class taken in the 2020-2021 school year. Your request would change the letter grade to a Pass/No Pass grade.

    The school must grant your request. Schools cannot limit the number or type of classes eligible for grade changes. Grade changes cannot negatively affect your child’s grade point average. Grade changes cannot impact a student’s eligibility for state/institutional financial aid. For admission, California State University must accept a transcript with a Pass/No Pass grade for any university applicant who was enrolled in a California high school from the 2020-2021 to 2023-2024 school years.

    Schools must notify families of the grade change option. Schools must post a notice on their websites and provide families with written notice of this option. Once your school does this, you only have 15 days to submit your grade change application to the school. The school must change your child’s transcript. The school must notify you of the grade change within 15 days of receiving the grade change application.

    Exemption to High School Graduation Requirement

    Finally, AB 104 provides an exemption for juniors and seniors in the 2020-2021 school year who are not on track to graduate from high school in four years. These students only have to complete the statewide high school graduation requirements. These students do not have to complete the school’s separate high school graduation requirements. Schools must give these students the opportunity to complete statewide graduation requirements through a fifth year of high school, credit recovery, or another opportunity to complete required coursework.

    You can find the text of AB 104 at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB104

    CLICK LINK TO DOWNLOAD: Grade Change Form