Posted on 05/26/2006 1:14:10 PM PDT by SmithL
Students suing over the high school exit exam made a last-minute plea to an appeals court Thursday, asking the justices to decide the fight over 2006 diplomas before the bulk of graduation ceremonies begin around the state.
Acting on orders from the state Supreme Court, the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Thursday morning had set oral arguments on the test for July 25. Arturo Gonzalez, a lawyer representing students challenging the exam, then asked the appeals court for quicker action.
In judicial terms, the July 25 date places the exit exam in a high-priority position. The court hears oral arguments only twice a month, said Susan Graham, assistant clerk administrator for the court.
However, the date falls more than a month after most high school seniors will have walked the stage.
"The Supreme Court asked them to set an expedited hearing, and they did that. But they did it without a whole lot of thought to graduations," Gonzalez said.
If the appeals court sticks with its set timetable, nearly 47,000 students who have failed the test at last count would not be able to graduate with their classmates.
The Legislature approved the test in 1999 as a means to ensure high school graduates master sophomore English and eighth-grade math. This is the first year the test is being enforced as a graduation requirement.
Ten students, including five from Richmond High School, sued the state in February claiming that the test discriminated against poor and minority students less likely to have qualified teachers and adequate supplies.
Earlier this month, Alameda Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman sided with the students and granted a preliminary injunction that suspended the state from denying diplomas to students for flunking the exam. The Supreme Court reinstated the test Wednesday by staying Freedman's ruling.
Sue or study?
Where is the payoff?
Sit it out. Don't do your homework. You will graduate!
I once discussed this issue with a very Liberal friend of my nephew and a recent graduate of UC Berkley. He felt that it just wasn't fair that some students had trouble graduating from high school because it so limited their opportunities. I waited until the next morning and told him that I had been thinking about what he said, and had come up with a solution. I suggested that we just give everyone a degree from Berkley in order to level the playing field. He bristled and told me that would not be fair to him because he had worked hard for his degree. I just laughed at him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.