CHAPTER 2. Required Courses of Study [51200. - 51284.5.]

Chapter 2 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010.

§§ 51200–51284.5 · 95 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 51200–51206.4 · 8 sections

   • § 51200 Except as otherwise provided, the provisions contained in this chapter are the requirements for courses of study in grades 1 through 12.
   • § 51202 The adopted course of study shall provide instruction at the appropriate elementary and secondary grade levels and subject areas in personal and public safety…
   • § 51203 (a) Instruction upon the nature of alcohol, narcotics, restricted dangerous drugs as defined in Section 11032 of the Health and Safety Code, and other…
   • § 51204 Any course of study adopted pursuant to this division shall be designed to fit the needs of the pupils for which the course of study is prescribed.
   • § 51204.5 Instruction in social sciences shall include the early history of California and a study of the role and contributions of people of all genders, Native…
   • § 51205 Pupils enrolled in a year-round school pursuant to Part 22 (commencing with Section 37000) shall have access, as necessary, to an equal educational opportunity…
   • § 51206 The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the physical fitness and motor development of children in the public elementary schools is of equal importance…
   • § 51206.4 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Digital citizenship” means a diverse set of skills related to current…
2. ARTICLE 2. Course of Study, Grades 1 to 6 §§ 51210–51212 · 8 sections

   • § 51210 (a) The adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall include instruction, beginning in grade 1 and continuing through grade 6, in the following…
   • § 51210.1 (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (A) The Education Code currently mandates 200 minutes of physical education every 10…
   • § 51210.2 (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the physical fitness and motor development of children in the public elementary schools is of equal…
   • § 51210.3 (a) The governing board of a school district may designate a credentialed teacher at each elementary school as a science coach, or provide staff development to…
   • § 51210.4 The State Department of Education shall incorporate nutrition education curriculum content into the health curriculum framework at its next revision. This…
   • § 51210.5 The instruction in all areas of study specified in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive, of Section 51210 as deemed appropriate by the governing board and…
   • § 51210.8 (a) On or before March 1, 2008, based on recommendations of the Superintendent, the State Board of Education shall adopt content standards in the curriculum…
   • § 51212 It is the intent and purpose of the Legislature to encourage the establishment of programs of instruction in world language, with instruction beginning as…
3. ARTICLE 3. Courses of Study, Grades 7 to 12 §§ 51220–51230 · 54 sections

   • § 51220 The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of study: (a) English, including knowledge of and…
   • § 51220.1 In addition to the requirements specified in subdivision (j) of Section 51220, automobile driver education shall be designed to develop a knowledge of the…
   • § 51220.2 (a) For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 51220, “instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice…
   • § 51220.3 The instruction in all areas of study specified in subdivisions (a) to (j), inclusive, of Section 51220 as deemed appropriate by the governing board and…
   • § 51220.4 For purposes of subdivision (j) of Section 51220, a course in automobile driver education shall include, but is not limited to, both of the following: (a)…
   • § 51220.5 (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) The family is our most fundamental social institution and the means by which we care for, prepare,…
   • § 51220.6 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a private school is not required to offer courses in driver education or driver training. (b) This section…
   • § 51221 Instruction required by subdivision (b) of Section 51220 in the area of study of social sciences shall also provide a foundation for understanding the wise use…
   • § 51221.1 (a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Collaborative” means the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide…
   • § 51221.2 (a) (1) The department shall issue a notice to all local educational agencies serving pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, clarifying that social…
   • § 51221.3 (a) Instruction in the area of social sciences, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220, may include instruction on World War II and the…
   • § 51221.4 (a) The Legislature encourages instruction in the area of social sciences, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220, which may include…
   • § 51221.5 For the purposes of this code, the phrase “vocational-technical education” shall have the same meaning as “career technical education” as described in…
   • § 51222 (a) All pupils, except pupils excused or exempted pursuant to Section 51241, shall be required to attend upon the courses of physical education for a total…
   • § 51223 (a) Notwithstanding Sections 51210 and 51222, instruction in physical education in an elementary school maintaining any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, shall be…
   • § 51223.3 (a) During the first revision of the physical education framework that occurs on or after January 1, 2011, the state board and the Curriculum Development and…
   • § 51224 The governing board of any school district maintaining a high school shall prescribe courses of study designed to provide the skills and knowledge required for…
   • § 51224.5 (a) The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall include algebra as part of the mathematics area of study pursuant to subdivision (f) of…
   • § 51224.7 (a) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015. (b) Governing boards or bodies of local educational…
   • § 51225 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Governing body” means the governing board of a school district, the governing body of a…
   • § 51225.1 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a local educational agency, as defined in subdivision (t), shall exempt a pupil in foster care, as defined in subdivision…
   • § 51225.2 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Former juvenile court school pupil” means a pupil who, upon completion of the pupil’s…
   • § 51225.25 (a) A “pupil participating in a newcomer program,” as defined in Section 51225.2, as that section read on January 1, 2023, who was enrolled before January 1,…
   • § 51225.3 (a) A pupil shall complete all of the following while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school: (1) At least…
   • § 51225.31 (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a local educational agency shall exempt an individual with exceptional needs who satisfies the eligibility criteria…
   • § 51225.32 (a) (1) A local educational agency may exempt an individual with exceptional needs who was enrolled in grade 10 or higher in the 2022–23 school year, and who,…
   • § 51225.33 (a) (1) For the 2026–27 fiscal year, the Sacramento County Office of Education shall utilize the finding appropriated in Item 6100-488 of Section 2.0 of the…
   • § 51225.35 (a) (1) If the governing board of a school district requires more than two courses in mathematics for graduation from high school, the governing board of the…
   • § 51225.36 (a) If the governing board of a school district requires a course in health education for graduation from high school, the governing board of the school…
   • § 51225.37 The department shall encourage the governing board of each school district, and the governing body of each charter school, whose schools offer world language…
   • § 51225.38 (a) If the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school requires a course in health education for graduation from high…
   • § 51225.4 The governing board of each elementary school district shall certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it has adopted a policy to implement a…
   • § 51225.5 (a) (1) The governing board of a school district maintaining a high school may confer honorary high school diplomas upon foreign exchange students from other…
   • § 51225.6 (a) If the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school requires a course in health education for graduation from high…
   • § 51225.7 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or…
   • § 51225.8 (a) Commencing with the 2020–21 school year, the governing board of a school district and the governing body of a charter school, as appropriate, shall ensure…
   • § 51225.9 Notwithstanding any other law, if a pupil completed a career technical education course, between July 1, 2022, and the effective date of this section, that met…
   • § 51226 The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall coordinate the development, on a cyclical basis, of model curriculum standards for the course of study required…
   • § 51226.1 (a) Upon adoption of the model curriculum standards developed pursuant to Section 51226, the Superintendent shall develop a curriculum framework consistent…
   • § 51226.2 The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall inform county offices of education and each school district that maintains any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, of…
   • § 51226.3 (a) (1) The department shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by…
   • § 51226.4 Pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51226.3, the Legislature encourages all of the following: (a) Instruction in the origins of genocide as a phenomenon…
   • § 51226.5 (a) No later than January 1, 1991, the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall establish a list of…
   • § 51226.6 (a) The State Department of Education shall develop and adopt a model curriculum framework for driver education and training that incorporates the rules and…
   • § 51226.7 (a) The Instructional Quality Commission shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies to ensure…
   • § 51226.8 (a) The Instructional Quality Commission shall develop and recommend to the state board, for consideration and adoption by the state board, a curriculum guide…
   • § 51226.9 (a) (1) The department shall, no later than June 1, 2022, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, use…
   • § 51227.3 (a) The Instructional Quality Commission shall ensure that the environmental principles and concepts developed pursuant to Section 71301 of the Public…
   • § 51228 (a) Each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study…
   • § 51228.1 (a) Commencing with the 2016–17 school year, except as provided in subdivision (e), a school district maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall not…
   • § 51228.2 (a) Commencing with the 2016–17 school year, except as provided in subdivision (d), a school district maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall not…
   • § 51228.3 (a) A complaint of noncompliance with the requirements of Section 51228.1 or 51228.2 may be filed with the local educational agency under the Uniform Complaint…
   • § 51229 (a) Each school year, as part of the annual notification required pursuant to Section 48980, a school district offering any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall…
   • § 51230 (a) If the governing board of a school district requires the completion of community service hours as a requirement for graduation from high school, the school…
4. ARTICLE 4. Exemptions from Requirements §§ 51240–51246 · 8 sections

   • § 51240 (a) If any part of a school’s instruction in health conflicts with the religious training and beliefs of a parent or guardian of a pupil, the pupil, upon…
   • § 51240.5 (a) A pupil in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, shall be granted an accommodation in connection with any physical activity components of a…
   • § 51241 (a) The governing board of a school district or the office of the county superintendent of schools of a county may grant a temporary exemption to a pupil from…
   • § 51242 The governing board of a school district may exempt any four-year or senior high school pupil from attending courses of physical education, if the pupil is…
   • § 51243 Credit shall be given for purposes of the course of study requirements prescribed by school district governing boards or other authorities having jurisdiction…
   • § 51244 The provisions of Section 51243 giving credit for world language courses given in private schools shall apply to courses in the following languages: Chinese,…
   • § 51245 For purposes of the credit that may be given pursuant to Sections 51243 and 51244 for world language courses undertaken in private schools, it shall not be…
   • § 51246 The governing board of a school district may exempt any pupil enrolled in his last semester or quarter, as the case may be, of the 12th grade who, pursuant to…
5. ARTICLE 4.5. Schoolage Military Dependents §§ 51250–51251 · 2 sections

   • § 51250 The department shall establish a formal liaison with the United States Department of Defense and school districts and county offices of education that enroll…
   • § 51251 (a) A governing board of a school district and a county office of education may undertake any or all of the following in order to properly address the needs of…
6. ARTICLE 4.6. California Purple Star School Designation Program § 51255 · 1 section

   • § 51255 (a) The department shall establish a nonmonetary California Purple Star School Designation Program pursuant to this article in order to achieve both of the…
7. ARTICLE 5. Drug Education §§ 51260–51269 · 10 sections

   • § 51260 (a) Instruction shall be given in the elementary and secondary schools by appropriately trained instructors on drug education and the effects of the use of…
   • § 51261 Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 44227 and 44228, the State Board of Education shall not accredit any teacher education institution for teacher…
   • § 51262 The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the use of anabolic steroids to expedite the physical development and to enhance the performance level of…
   • § 51263 The State Department of Education shall make available information on model drug and alcohol abuse prevention education programs developed and funded pursuant…
   • § 51264 (a) The State Department of Education shall prepare and distribute to school districts and county offices of education guidelines for incorporating in-service…
   • § 51265 It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts and county offices of education give high priority to gang violence and drug and alcohol abuse…
   • § 51266 (a) The Office of Emergency Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, shall develop a model gang violence suppression and substance…
   • § 51266.5 The Rural Gang Task Force Subcommittee provided for by subdivision (g) of Section 13826.1 of the Penal Code, in collaboration with the Gang Violence…
   • § 51268 The State Department of Education shall encourage school districts and county offices of education to avoid duplication of efforts with regard to education…
   • § 51269 (a) The State Department of Education shall collaborate, to the extent possible, with other state agencies that administer drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse…
8. ARTICLE 6. Primary Education Model Curriculum for Lifelong Health, Aging, and Financial Literacy §§ 51280–51284.5 · 4 sections

   • § 51280 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) There are profound personal and financial implications for Californians associated with the…
   • § 51282 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish educational requirements in order to instill in California’s youth a sense of…
   • § 51284 Concurrently with, but not prior to, the next revision of textbooks or curriculum frameworks in the social sciences, health, and mathematics curricula, the…
   • § 51284.5 Notwithstanding Section 51284, when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised after January 1, 2017, the Instructional Quality Commission…