40,000 could get high school diplomas under bill sent to Jerry Brown

Diplomas for students who didn't pass California's high school exit exam sit in a locked drawer in Principal Julie Kessler's office at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015. less Diplomas for students who didn't pass California's high school exit exam sit in a locked drawer in Principal Julie Kessler's office at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco, California, on ... more Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 40,000 could get high school diplomas under bill sent to Jerry Brown 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

SACRAMENTO — An estimated 40,000 former high school students would receive their diplomas under a bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill was approved 23-14 Thursday by the Senate during the final rush of the state Legislature, which has until Friday to send legislation to Brown.

Under SB172 students who failed the California High School Exit Exam since it debuted in 2006 would be eligible to receive their diplomas if they met all other graduation requirements. The bill, which is supported by the California Department of Education, also suspends the Exit Exam for the next three years while the state considers updating it to reflect the Common Core standards now being taught.

“We cannot in good conscious continue a graduation requirement that no one can meet,” said bill author Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge. “SB172 does not permanently eliminate the Exit Exam ... it simply suspends the requirement to pass the Exit Exam while the issues are being studied.”

A different bill signed into law last month by Brown retroactively awards diplomas only to students from the class of 2015 who had met all other graduation requirements but had not passed the Exit Exam, which was canceled in July by the state over concerns that it was outdated.

Republicans voted against the bill, saying the test is needed to ensure students are meeting minimum proficiency requirements.

“It is not that rigorous,” said Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, who voted against the bill. “At least it’s something that we have a measure that they met some educational requirements. I think it’s a dumb move.”

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez