(a) Juvenile court schools shall be conducted in a manner as shall be prescribed by the county board of education to best accomplish the provisions of Section 48645. The minimum schoolday shall be 240 minutes. Minimum schooldays shall be calculated on the basis of the average number of minutes of attendance during not more than 10 consecutive days in which classes are conducted. The minimum schoolday for pupils in attendance in approved vocational education programs, work programs prescribed by the probation department pursuant to Section 883 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and work experience programs shall be 180 minutes, which shall be calculated on the basis of the average number of minutes of attendance during not more than 10 consecutive days in which classes are conducted. The county board of education shall adopt and enforce a course of study and evaluate its program in accordance with Sections 51040, 51041, 51050, and 51054 and the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 51200) to Article 3 (commencing with Section 51220), inclusive, of Chapter 2 of Part 28, except subdivision (c) of Section 51220.

(b) Juvenile court schools shall not be closed on any weekday of the calendar year, except those weekdays adopted by the county board of education as school holidays or set aside by the county board of education for inservice purposes. However, the county board of education may close juvenile court schools when it deems the closing is necessary to accommodate contingencies.

(c) (1) The county board of education may adopt and enforce a course of study that enhances instruction in mathematics and English language arts for pupils attending juvenile court schools, as determined by statewide assessments or objective local evaluations and assessments as approved by the county superintendent of schools.

(2) The enhanced course of study adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall meet the standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8, as appropriate, and shall be tailored to meet the needs of the individual pupil to increase the pupil’s academic literacy and reading fluency.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that pupils in juvenile court schools have a rigorous curriculum that includes a course of study preparing them for high school graduation and career entry and fulfilling the requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 754, Sec. 1. (AB 1124) Effective January 1, 2018.)