Assembly Bill 104 Saves Student Grades

Students who were unsatisfied with their grades in the 2020-2021 school year were offered some help with them through Assembly Bill 104. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 104 which aids students that have received low grades to change them from a letter to either pass or no pass.

The past school year provided students with many obstacles and drawbacks in their education which caused students to end up with unsatisfactory grades. The difficulties of the previous year were a result of distance learning and having to do school from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Assembly Bill 104 applies to all students who wish to utilize it from kindergarten through 11th grade. Students can decide to use this depending on what criteria they are a part of or what they decide is the best choice for them. Students were able to submit a grade change form in which they could change any of their letter grades from A through D into a pass or no pass.

There is no limit to the number of grades you can make into a pass or no pass and making the choice to do that wouldn’t negatively affect a student’s GPA. Choosing this option could also affect college acceptance because although some colleges, including California State University (CSU), accept pass or no pass grades, there are other colleges that might not. The deadline to submit a grade change was August 17, 2021.

The decision to make a grade change could differ depending on the student and their situation and grades. 

“If a student has a C or higher I do not recommend the pass or no pass option as these are passing grades. I also defer to families to make a decision they feel is best for them,” said counselor Portia Atcherson.