The Hart Act, recently adopted by the state of California, mandates that school districts establish mechanisms of assessing minimal competencies in secondary education before students may receive a diploma. In this report, assemblyman Gary Hart, the bill's author, and Don McKinley, chief deputy to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, discuss the implications of the Hart Act and graduation and competency standards in general. Issues discussed include the possible de facto segregation of minorities into remedial classes and the treatment of learning handicapped students. Hart stresses that the bill offers mostly recommendations and suggestions to school districts to identify students that need help in meeting minimal competencies. (Author/MLF)