Sounds like this is a CA public. Please read @Gumbymom comment again.
Is there some reason why this grade is going to happen? I would want to know why, and see if perhaps some private tutoring might help.
@thumper1 they have done that.
I see that now about the tutor.
At this point, this student needs to reach out anyway they can for help. Some HS teachers have special study groups. Most have after school or before school times when students can meet with them to ask questions.
Is the tutor helping this student figure out why his grades are lower? Because that is key.
I have already addressed this issue with OP on the CSU Fullerton discussion thread. Hopefully everything works out and the D becomes a C or higher.
Each CSU will decide on a case by case basis. For some less impacted Cal states, they will still not rescind the applicant for anything less than a C grade except Failing an English class (4 years is a CSU hard requirement).
Since CSUF is an impacted campus, I highly recommend contacting admissions if he does end up with any grade less than a C-. It will be up to them to decide how to proceed and being proactive is in the best interests of the student.
Fulfilling the A-G course requirements is fine but does not exclude students from not completing their planned Senior classes with grades comparable to their overall performance, after all the student was admitted based on his current HS record and the strength of his planned Senior year courses.
I have seen acceptances rescinded for D and F grades before, so I would suggest tutoring or asking the teacher for extra credit/help to get that grade up to a C.
Edited: Just a warning that many schools will state they cannot make a decision until they see the final transcripts (due in July) which in most cases is too late to have a backup plan in place.
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Thank you all for the input. Luckily we have found a tutor who used to be an AP Physics teacher. He thinks that my sonās teacherās teaching/testing/grading method is unusual and her lack of support to him is not right. But on the bright side, the tutor feels he can effectively help. Also, I emailed his teacher yesterday requesting a meeting to discuss how we can help my son succeed. She still hasnāt respondedā¦ but I will keep trying. This is all new to me because Iāve never had to get involved in my kidsā school stuff.
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Some colleges wonāt let you put down a housing deposit without accepting the offer. In any event, waitlisted applicants wonāt see any movement before May 1. I do not advocate this at all to be clear.
I hope this works out. I think because AP Physics is not a required/core course, a D wonāt be the end of the world. I do not have first have knowledge of the schools your son has applied to but many schools do not consider final year grades as long as the student graduates and turns in a final transcript showing that.
In OPās sons case, CSUF admits a student as āconditionalā meaning they need to meet all admission requirements. Since CSUF is an impacted campuses that means that all a-g Senior courses need to be completed with an acceptable grade of C-.
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Would you say this applies to making deposits on housing for two schools before May 1? Iām worried now, because we did this. Obviously, weāll be canceling one before that day, but right now I wanted to get in the queue for two public universities. One of them required us to accept their offer, but itās not binding. The other let me sign up for housing before deciding.
ETA: Weāll cancel the non-binding acceptance far enough ahead if he is not choosing that school.
It doesnāt apply to non-binding deposits on housing. Only to enrollment deposits.
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By putting housing deposits in for these schools, did he also have to enroll? As long as he is not enrolled at 2 schools, that should be fine if you withdraw 1 deposit before May 1. I would call the schoolās to confirm if there is an issue.
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Is his teacher aware of what is riding on the grade? Before anyone jumps on this question, I am not suggesting that it be inflated to allow him to pass, but I am suggesting that the teacher might want to have context for why he is so stressed over it and why he might seem desperate. Sometimes when a student is stressed, the relationship with the teacher gets strained because they have no context for the kidās life.
Not the same situation, but something similar happened to us this year, with my son (also a senior) heading toward getting the lowest grade heād ever gotten in his career in AP Spanish. At the time, his father was suffering from an extremely painful condition, and I can only describe our life as traumatic. I spoke to his Spanish teacher, and it gave her some understanding of why he was suddenly was so stressed and late with material. She worked with him, with the understanding that he had such pressure on his head and his heart.
I wish your son the best. Iām rooting for him.
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Iām not sure what enroll technically means. He had to accept University of Coloradoās offer of admission (which is non-binding and did not require any deposit) so that we could sign a housing contract (also non-binding and did not require a deposit). There is only one dorm at the campus heās going to, and the school is a real contender for us, so I was very concerned about getting in the queue.
At the same time, I put a deposit down for housing only, not tuition, at University of North Texas. We did not accept their offer of admission yet, because heās still auditioning for the music school. If he does not choose UNT, weāll cancel the housing and get most of the money back.
Now, Iām wondering if I should read the UNT materials very carefully one more time and make sure that I did not put down a tuition deposit. My son did not hit āacceptā admission anywhere in the portal, nor did we sign anything.
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How about the kid is on the waitlist? A lot of waitlist decisions are not coming out before May 1 but is it ok to put a deposit on one of the admitted school?
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It is acceptable to put a deposit on a school while waiting for the result of a wait list. The kid needs to be sure they have a place somewhere.
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While I agree that itās unethical to deposit at two schools, you should know that colleges are aware it happens. At my college, we actually bake it into our predictions for the incoming class. There is always movement in first-year enrollment from May-August for various reasonsāand that includes double depositing. We term the loss of students after deposits āsummer melt.ā We donāt chastise students who commit in the RD round and back out in the summer, though we may reach out to see why they changed their mind.
So while Iām not encouraging anyone to do it, colleges realize it happens. Unfortunately, double depositing not as uncommon as you might think.
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Thatās totally fine. Itās not double depositing since you canāt deposit on the waitlist school anyway. And schools know that there will be waitlist movement in the summer.
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You can deposit more than one place for housing but not for admission.
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Thank you for sharing what you know about āsummer meltā. Iāve heard about the term āmeltā and that schools expect it. That is why I asked for advice on the topic. I wasnāt sure if melt came from students that accepted two offers, or if it was from students who merely chose to postpone college for other reasons. I donāt want to give my son the wrong advice. 
Just as a reference, he has been accepted to both Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge for mechanical engineering. He thinks Fullerton may rescind the offer because they are impacted, but he thinks maybe Northridge would be ok because they are not impacted. Thatās why he is wondering if itās ok to accept both and hedge his risk. But it sounds like that is not an option, so we will have to make community college our back up plan. Hopefully community college still accepts students applications in the summer because we probably wonāt know if his offer is rescinded until then. 
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