BILL ANALYSIS
AB 466
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S ITEM VETO
AB 466 (Strom Martin)
As Amended September 10, 2001
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(June 6, 2001) |SENATE: |40-0 |September 12, |
| | | | | |2001 |
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(September 14, | | | |
| | |2001) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Mathematics and Reading Professional
Development Program (MRPDP) to provide school districts, county
offices of education and charter schools with incentive funding
to provide state standards aligned with mathematics and reading
staff development to teachers, instructional aides, and
paraprofessionals. Authorizes, subject to State Board of
Education (SBE) concurrence, the University of California (UC)
to serve teachers in pre-K-12 grades in participating school
districts with these programs, as specified. Requires that the
program sunset on July 1, 2005.
The Senate amendments make the following changes to this bill:
1)Change the timeline for material adoption.
2)Add an annual appropriation of $600,000 to the State
Department of Education (SDE) for costs associated with
administering the program.
3)Add the requirement that MRPDP acquaint teachers with the
value and diagnostic nature of standardized tests.
4)Expand the grade levels to pre-K- 12 grades that will be
authorized to participate in MRPDP and the California
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Professional Development Institutes (CPDIs).
5)Authorize local education agencies that participate in MRPDP
to also claim staff development funding under the
Instructional Time and Staff Development Reform Program.
6)Clarified that school districts may participate in MRPDP in
the grades and subjects for which they have adopted the
standards aligned materials.
7)Make additional technical changes.
EXISTING LAW requests the Regents of UC to jointly develop with
the Trustees of California State University (CSU) and the
independent colleges and universities, CPDIs, to be administered
by UC, in partnership with CSU and with private, independent
universities in California. These institutes are established to
provide training to teachers in various subject matters taught
in the elementary and secondary schools.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill established MRPDP to
provide training to teachers and specified teacher aides in the
use of instructional materials that are aligned to the reading
and math content standards.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, $80 million (General Fund) annually. This bill also
includes an annual appropriation of $600,000 to SDE for costs
associated with administering the program.
COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the Governor to address the
many teachers, particularly in upper elementary grades and high
schools, who still have not been trained on Reading and Math
Content Standards and Frameworks and therefore do not teach
them. To move to a standards-based instructional system, all
teachers need to be provided with professional development on
standards and the instructional materials they will use to help
students meet these standards. The state has adopted K-8
textbooks and other instructional materials fully aligned to
math standards in January 2001, and will adopt K-8 textbooks and
other instructional materials fully aligned to reading standards
in January 2002. Once districts but state-approved books, they
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will need to have their teacher trained to use the books in the
classroom.
This effort would ensure that all teachers (and selected
instructional aides) receive intensive professional development
on reading and math academic content standards and on the use of
the newly adopted reading and math instructional materials.
GOVERNOR'S ITEM VETO MESSAGE :
I am signing Assembly Bill 466, which establishes the
Mathematics and Reading Professional Development
Program. The Program will greatly assist efforts to
increase academic performance in California schools by
enabling 176,000 teachers and 22,000 instructional
aides or paraprofessionals to participate in
high-quality professional development activities over
a four-year period.
However, I am reducing from the bill the $1.0 million
of the $1.2 million appropriation to the Department of
Education for purposes of administering the
Mathematics and Reading Professional Development
Program. The compelling need to this level of funding
is unclear, as the 2001 Budget Act appropriates
$515,000 to the Department of Education for the
purpose of Program administration, which is
responsible for the most significant workload. I am
sustaining $200 thousand to assist the Superintendent
of Public Instruction in allocating the funding for
this important program.
Additionally, in subsequent legislation, the provision
requiring the State Board of Education to establish an
appeal process for audit findings for this program
should be removed. This provision conflicts with
current law, which established the Education Audits
Appeal Panel.
AB 466
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Analysis Prepared by : Aimee Scribner / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0003832