BILL NUMBER: AB 1061 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 530
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 12, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 18, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 5, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mullin
(Principal coauthors: Senators Romero and Scott)
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to amend Sections 33126, 33126.1, 35256, and 35258 of the
Education Code, relating to school accountability.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1061, Mullin. School accountability: report card.
(1) The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act
requires the governing board of each school maintaining an
elementary or secondary school to develop and cause to be implemented
for each school in the district a school accountability report card
that includes assessments of various school conditions. The act
prohibits any change to its provisions, except a change to further
its purposes enacted by a bill passed by a vote of 2/3 of the
Legislature and signed by the Governor.
This bill would delete certain items from the list of school
conditions for which assessments are required to be included in the
school accountability report card, including, among others, the
quality of school instruction and leadership, classroom discipline
and climate for learning, the availability of qualified substitute
teachers, the degree to which pupils are prepared to enter the
workforce, and whether the school qualifies for the Governor's
Performance Award Program. The Legislature would find and declare
that the changes made to the act by those provisions further the
purposes of the act.
(2) Statutory provisions require the State Department of Education
to develop and recommend for adoption a standardized template for
the school accountability report card. The standardized template is
required to include specified information. Local educational agencies
are required to make the report cards available through the Internet
or through paper copies.
This bill would require that the standardized template include
additional information. The department would be required to report to
the Legislature and the Governor by February 1, 2008, on the
remaining elements in the school accountability report card, on the
feasibility of combining elements, and on alternatives for improving
the usability and readability of the school accountability report
card. Each school district would be required, commencing with the
2008-09 school year, to make its annually updated school
accountability report card available through the Internet or hard
copies on or before February 1 of each year.
(3) This bill also would delete obsolete provisions and make
clarifying and other technical changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33126 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33126. (a) The school accountability report card shall provide
data by which a parent can make meaningful comparisons between public
schools that will enable him or her to make informed decisions on
the school in which to enroll his or her children.
(b) The school accountability report card shall include, but is
not limited to, assessment of the following school conditions:
(1) (A) Pupil achievement by grade level, as measured by the
standardized testing and reporting programs pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33.
(B) After the state develops a statewide assessment system
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) and Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 60800) of Part 33, pupil achievement by
grade level, as measured by the results of the statewide assessment.
(2) Progress toward reducing dropout rates, including the one-year
dropout rate listed in the California Basic Educational Data System
or a successor data system for the schoolsite over the most recent
three-year period, and the graduation rate, as defined by the state
board, over the most recent three-year period when available pursuant
to Section 52052.
(3) Estimated expenditures per pupil and types of services funded.
The assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil shall reflect the
actual salaries of personnel assigned to the schoolsite. The
assessment of estimated expenditures per pupil shall be reported in
total, shall be reported in subtotal by restricted and by
unrestricted source, and shall include a reporting of the average of
actual salaries paid to certificated instructional personnel at that
schoolsite.
(4) Progress toward reducing class sizes and teaching loads,
including the distribution of class sizes at the schoolsite by grade
level and the average class size, using the California Basic
Educational Data System or a successor data system information for
the most recent three-year period.
(5) The total number of the school's fully credentialed teachers,
the number of teachers relying upon emergency credentials, the number
of teachers working without credentials, any assignment of teachers
outside their subject areas of competence, misassignments, including
misassignments of teachers of English learners, and the number of
vacant teacher positions for the most recent three-year period.
(A) For purposes of this paragraph, "vacant teacher position"
means a position to which a single-designated certificated employee
has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year
or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position of
which a single-designated certificated employee has not been assigned
at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "misassignment" means the
placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services
position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized
certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee
in a teaching or services position that the employee is not
otherwise authorized by statute to hold.
(6) (A) Quality and currency of textbooks and other instructional
materials, including whether textbooks and other materials meet state
standards and are adopted by the state board for kindergarten and
grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and adopted by the governing boards of
school districts for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and the ratio of
textbooks per pupil and the year the textbooks were adopted.
(B) The availability of sufficient textbooks and other
instructional materials, as determined pursuant to Section 60119, for
each pupil, including English learners, in each of the areas
enumerated in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive. If the governing board
determines, pursuant to Section 60119 that there are insufficient
textbooks or instructional materials, or both, it shall include
information for each school in which an insufficiency exists,
identifying the percentage of pupils who lack sufficient
standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials in each
subject area. The subject areas to be included are all of the
following:
(i) The core curriculum areas of reading/language arts,
mathematics, science, and history/social science.
(ii) Foreign language and health.
(iii) Science laboratory equipment for grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
as appropriate.
(iv) Visual and performing arts.
(7) The availability of qualified personnel to provide counseling
and other pupil support services, including the ratio of academic
counselors per pupil.
(8) Safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities,
including any needed maintenance to ensure good repair as specified
in Section 17014, Section 17032.5, subdivision (a) of Section
17070.75, and subdivision (b) of Section 17089.
(9) The annual number of schooldays dedicated to staff development
for the most recent three-year period.
(10) Suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent three-year
period.
(11) For secondary schools, the percentage of graduates who have
passed course requirements for entrance to the University of
California and the California State University, including the course
requirements for high school graduation pursuant to Section 51225.3,
and the percentage of pupils enrolled in those courses, as reported
by the California Basic Educational Data System or any successor data
system.
(12) The number of advanced placement courses offered, by subject.
(13) The Academic Performance Index, including the disaggregation
of subgroups as set forth in Section 52052 and the decile rankings
and a comparison of schools.
(14) When available, the percentage of pupils, including the
disaggregation of subgroups, as set forth in Section 52052,
completing grade 12 who successfully complete the high school exit
examination, as set forth in Sections 60850 and 60851, as compared to
the percentage of pupils in the district and statewide completing
grade 12 who successfully complete the examination.
(15) Contact information pertaining to organized opportunities for
parental involvement.
(16) Career technical education data measures, including all of
the following:
(A) A list of programs offered by the school district in which
pupils at the school may participate and that are aligned to the
model curriculum standards adopted pursuant to Section 51226, and
program sequences offered by the school district. The list should
identify courses conducted by a regional occupational center or
program, and those conducted directly by the school district.
(B) A listing of the primary representative of the career
technical advisory committee of the school district and the
industries represented.
(C) The number of pupils participating in career technical
education.
(D) The percentage of pupils that complete a career technical
education program and earn a high school diploma.
(E) The percentage of career technical education courses that are
sequenced or articulated between a school and institutions of
postsecondary education.
(c) If the Commission on State Mandates finds a school district is
eligible for a reimbursement of costs incurred complying with this
section, the school district shall be reimbursed only if the
information provided in the school accountability report card is
accurate, as determined by the annual audit performed pursuant to
Section 41020. If the information is determined to be inaccurate, the
school district remains eligible for reimbursement if the
information is corrected by May 15.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools make a
concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the school
accountability report cards, as described in this section, and ensure
that all parents receive a copy of the report card; to ensure that
the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents; to
ensure that local educational agencies with access to the Internet
make available current copies of the report cards through the
Internet; and to ensure that administrators and teachers are
available to answer any questions regarding the report cards.
SEC. 2. Section 33126.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33126.1. (a) The department shall develop and recommend for
adoption by the state board a standardized template intended to
simplify the process for completing the school accountability report
card and make the school accountability report card more meaningful
to the public.
(b) The standardized template shall include all of the following:
(1) Fields for the insertion of data and information by the
department and by local educational agencies.
(2) A field to report the determination of the sufficiency of
textbooks and instructional materials, pursuant to Section 60119.
(3) A summary statement of the condition of school facilities, as
required by Section 17014, Section 17032.5, subdivision (a) of
Section 17070.75, and subdivision (b) of Section 17089. The
department shall provide examples of summary statements of the
condition of school facilities that are acceptable and those that are
unacceptable.
(4) A description of data available on the DataQuest Internet Web
site of the department, including the Uniform Resource Locator for
that Internet Web site.
(5) A description of admission requirements for California's
public universities, including the Uniform Resource Locator for the
University of California Internet Web site providing information
about the courses offered by each school that are approved as meeting
those requirements.
(6) A statement concerning the availability of Internet access at
public libraries and other locations that are publicly accessible.
(c) When the template for a school is completed, it should enable
parents and guardians to compare the manner in which local schools
compare to other schools within that district as well as other
schools in the state.
(d) In conjunction with the development of the standardized
template, the department shall furnish standard definitions for
school conditions included in the school accountability report card.
The standard definitions shall comply with the following:
(1) Definitions shall be consistent with the definitions already
in place or under the development at the state level pursuant to
existing law.
(2) Definitions shall enable schools to furnish contextual or
comparative information to assist the public in understanding the
information in relation to the performance of other schools.
(3) Definitions shall specify the data for which the department
will be responsible for providing and the data and information for
which the local educational agencies will be responsible.
(e) By February 1, 2008, the department shall report to the
Legislature and the Governor on remaining data elements in the school
accountability report card and the feasibility of combining
elements, linking to other reporting of data elements, and other
possible alternatives for improving the usability and readability of
the school accountability report card. The report shall include a
survey of the conditions for which the department has valid and
reliable data at the state, district, or school level. The report
shall provide a timetable for the inclusion of conditions for which
standard definitions or valid and reliable data do not yet exist
through the department.
(f) The Superintendent shall recommend and the state board shall
appoint 13 members to serve on a broad-based advisory committee of
local administrators, educators, parents, and other knowledgeable
parties to develop definitions for the school conditions for which
standard definitions do not yet exist. The state board may designate
outside experts in performance measurements in support of activities
of the advisory board.
(g) The state board shall approve available definitions for
inclusion in the template as well as a timetable for the further
development of definitions and data collection procedures. Each year
the state board shall adopt the template for the current year's
school accountability report card. Definitions for all school
conditions shall be included in the template.
(h) The department annually shall post the completed and viewable
template on the Internet. The template shall be designed to allow
schools or districts to download the template from the Internet. The
template shall further be designed to allow local educational
agencies, including individual schools, to enter data into the school
accountability report card electronically, individualize the report
card, and further describe the data elements. The department shall
establish model guidelines and safeguards that may be used by school
districts with secured access only for those school officials
authorized to make modifications.
(i) The department shall maintain current Internet links with the
Internet Web sites of local educational agencies to provide parents
and the public with easy access to the school accountability report
cards maintained on the Internet. In order to ensure the currency of
these Internet links, local educational agencies that provide access
to school accountability report cards through the Internet shall
furnish current Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for their Internet
Web sites to the department.
(j) A school or school district that chooses not to utilize the
standardized template adopted pursuant to this section shall report
the data for its school accountability report card in a manner that
is consistent with the definitions adopted pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(k) The department shall provide recommendations for changes to
the California Basic Educational Data System, or a successor data
system, and other data collection mechanisms to ensure that the
information will be preserved and available in the future.
(l) The department shall monitor the compliance of local
educational agencies with the requirements to prepare and to
distribute school accountability report cards, including, but not
limited to, the requirements contained in this section, subdivision
(c) of Section 35256, and Section 35258.
SEC. 3. Section 35256 of the Education Code is amended to read:
35256. School Accountability Report Card
The governing board of each school district maintaining an
elementary or secondary school shall develop and cause to be
implemented for each school in the school district a School
Accountability Report Card.
(a) The School Accountability Report Card shall include, but is
not limited to, the conditions listed in Section 33126.
(b) Not less than triennially, the governing board of each school
district shall compare the content of the School Accountability
Report Card of the school district to the model School Accountability
Report Card adopted by the state board. Variances among school
districts shall be permitted where necessary to account for local
needs.
(c) The governing board of each school district annually shall
issue a School Accountability Report Card for each school in the
school district, publicize those reports, and notify parents or
guardians of pupils that a hard copy will be provided upon request.
Commencing with the 2008-09 school year, each school district shall
make hard copies of its annually updated report card available, upon
request, on or before February 1 of each year.
SEC. 4. Section 35258 of the Education Code is amended to read:
35258. (a) Each school district that is connected to the Internet
shall make the information contained in the School Accountability
Report Card developed pursuant to Section 35256 accessible on the
Internet. The School Accountability Report Card information shall be
updated annually. Commencing with the 2008-09 school year, each
school district connected to the Internet shall make its annually
updated report card available on the Internet on or before February 1
of each year.
(b) Commencing with the 2008-09 school year, each school district
not connected to the Internet shall make hard copies of its annually
updated School Accountability Report Card available, pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 35256, on or before February 1 of each
year.
SEC. 5. The Legislature finds and declares that the changes made
to Sections 33126 and 35256 of the Education Code by Sections 1 and
3, respectively, of this act further the purposes of the Classroom
Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act.
SEC. 6. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act,
to improve the effectiveness of the annual school accountability
report cards.