BILL NUMBER: SB 675 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Torlakson
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 51060) to Chapter
1 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
relating to instructional programs, and making an appropriation
therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 675, as introduced, Torlakson. Instructional programs:
Technology Integration Curriculum Plan.
(1) Existing law requires each school district maintaining any of
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils
in those grades a course of study that provides an opportunity for
those pupils to attain entry-level employment skills in business or
industry upon graduation from high school, in addition to offering to
all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study
fulfilling the requirements and prerequisites for admission to the
California public institutions of postsecondary education. School
districts are encouraged to provide all pupils with a rigorous
academic curriculum that integrates academic and career skills,
incorporates applied learning in all disciplines, and prepares all
pupils for high school graduation and career entry. Various programs
are established for career technical education outside the
traditional school setting, including, but not limited to, regional
occupational centers and programs.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
conduct a needs assessment survey, including specified components, of
all school districts and county offices of education to determine
the availability and accessibility of courses and coursework in the
areas of career technology education and computer literacy. The
department would be authorized to contract with another governmental
entity or a private nonprofit organization to conduct the needs
assessment survey if department personnel are unable to do so. The
department, with the assistance of the advisory committee it would be
required to appoint, would be required to provide a comprehensive
plan, including specified components, for integrating technical
skills training into the core curriculum of schools. The department
would be required to submit the results of the survey and its plan
for integrating technical skills training into the core curriculum of
schools to the Governor and the fiscal and appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2009. School
districts and county offices of education would be required to
implement the curriculum integration plan beginning in the 2009-10
school year. The department would be required to ensure that the
districts and county offices satisfy that requirement.
(2) The bill would appropriate $300,000 from the General Fund to
the department for the purposes of complying with the requirements of
the survey, the plan, the report, and the oversight of the
implementation of the plan. The Legislature would express its finding
and declaration that the appropriation furthers the educational
mission of school districts and, therefore, would require that the
appropriation count toward satisfaction of the minimum funding
obligation of the state to school districts and community college
districts pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California
Constitution.
(3) By requiring school districts and county offices of education
to implement the curriculum integration plan, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
(a) The foundational principle of the Education Code is that all
pupils should have access to equitable educational opportunities and
resources.
(b) Evidence supports the undeniable conclusion that pupils who
reside in affluent suburban communities have access to more
educational resources in both their schools and neighborhoods than
pupils from poorer communities in urban or rural areas.
(c) The future of the state is dependent upon minimizing, if not
entirely alleviating, the inequities in our public schools so that
all children will have more equitable opportunities to learn skills
needed for entry into the workforce, to pursue postsecondary
educational goals, and to contribute to the social cohesion of the
state.
(d) Current law specifies the courses a pupil must take in order
to graduate from high school. However, too many pupils are graduating
without the necessary foundation to succeed in the workplace or in
postsecondary education.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that all of the
following occur:
(a) By specifying the types of coursework that pupils are required
to complete in order to graduate, pupils will have world-class
skills and the workforce of the state will be competitive in the
global economy.
(b) In order to increase the rigor of the coursework and to ensure
that pupils are prepared to meet the demands of the 21st century,
the courses required for high school graduation must be aligned with
the content standards and curriculum frameworks that are adopted by
the State Board of Education.
(c) A master plan is established and implemented to help ensure
and facilitate the integration of high technology learning into the
core curriculum of public schools.
SEC. 3. Article 5 (commencing with Section 51060) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 5. Career Technology Education and Computer Literacy
Curriculum Integration Plan
51060. (a) The department shall conduct a needs assessment survey
of all school districts and county offices of education to determine
the availability and accessibility of courses and coursework in the
areas of career technology education and computer literacy. The needs
assessment survey shall include all of the following:
(1) The types of courses and coursework in the areas of career
technology education and computer literacy being offered by school
districts and county offices of education.
(2) The number of pupils enrolled in courses in the areas of
career technology education and computer literacy.
(3) The capability and capacity for expansion of courses in the
areas of career technology and computer literacy offered by school
districts and county offices of education.
(4) A determination of the manner in which courses in the areas of
career technology education and computer literacy correspond to
components of the content standards and curriculum frameworks adopted
by the State Board in the core curriculum areas, as defined in
Section 60603, and, therefore, support pupil achievement.
(5) The connection between career technology education and
computer literacy, and local industry needs and employment.
(6) The barriers that schools face in offering courses in the
areas of career technology education and computer literacy, including
curriculum needs, lack of equipment, teacher training needs, and
space availability.
(b) The department may contract with another governmental entity
or a private nonprofit organization to conduct the needs assessment
survey if department personnel are unable to do so.
(c) In conjunction with the needs assessment survey, the
department, with the assistance of the advisory committee appointed
pursuant to subdivision (d), shall provide a comprehensive plan for
integrating technical skills training into the core curriculum of
schools for computer literacy- and employment-related purposes. The
comprehensive plan shall include all of the following:
(1) The integration of technology into the core curriculum of
schools that serve pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(2) A process to assess the technological skills of all pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(3) A method for ensuring that the specific technical skills needs
of all pupils are met.
(d) The Superintendent shall appoint an advisory committee
composed of individuals representing a broad range of interested
parties, including, but not limited to, industry partners, career
technical education teachers, and representatives of regional
occupational centers and programs, to assist the department in the
development of the comprehensive plan set forth in subdivision (c).
(e) The department shall submit the results of the needs
assessment survey and its comprehensive plan for integrating
technical skills training into the core curriculum of schools that
serve pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to the
Governor and the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature on or before January 1, 2009.
(f) School districts and county offices of education shall
implement the plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (e) beginning in
the 2009-10 school year. The department shall ensure that the
districts and county offices satisfy that requirement.
SEC. 4. (a) The sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department
of Education for purposes of complying with the requirements
contained in Article 5 (commencing with Section 51060) of Chapter 1
of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that this appropriation
furthers the educational mission of school districts and, therefore,
the appropriation shall be counted toward satisfaction of the minimum
funding obligation of the state to school districts and community
college districts pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the
California Constitution.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.