BILL ANALYSIS
AB 836
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 836 (Torlakson) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
SUBJECT : Task force for education technology
SUMMARY : Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to establish and convene a task force for education
technology for purposes of making preliminary recommendations on
technology literacy model standards and recommendations for a
comprehensive statewide plan to increase and enhance the level
of technology used to deliver instruction in California public
schools. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the task force consist of no more than 15 education
technology experts, including, but not limited to, parents,
current credentialed teachers, administrators, school board
members, researchers, and industry representatives, and
specifies that the taskforce shall include representation from
a large, a medium-sized, and a small school district.
2)Stipulates that the task force shall make preliminary
recommendations to the SPI on technology literacy model
standards on or before May 30, 2010; specifies that the SPI
shall recommend technology literacy model standards to the
State Board of Education (SBE) on or before June 20, 2010; and
requires the SBE to adopt technology literacy model content
standards, pursuant to the recommendations of the SPI, on or
before July 30, 2010.
3)Requires the task force to address the following issues as
part of its recommendations which are required to be presented
to the SBE on or before September 1, 2010:
a) Professional development based on a study of existing
industry models for professional development in technology
and existing school professional development programs;
b) Electronic learning resources and instructional
materials based on a study of trends in long-term
compatibility of resources and hardware and best practices
in the use of electronic resources;
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c) Hardware, with an emphasis on long-term compatibility
between hardware and software systems and intersystem
compatibility;
d) Telecommunications infrastructure based on a study of
industry standards for wireless interoperability and
recommend adoption of a schools' standard for
telecommunications infrastructure; and,
e) Funding based on an assessment of various funding models
and make recommendations on methods of providing reasonable
levels of funding for technology in schools on a continuing
basis.
4)Requires the SBE to adopt a comprehensive statewide plan to
increase and enhance the level of technology used to deliver
instruction in California public schools, pursuant to the
recommendations of the task force, on or before January 1,
2012.
5)Specifies that the operations of the task force shall be
funded by private donations and authorizes the California
Department of Education (CDE) to accept private donations to
support the expenses incurred in operating the task force.
6)Defines "technology literacy" as the understanding of what
technology is, how it is created, how it shapes society, and
how it is shaped by society.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Technology Assistance Project
(CTAP) to provide coordination and services in education
technology in 11 regions in California.
2)Requires, pursuant to federal law, the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001, each state to maintain a state technology plan
for the purpose of ensuring that technology use is consistent
with the state's strategies for improving student academic
achievement through the use of technology in classrooms,
including improving the capacity of teachers to integrate
technology into curricula and instruction.
3)Requires the CDE to assist the SBE on education technology
plans, policies, programs, and activities and requires the CDE
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to provide statewide coordination and evaluation of technology
programs and resources and to advance the use of technology in
the curriculum and in the administration of elementary and
secondary schools.
4)Requires a school district to have a three- to five-year
education technology plan as a precondition of receiving any
technology grant administered by CDE.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : As a condition of receiving education technology
funding, districts are required to develop or update a
technology plan to reflect a district's plan on using technology
to improve student achievement and to improve the capacity of
all teachers in schools served by the district to integrate
technology effectively into curricula and instruction. The
components of the plan include curriculum; professional
development; infrastructure, hardware, technical support and
software; funding and budget; and monitoring and evaluation in
such a way as to keep student achievement emphasized in the
district plan.
Additionally, existing federal law, the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001, requires each state to maintain a statewide technology
plan for the purpose of ensuring that technology use is
consistent with the state's strategies for improving student
academic achievement through the use of technology in
classrooms, including improving the capacity of teachers to
integrate technology into curricula and instruction. In May
2005, the SBE approved the NCLB State Technology Plan, which
addresses the federal requirements of NCLB. The plan includes
California's strategies for improving student academic
achievement through the use of technology and efforts to
leverage statewide education technology services, regional
services, grant administration, monitoring, and outreach efforts
so that all efforts focus on promoting research-based proven
practices.
The Commission on Technology in Learning (CTL) was established
by AB 598 (Soto), Chapter 830, Statutes of 1999, as an advisory
body to the SBE to develop a report that made recommendations to
ensure that technology is systemically integrated into all
levels of education. The CTL developed a document titled the
"Education Technology Master Plan," that provides a vision for
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the state on how to effectively use and support educational
technology to improve student achievement, close the gaps in
access to educational technology, and move California schools to
at least parity with or exceed the level of technology
integration in other states. The plan included 25
recommendations that support technology use in three areas: 1)
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; 2) Professional
Development; and 3) Infrastructure. On May 7, 2003, the SBE
accepted this report as "Recommendations of the Commission on
Technology in Learning" but not as a technology "master plan"
for the state. The SBE decided that the document "could be used
by CDE and SBE staff as a guide in preparing any technology plan
that may be determined to be needed for federal funding purposes
(with that plan then being considered by the State Board in the
future if necessary)."<1> An argument could be made that
another state technology plan may be duplicative of plans that
are already required both of the state pursuant to NCLB and of
districts in order to receive technology grants. It could
further be argued that instead of developing yet another plan,
the state should be investing in technology for schools. The
report and recommendations developed by the CTL are
comprehensive and they could be used for policy making purposes
by implementing some of the recommendations in the document or
it could be used as guidance in the development of education
technology policies.
Considering that there are existing state technology plans in
place, it may be prudent for the task force to build upon or
consider these existing reports to create the statewide
technology plan required by this bill. Particularly since the
recommendations that have been previously developed are
consistent with what the bill calls for. For example, one of
the recommendations in the CTL plan suggested providing
incentives to business and industry to develop rigorous and
effective digital content in curriculum, instruction, and
assessment that are aligned to the academic content standards.
A second recommendation suggested providing incentives to
districts and schools to foster and sustain rigorous and
effective systemic professional development that promotes the
integration of technology in education. Staff recommends the
bill be amended to require the task force, in the development of
the recommendations for a statewide technology plan to consider,
as may be appropriate, the existing NCLB technology plan and the
recommendations made in the CTL technology plan.
---------------------------
<1> State Board of Education Meeting Minutes, May 7, 2003.
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The bill requires the recommendations of the task force to be
submitted to the SBE and requires the SBE to approve a
comprehensive statewide plan to increase and enhance the level
of technology used to deliver instruction in schools. If there
are specific action items for implementation within the
recommendations or the plan, the Legislature may be an
appropriate body to consider some of the recommendations. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to require the recommendations to
also be submitted to the Legislature.
Technology literacy model standards : According to information
provided by the author, the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) is currently drafting a framework and test items
for a 2012 test on technology literacy to measure pupils'
knowledge and skills in understanding technology and
technological tools. The National Assessment Governing Board
will begin randomly testing students across the country in the
2011-2012 school year, but it is not certain as to what grade
will be tested. This technological literacy assessment will be
the country's first nationwide assessment of pupils' technology
literacy, however there is no clear or widely-known definition
of technology literacy. This bill provides a definition for
technology literacy and requires the development of model
standards in preparation for that assessment.
The National Assessment Governing Board awarded WestEd a
contract to develop the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy
Framework that will include test specifications for the 2012
NAEP assessment. This framework is scheduled to be approved in
late 2009 by the National Assessment Governing Board. In other
fronts, the International Technology Education Association has
developed standards for technological literacy, which define
what pupils should know and be able to do in order to be
technologically literate and provide standards describing what
the outcomes of the study of technology in kindergarten and
grades 1-12, inclusive should be. Examples of those standards
include: the characteristics and scope of technology, core
concepts of technology, the role of society in the development
and use of technology and the influence of technology on
history.
This bill emphasizes the interest in increasing the use of
technology in schools. The challenge for the state has been the
fiscal climate which leaves limited resources for technical
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equipment, maintenance, support and training to increase access
to technology in the classroom. This bill will create a plan
that will deliver recommendations for the expansion of the use
of technology in schools.
The author states, "While there is widespread consensus on the
benefits of education technology and its important role in
providing students with a high-quality education, California
lags far behind most states in high-tech learning. In many
contexts, California is considered a high-tech state with
low-tech learning environments for its students."
Arguments in support : The California Alliance for Arts
Education writes, "As arts education advocates, we recognize the
importance of providing access to high-quality educational
technology that supports standards-based instruction in the
Visual and Performing Arts to all students. Such technologies
would benefit students in both the Visual and Performing arts
and the many arts-related industry sectors in Career Technical
Education."
Previous legislation : SB 1330 (Torlakson) of 2008 requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to convene a task
force for the purpose of developing recommendations for a
comprehensive statewide plan to increase and enhance the level
of technology used to deliver instruction in California public
schools. SB 1330 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with the
following veto message:
"This bill is unnecessary since current law does not prohibit
the Superintendent of Public Instruction from convening an
internal advisory committee to update the statewide education
technology plan with approval of the State Board of Education.
Increasing and enhancing technology in our schools is important,
but the provisions in this can be accomplished without
legislation."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
California Alliance for Arts Education
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Unified School District
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Orange Unified School District
Riverside County Schools Advocacy Association
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087