BILL ANALYSIS
AB 836
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 836 (Torlakson) - As Amended: April 29, 2009
Policy Committee: EducationVote:7-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to establish and convene a task force for education
technology. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the task force to develop a plan to increase and
enhance the level of technology used to deliver instruction in
California public schools and make preliminary recommendations
on technology literacy model standards.
2)Defines "technology literacy" as the understanding of what
technology is, how it is created, and how it shapes, and is
shaped by society.
3)Requires the task force to be funded by private donations and
have no more than 15 education technology experts serve on it,
as specified. This bill further requires credentialed
teachers to comprise a majority of the task force.
4)Requires the task force to make preliminary recommendations to
the SPI on technology literacy model standards on or before
May 30, 2010. This bill also requires the State Board of
Education (SBE) to adopt these model standards, pursuant to
the recommendation of the task force and SPI, on or before
July 30, 2010.
5)Requires the task force to address specific issues (including
reasonable funding levels) in making recommendations to the
SBE and the Legislature, on or before September 1, 2011, for a
comprehensive statewide education technology plan. This
measure also requires the task force to consider previously
developed state technology plans as part of this process.
6)Requires the SBE to adopt a comprehensive statewide education
technology plan, based on the task force's recommendations, on
AB 836
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or before January 1, 2012. This bill also authorizes the
State Department of Education (SDE) to accept private
donations to support the expenses incurred in operating the
task force.
FISCAL EFFECT
GF administrative cost pressure, between $200,000 and $300,000,
to establish the task force to develop a statewide technology
plan and model technology literacy standards.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, "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."
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also
known as the "Nation's Report Card," randomly assesses pupils
in grades 4, 8, and 12 across the United States in reading and
mathematics. In October 2008, NAEP's national governing board
decided to administer the Technological Literacy assessment in
2012. In anticipation of administering this assessment, the
governing board awarded WestED, a national education research
and development organization based in San Francisco, CA, to
develop the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Framework. The
framework will provide NAEP's governing board with guidance on
what items should be part of the assessment and at what grade
levels the assessment shall be administered.
This bill establishes the education technology taskforce to
develop a statewide technology plan and technology literacy
model standards, as specified.
2)Need for a statewide technology plan ? The federal No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires each state to maintain
a statewide technology for the purpose of ensuring that
technology use is consistent with the state's strategies for
improving student academic achievement, including improving
the capacity of teachers to integrate technology into
curricula and instruction. As a result, in May 2005, the SBE
approved the NCLB State Technology Plan. This plan, updated
in June 2006, describes the state's strategies for improving
student academic achievement through the use of technology and
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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.
Also, as a condition for receiving any state or federal
education technology funding, school districts are required to
develop or update their district technology plans in alignment
with the SBE's Education Technology Planning: A Guide for
School Districts. These guidelines encourage districts to
focus on using technology to improve student achievement and
to develop the components of the technology plan, including
curriculum; professional development; infrastructure,
hardware, technical support and software; funding and budget;
and monitoring and evaluation.
The committee may wish to consider whether or not it is
appropriate to require the education taskforce to develop a
statewide plan when the state currently has a plan and every
school district is required to have one as well.
3)Previous legislation . SB 1330 (Torlakson), which required the
SPI to convene a task force to develop recommendations for a
comprehensive statewide education technology plan, was vetoed
in September 2008, with the following message:
"This bill is unnecessary since current law does not prohibit
the SPI from convening an internal advisory committee to
update the statewide education technology plan with approval
of the SBE. Increasing and enhancing technology in our schools
is important, but the provisions in this can be accomplished
without legislation."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081