BILL NUMBER: AB 2273	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Torlakson

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2010

   An act to amend Sections 52050.5, 52051, and 52051.5 of, and to
add Section 52051.6 to, the Education Code, relating to educational
performance accountability.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2273, as introduced, Torlakson. Education: performance
accountability.
   Existing law, the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999,
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with approval of
the State Board of Education, to develop specified indices to track
the achievement of schools and their pupils. The act applies to
public and charter schools. Existing law contains various legislative
findings and declarations.
   This bill would add the California Education Opportunity (CEO)
Index to the Public Schools Accountability Act, which would require
the Superintendent to develop the CEO Index to measure performance
and offerings of both elementary and secondary schools in preparing
students for graduation and to become responsible and contributing
community members after graduation, as specified. The Superintendent
would be required to establish an advisory committee, composed as
specified, to advise the Superintendent and the state board on the
CEO Index. Advisory committee members would serve a term not to
exceed 2 years without compensation. The advisory committee would be
required to make specified recommendations to the Superintendent and
the state board by July 1, 2012. This bill would also make additional
legislative findings and declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 52050.5 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   52050.5.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

   (a) The purpose of the California public school system is to
provide for the academic development of each pupil and prepare each
pupil, to the extent of his or her ability, to become a lifelong
learner, equipped to live and succeed within the economic and
societal complexities of the 21st century.
   (b) It is in the interest of the people and the future of this
state to ensure that each child in California receives a high quality
education consistent with all statewide content and performance
standards, as adopted by the State Board of Education, and with a
meaningful assessment system and reporting program requirements.
   (c) Recent assessments indicate that many pupils in California are
not now, generally, progressing at a satisfactory rate to achieve a
high quality education  , and recent studies indicate that
schools are not adequately funded to provide the full range of
opportunities necessary to support a pupil until graduation and
prepare each pupil for the skills necessary to live and succeed in
the 21st century economy and to be a productive member of their
community  .
   (d) To remedy this, the state is in need of an immediate and
comprehensive accountability system to hold each of the state's
public schools accountable for the academic progress and achievement
of its pupils within the resources available to schools  , 
 and the state is in need of a reliable reporting system to
provide pupils, parents, and the public with a transparent accounting
of what each community school provides to prepare pupils for life
after graduation  .
   (e) Any promising and effective accountability system  and
reporting system  must be based upon a constructive and
collaborative process that seeks to include stakeholders in the
accountability process.
   (f) Any promising and effective accountability system  and
reporting system  requires the active involvement of parents and
guardians, pupils, educators, community leaders, school boards, and
schoolsite teams.
   (g) The statewide school accountability system  and reporting
system  must encourage the active participation of parents and
guardians, pupils, educators, and the local community in improving
pupil achievement  and preparing each pupil for life after
graduation  .
   (h) The statewide accountability system  and reporting system
 must be easily accessible and understandable to  pupils,
 parents  ,  and  others   the
public  .
   (i) The statewide accountability system must include rewards that
recognize high achieving schools as well as interventions and,
ultimately, sanctions for schools that are continuously low
performing. 
   (j) The reporting system must provide a transparent account that
acknowledges schools that encourage pupils to graduate and thrive,
and provide opportunities for pupils to succeed in life after
graduation.  
   (j) 
    (k)  It is also the intent of the Legislature that the
comprehensive and effective school accountability system primarily
focus on increasing academic achievement. 
   (k) 
    (l)  To achieve better pupil performance, it is the
intent of the Legislature that any school accountability system do
all of the following:
   (1) Encourage teacher preparation that allows teachers to develop
the ability to inspire pupils to become lifelong learners.
   (2) Encourage teacher preparation and consistent ongoing
professional development that serves to develop competency in content
and pedagogy and that allows teachers to effectively involve
themselves in promoting school accountability.
   (3) Encourage the involvement of the community and its
stakeholders in the accountability system.
   (4) Encourage local community involvement in providing support for
education and identifying causes of pupil failure and designing
programs for remediation.
   (5) Approach accountability with an attitude of collaboration,
encouragement, and correction.
   (6) Utilize the state infrastructure to support schools, school
districts, and county offices of education in their efforts to
improve pupil achievement and progress.
   (7) Encourage each local community to support and sustain
high-quality educational programs and to build the capacity of
educators and schools to succeed in educating every pupil.
   (8) Encourage active involvement of parents and guardians in the
development and implementation of school accountability systems. 

   (m) It is also the intent of the Legislature that the
comprehensive and effective school reporting system focus on the
broad range of factors that impact a pupil's ability to learn,
thrive, graduate, pursue higher education or a successful career
after graduation, and become a productive participant in his or her
community.  
   (n) It is the further intent of the Legislature that this
reporting system be a tool for public transparency in public schools,
not a measurement for further federal and state sanctions against
individual schools, school districts, teachers, or administrators.
 
   (o) To better measure a school's ability to provide the education
necessary to prepare each pupil to become a lifelong learner,
equipped to live and succeed within the economic and societal
complexities of the 21st century, it is the intent of the Legislature
that any school reporting system demonstrate and measure all of the
following in order to improve them: :  
   (1) Student academic performance.  
   (2) Attendance rates for pupils.  
   (3) Graduation rates for pupils in schools containing grades 7-12,
inclusive.  
   (4) Opportunities provided by the school to prepare pupils for
college or a career after graduation.  
   (5) Opportunities provided by the school to prepare pupils for his
or her civic responsibilities and participation in his or her
community after graduation.  
   (6) Opportunities provided by the school to enhance a pupil's
learning beyond the core academic curriculum and provide relevancy to
the pupil's education, support the learning of 21st century
workforce readiness skills and creativity, or contribute to a pupil's
retention and matriculation, including, but not limited to,
coursework or activities in leadership, the arts, physical education,
advanced academics, world language acquisition, and career technical
education.  
   (7) Opportunities provided by the school to improve student
fitness and health.  
   (p) To encourage better pupil outcomes after graduation, it is the
intent of the Legislature that any school reporting system do all of
the following:  
   (1) Encourage teacher preparation that allows teachers to develop
the ability to integrate relevancy and 21st century workforce
readiness skill building into curriculum and inspire pupils to become
lifelong learners.  
   (2) Encourage the involvement of pupils, parents, and the
community and its stakeholders, in the reporting system and in
identifying areas of improvement for opportunities offered at a
school.  
   (3) Utilize the state data infrastructure to support schools,
school districts, and county offices of education in their efforts to
improve pupil achievement and progress.  
   (4) Encourage each local community to support and sustain
high-quality educational programs and to build the capacity of
educators and schools to succeed in helping every pupil graduate and
succeed in life after graduation. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 52051 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   52051.  The Public School Performance Accountability Program is
hereby established and shall consist of the following  three
  four  component parts:
   (a) The state Academic Performance Index, to be known as the API.

   (b) The California Education Opportunity Index, to be known as the
CEO Index.  
   (b) 
    (c)  The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program. 
   (c) 
    (d)  The Governor's High Achieving/Improving Schools
Program.
  SEC. 3.  Section 52051.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   52051.5.  For purposes of this chapter, all references to schools
shall  also  include charter schools.
  SEC. 4.  Section 52051.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   52051.6.  (a) (1) The Superintendent shall develop a California
Education Opportunity Index (CEO Index) to measure the performance
and offerings of both elementary and secondary schools in preparing
students for graduation and to become responsible and contributing
community members after graduation.
   (2) The CEO Index shall consist of a variety of indicators
currently reported to the department, including, but not limited to,
each of the following opportunity areas:
   (A) Data that demonstrates student academic performance,
including, but not limited to, results of the Academic Performance
Index established pursuant to Section 52052.
   (B) Attendance rates for pupils.
   (C) Graduation rates for pupils in schools containing grades 7-12,
inclusive.
   (D) In secondary schools, data that demonstrate opportunities
provided by the school to prepare pupils for a career after
graduation, including, but not limited to, college preparatory
coursework and activities, and career technical education coursework,
activities, and work study.
   (E) In middle and secondary schools, data that demonstrate
opportunities provided by the school to prepare pupils for his or her
civic responsibilities and participation in his or her community
after graduation.
   (F) Data on coursework or activities that enhance a pupil's
learning beyond the core academic curriculum and provide relevancy to
the pupil's education, support the learning of 21st century
workforce readiness skills and creativity, or contribute to a pupil's
retention and matriculation, including, but not limited to,
coursework or activities in leadership, the arts, physical education,
advanced academics, world language acquisition, and career technical
education.
   (G) Data that demonstrate student fitness and health.
   (3) (A) The Superintendent shall establish a broadly
representative and diverse advisory committee to advise the
Superintendent and the state board on the creation and reporting of
the CEO Index. A majority of the committee members shall be public
classroom teachers. Members of the advisory committee shall serve
without compensation for terms not to exceed two years.
   (B) By July 1, 2012, the advisory committee established pursuant
to this section shall make recommendations to the Superintendent and
state board on the most appropriate format for an annual updating and
reporting of this data in order to meet the Legislature's intent for
a statewide reporting system, as outlined in Section 52050.5 and the
appropriateness and feasibility of the following:
   (i) Use of data currently collected or planned for collection by
the department, including, but not limited to, data collected for the
school accountability report cards, the California Longitudinal
Pupil Achievement Data System, and the California Basic Education
Data System for the purposes of measuring each of the opportunity
areas included in paragraph (2).
   (ii) The development of new data collection strategies to attain
data for opportunity areas included in paragraph (2) but not
currently collected by the department.
   (iii) A methodology for generating the scoring of education
opportunities on a school site based on the indicators in paragraph
(2) and other indicators recommended by the committee.