BILL ANALYSIS SB 1290 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 1290 (Kehoe) - As Amended: June 23, 2010 Policy Committee: EducationVote:6-1 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill requires the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission (the Commission), during the next revision of the physical education (PE) framework, to include self-defense instruction and safety instruction for grades 7-12, inclusive. Specifically, this bill: 1)Defines "safety instruction" as including, but not limited to, awareness and avoidance of potentially dangerous situations. 2)Defines "self-defense instruction" as including, but not limited to, martial arts, boxing, and other defense techniques. FISCAL EFFECT GF administrative costs to SDE, likely between $100,000 and $140,000, to establish a panel for the purpose of revising the PE curriculum framework to include self-defense instruction, as specified. This assumes all or a portion of the Commission's funding is restored to complete the revision of the PE curriculum framework, as specified. Due to the enactment of AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009 (see below), the governor vetoed $705,000 (GF) for the curriculum commission, which conducts the majority of the work associated with instructional materials (IM) adoptions, including developing curriculum frameworks. Specifically, the governor stated, "it is unnecessary for the curriculum commission to continue to advise the SBE on content frameworks and IM adoptions for the next five years or until an agreed-upon SB 1290 Page 2 process is reestablished. This reduction removes funding for unnecessary commission per diem and travel as well as funding for SDE staff." COMMENTS 1)Purpose . Current law requires the SBE to adopt PE model content standards for grades K-12. The content standards provide guidance for PE programs by identifying what each student should know and be able to do at each grade level. The K-12 PE Curriculum Framework, adopted by the SBE in September 2008, aids local education agencies (LEAs) in implementing PE programs for pupils. The curriculum framework "charges administrators and teachers with instituting standards-based PE instruction and programs that are effective for every student." The author states I am "concerned that students are increasingly becoming victims of violent crime at younger and younger ages. Hundreds of San Diego residents, and other proponents of self-defense, believe that school districts are in a good position to familiarize students with self-defense techniques that can help them manage and avoid physically threatening situations. The state needs to take a leadership role in developing core learning principles on which defense and safety instruction curriculum can be based. As required by this bill, those principles would be developed when the physical education frameworks for Grades 7-12 are revised by the SBE and the curriculum commission." 2)The PE Curriculum Framework and self defense . The curriculum framework suggests self-defense instruction in grade 10. Specifically, it states: "Self-defense is one option for addressing the content area of combatives. Because it is directly related to student safety, it is an important area for physical educators to teach and students to learn. The emphasis of this unit is on how to defend, not how to fight. The unit begins with students learning about potentially unsafe situations and how to avoid them. Safety skills are the initial focus of instruction. Only after learning safety skills do students begin to learn how to protect themselves should they be attacked." This bill requires the SBE and curriculum commission to SB 1290 Page 3 include self-defense instruction and safety instruction for grades 7-12, inclusive. 3)AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009 , specified that LEAs are not required to purchase IM through the 2012-13 fiscal year. Consistent with the non-purchasing requirement, Chapter 2 also suspended the requirement for SBE to adopt IM or conduct other procedures associated with adoption (i.e., adopting curriculum frameworks) until the 2013-14 school year. This bill requires the SBE to self-defense instruction as part of the PE Curriculum Framework at its next revision. The next revision date for this framework has not been determined. Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916) 319-2081