BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 124 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 124 (Fuentes) - As Amended: April 6, 2011 Policy Committee: Education Vote:9-1 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill establishes the English Language Development Standards (ELD) Advisory Committee for the purpose of aligning the ELD standards to the Common Core English language arts (CCELA) standards adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) in August 2010. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the advisory committee to consist of 13 members appointed by the governor (4), the Senate Committee on Rules (3), the Speaker of the Assembly (3), and the Superintendent of Public Instruction (3). This measure also requires at least seven members to be classroom teachers with a minimum of three years experienced instructing English language learner (ELL) pupils, as specified. 2)Requires the advisory committee, on or before August 31, 2012, to present its revised and aligned ELD standards to the SBE. 3)Requires the SBE, on or before September 30, 2012, to either adopt the ELD standards as presented by the advisory committee or reject the ELD standards. If the SBE rejects the revised standards, this bill requires the SBE to provide the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), the governor, and the Legislature with a specific written explanation of the reasons for rejection. 4)Requires the SPI and the SBE to present to the governor and the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating the revised ELD standards into the education system, including revising the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). AB 124 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT 1)One-time GF administrative costs, likely between $150,000 and $200,000, to the SDE to provide staff support to the ELD advisory committee. The committee notes that foundation support was provided to the Academic Content Standards Commission to complete their work on the Common Core Content Standards in English language arts and mathematics. 2)GF/98 cost pressure, likely in the low to tens of millions, to school districts to provide instructional materials and professional development on the revised ELD standards. This bill requires the SPI and the SBE to provide the governor and Legislature with an implementation plan, including costs, to integrate the revised standards into the education system. COMMENTS 1)Background . Since 1999, California schools have instructed ELL pupils using both the ELA standards and ELD standards. The purpose of the ELD standards is "to assist teachers in moving ELL pupils to fluency in English and proficiency on the California ELA Content Standards." Specifically, the ELD standards are designed to specify the English literacy skills ELLs need to acquire to become proficient in the ELA academic content standards. The ELD standards are also the basis for the CELDT. The CELDT is used to identify, reclassify and assess the proficiency of ELL pupils. As a condition of applying for the federal Race to the Top (RTT) grant program, states were required to adopt the Common Core Standards in English language arts (CCELA) and mathematics by the fall of 2010. As part of California's RTT application, SB 1 X5 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Fifth Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2010,was enacted to establish the Academic Content Standards Commission (ACSC), consisting of 21 members appointed by the governor (11), the Senate Committee on Rules (5), and the Speaker of the Assembly (5), to develop academic content standards in language arts and mathematics. In July and August 2010, the ACSC held several meetings to analyze the state's current ELA and mathematics content standards in comparison to the CCELA and mathematics. In AB 124 Page 3 August 2010, the ACSC completed its work and submitted its recommendations to the SBE for their approval. The SBE approved the revised standards submitted by the ACSC. 2)Rationale . There were 1.5 million ELL pupils enrolled in California public schools in 2009-10. Of these pupils, 1.2 million speak Spanish and 69% are enrolled in grades K-6. The author states: "Since the SBE adopted revised ELA academic content standards in August 2010 and the ELD standards are a critical tool used in instructing ELL pupils, the next step is for the state to review the ELD standards for compatibility to the newly adopted ELA academic content standards." This bill, sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators, the SPI, and the Californians Together Coalition, establishes the ELD Advisory Committee for the purpose of aligning the ELD standards to CCELA standards. 3)Related legislation . a) AB 250 (Brownley), pending in the Assembly Education Committee, establishes a process for the implementation of the Common Core Academic Content standards, as specified. b) SB 140 (Lowenthal), pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, establishes a streamlined process for the state-level adoption of instructional materials that are aligned with the Common Core Academic Content standards, and expands the authority of local school boards to adopt instructional materials to include K-8 schools. Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916) 319-2081