BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          AB 815 (Brownley)
          
          Hearing Date: 08/15/2011        Amended: 07/11/2011
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 8-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: AB 815 establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy to 
          be voluntarily affixed to the diploma or transcript of a high 
          school graduate who has attained functional proficiency in 
          speaking, reading, and writing skills in one or more languages, 
          in addition to English. This bill requires the Superintendent of 
          Public Instruction (SPI) to prepare and deliver to participating 
          school districts the seal insignia. Participating school 
          districts are required to maintain records in order to identify 
          pupils who have earned a State Seal of Biliteracy.
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions             2011-12       2012-13                
           2013-14                       Fund
                                                                      
          State Seal of Biliteracy program      $90                
          $90-$120         $90-120        General
                                                    Likely minor local 
          costs, if elect to participate       Local/Gen*

          *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding 
          guarantee
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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File.
          
          This bill establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy, to be 
          awarded by the SPI, to recognize high school graduates who have 
          attained functional proficiency in speaking, reading, and 
          writing skills in one or more languages, in addition to English, 
          and specifies participation and award requirements. School 
          district participation would be voluntary. Any expenses incurred 
          by school districts would likely be minor, and only to the 
          extent they choose to participate. Several school districts 








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          currently have their own biliteracy recognition awards.

          The Department of Education (CDE), under the direction of the 
          SPI, is required to administer the program. Specifically, the 
          CDE must: a) Prepare and deliver to school districts the 
          insignia to be affixed to the diploma or transcript of the 
          student; and b) provide other necessary information for school 
          districts to successfully participate in the program. The CDE 
          will incur one-time costs to develop program regulations, to 
          create and print the seal, and to reach out to districts about 
          the new program. The CDE indicates it will also require a .5 PY 
          to distribute information (and the actual seal) to districts, 
          and to coordinate with districts offering their own tests in 
          lieu of the Advanced Placement or off-the-shelf language test. 
          The State Seal of Biliteracy could be awarded for biliteracy in 
          languages for which courses and assessments are not offered in 
          district schools, and the CDE would be tasked with certifying 
          them, should a school decide to use other tests for less common 
          languages. Administrative costs would likely diminish over time, 
          as programs become established and need only to be maintained.