BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 815|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 815
Author: Brownley (D)
Amended: 8/30/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/29/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vargas, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 8/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Emmerson, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-26, 6/2/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Instructional programs: State Seal of
Biliteracy
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill 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.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes requirements for the
issuance of diplomas and certificates to students who
complete a prescribed course of study.
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Existing law also provides for the Golden State Seal Merit
Diploma to recognize students who have mastered specific
courses in the high school curriculum. This voluntary
program recognizes public school graduates who have
demonstrated mastery of the high school curriculum in six
designated subject areas, four of which must be
mathematics, English language arts, science, and United
States history. Qualifying students must be receiving a
high school diploma and have earned designated results on
the California Standards Test in six qualifying subject
areas (previous Golden State Exam results may also be
used). Each school district that confers high school
diplomas is responsible for maintaining appropriate records
in order to identify eligible students and for affixing a
Golden State Seal Merit Diploma insignia to the diploma and
transcript of each qualifying student. Foreign language
can be one of the designated subject areas for which a
student earns a Golden State Seal Merit Diploma.
This bill:
1. Establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy, to be awarded
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (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.
2. Provides that school district participation in this
program is voluntary.
3. Specifies the purposes of the State Seal of Biliteracy.
4. Specifies that awarding a graduating high school student
the State Seal of Biliteracy certifies that the student
has met the following requirements:
A. Completed all English language arts requirements
for graduation with an overall grade point average of
2.0 or above in those classes.
B. Passed the California Standards Test in English
language arts administered in grade 11 at the
"proficient" level or above.
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C. Demonstrates proficiency in one or more languages
other than English by:
(1) Passing a foreign language Advanced
Placement exam with a score of 3.0 or higher or
an International Baccalaureate exam with a score
of four or higher.
(2) Successfully completed a four-year high
school course of study in a foreign language and
attained an overall grade point average of 3.0
or higher in that course of study.
(3) If no Advanced Placement examination or
off-the-shelf language test exists and the
school district can certify to the
Superintendent that the test meets the rigor of
a four-year high school course of study in that
foreign language examination that, at a minimum,
assesses speaking, reading, and writing in a
language other than English at the proficient
level or higher. If a school district offers a
language examination in a language in which an
Advanced Placement examination or off-the-shelf
language test exists, the school district
language examination seal be approved by the
Superintendent for the purpose of determining
proficiency in a language other than English.
(4) Passed the SAT II foreign language exam
with a score of 600 or higher.
5. Provides that a student in grades 9-12 whose primary
language is other than English, to qualify for the State
Seal of Biliteracy, must:
A. Meet all the requirements outlined in #4 above.
B. Attain "early advanced proficiency" level on the
California English language development test and
authorizes a participating school district to
administer the English language development test an
additional time as necessary for this purpose.
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6. For languages in which an Advanced Placement test is not
available, the SPI may provide a listing of equivalent
summative tests that school districts may use in place
of an Advanced Placement test. Allows a school district
to provide the SPI with a list of equivalent summative
tests that is uses in place of an Advanced Placement
test, and allows the SPI to use lists received from
school districts in developing his or her list of
equivalent summative lists.
7. Provides that, for purposes of the State Seal of
Bilteracy, "foreign language" means a language other
than English and includes American Sign Language.
8. Requires the California Department of Education, under
the direction of the SPI, to:
A. Prepare and deliver to school districts an
appropriate insignia to be affixed to the diploma
or transcript of the student indicating that the
student has been awarded a State Seal of
Biliteracy.
B. Provide other necessary information for school
district's to successfully participate in the
program.
9. Requires each school district that participates in this
program to maintain appropriate records in order to
identify students and to affix the appropriate insignia
to the diploma or transcript of each student who earns a
State Seal of Biliteracy.
10.Declares legislative intent that no fee be charged to
students pursuant to the bill's provisions.
11.Allows the SPI to use money appropriated for purposes of
the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma program to develop
an Internet Web site for electronic delivery of the
seals for both the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma and
the State Seal of Biliteracy. Allows the SPI to use
these funds on a one-time basis to develop an Internet
Web site to make electronically available to school
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districts the seals for the Golden State Seal Merit
Diploma and State Seal of Biliteracy programs.
Comments
Biliteracy . In order to be recognized as biliterate, this
bill requires a student to demonstrate a high level of
proficiency in English and in one or more other languages
(including American Sign Language). English mastery must
be demonstrated by having achieved an overall GPA of 2.0 in
all English language art requirements and by passing the
California Standards tests for grade 11 at the proficient
level or above. Proficiency in a foreign language may be
demonstrated by satisfying any one of five possible
measures, including completion of a four year high school
course of study in a foreign language with an overall GPA
of 3.0. Students whose primary language is other than
English must demonstrate an additional level of English
mastery by attaining the "early advanced proficiency" level
on the english language development test.
Insuring uniform criteria . The stated purpose of this bill
is to create uniform statewide criteria for awarding the
seal of Biliteracy. This bill authorizes passage of a
foreign government's language exam as one measure of
language proficiency.
This bill also recognizes passage of a district language
examination as a measure of language proficiency.
According to the sponsors, some districts have developed
assessments in languages such as Vietnamese, Tagalog,
Arabic, Armenian and Russian because "off the shelf" and
language tests do not exist for some of these languages.
In addition, students who take an AP language test late in
their senior year do not receive results in time to have
the seal affixed to their diploma.
Prior/Similar Legislation
AB 280 (Coto), 2007-08 Session, was substantively similar
to this bill. Passed the Senate with a vote of 26-11 on
September 10, 2007. This bill was ultimately vetoed by the
Governor whose veto message read, in pertinent part:
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"While I support the attainment of literacy in
foreign languages, I am concerned that this bill
could create a precedent for providing special
recognition for one specific subject area. Students
taking four years of math or science, for example,
would not receive special recognition, therefore
creating a bias of value toward foreign language
above other core curricula areas. Students should be
encouraged to strive for, and value high achievement
in all of their academic pursuits."
Other similar bills include AB 1196 (Coto), which was heard
and passed out of this Committee in January 2006 on a 7-4
vote. AB 1196 was subsequently amended to address a
different subject matter and its contents amended into AB
2445 (Salinas). AB 2445 (Salinas) was passed by the
Legislature in 2006, but ultimately vetoed by the Governor
who cited concerns that, without uniform, consistent
standards, employers and college admission counselors in
search of qualified candidates would not be able to rely on
the State Seal as a valid indicator of bilingual
proficiency.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Fund
State Seal of Biliteracy $43-63 $42 $42
General
program
Special*
Likely minor local costs, if elect
Local/Gen**
to participate
*Golden State Merit Diploma program
**Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/11)
Administrator in Charge, Oxnard Union High School District
Advancement Project
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Association for the Gifted
California Federation of Teachers
California Language Teachers Association
California School Boards Association
California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages
Californians Together
Families in Schools
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Unified School District Staff
Public Advocates
San Diego Unified School District
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
Superintendent, El Monte Union High School District
Superintendent, Salinas Union High School District
Superintendent, Santa Cruz City Schools
Superintendent, Whittier Union High School District
United Teachers Los Angeles
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the purpose of the State Seal of Biliteracy is to encourage
students to study language, to certify mastery of two or
more languages, to provide employers with a method of
identifying prospective employees with language and
biliteracy skills, to provide universities with a method of
recognizing and giving academic credit to applicants
seeking admission, and to promote foreign language
instruction in public schools. The Seal of Biliteracy
program is currently being implemented by 34 school
districts, each with a different seal design and different
requirements for awarding the seal. This bill will create
a uniform seal design and a uniform statewide set of
criteria for awarding the seal.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-26, 6/2/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
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Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Norby, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao,
Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell, Hall
CPM:do 8/30/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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