BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1719 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1719 (Fuentes) As Amended May 25, 2012 Majority vote EDUCATION 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Eng, Halderman, Wagner, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |Williams | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | | | |Ammiano, Hill, Lara, | | | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Solorio, Wagner | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Establishes a process for the review and approval of supplemental instructional materials that are aligned with the revised English language development (ELD) standards for English learner pupils. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes findings and declarations stating that the adoption of the common core state standards and the English language development (ELD) standards, coupled with the fact that there are currently 1.4 million English learners (ELs) in California, makes it critical to ensure the availability of supplemental instructional materials for ELs. 2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to recommend, and the State Board of Education (SBE) to approve, evaluation criteria to guide the development and review of supplemental instructional materials for English learners. 3)Requires the CDE to develop a list by January 1, 2014, of supplemental instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1-8, inclusive, that are aligned with the revised ELD standards. 4)Requires CDE to recommend and the SBE to approve content review experts to review, in an open and transparent process, supplemental instructional materials submitted for approval, and specifies that the majority of content review experts AB 1719 Page 2 shall be elementary and secondary school teachers who are credentialed in English language arts (ELA), possess the appropriate state EL authorization, and have five years of classroom experience instructing ELs. Requires the content review experts to include persons from postsecondary institutions and school and district curriculum administrators possessing EL expertise, and others who are knowledgeable in ELA and ELD. 5)Stipulates that the content review experts shall serve without compensation. 6)Requires, on or before June 30, 2014, the SBE to approve or reject, all, or a portion, of the list of supplemental instructional materials proposed by CDE. 7)Provides, that if the SBE rejects all, or a portion, of the list of supplemental instructional materials, or adds an item to the list, the SBE, in a public meeting held pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, shall provide written reasons for the removal or addition of an item on the list. Prohibits the SBE from approving a supplemental instructional material it adds to the list at the same time it provides its written reason for adding the material; and instead, requires the SBE to approve the added material at a subsequent public meeting. 8)Authorizes a governing board of a school district and a county board of education to approve supplemental instructional materials other than those approved by the SBE if that governing board performs specified reviews and determines that other supplemental instructional materials are aligned with the revised ELD standards and meet the needs of ELs in the district. Specifies that the governing board of a school district or the county board of education may only approve supplemental instructional materials that comply with all of the specified requirements. 9)Stipulates that supplemental instructional materials approved by the governing board of a school district or county board of education shall be reviewed by content review experts chosen by the governing board and requires the content experts to meet the same criteria as those selected at the state level and to serve without compensation. AB 1719 Page 3 10)Specifies that publishers choosing to submit supplemental instructional materials for approval by the SBE shall submit standards maps. 11)Requires the SBE and school districts to review the supplemental instructional materials for academic content, social content, and instructional support to teachers and pupils. Requires the supplemental materials to meet required program criteria for grade-level programs, include materials for use by teachers, and comply with the social content review requirements pursuant to existing law. 12)Requires CDE to maintain on its Internet Web site the list of supplemental instructional materials approved by the SBE. 13)Makes the provisions of this bill inoperative on July 1, 2014, and, repeals them as of July 1, 2015, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends these dates. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, administrative costs to CDE, likely between $150,000 and $250,000, to conduct a review of supplemental materials pursuant to this measure. COMMENTS : The SBE adopted the common core state standards in language arts and mathematics on August 2, 2010, and last year the Legislature approved and the Governor signed three measures to start a process for transitioning into and implementing the common core state standards. AB 250 (Brownley), Chapter 608, Statutes of 2011, develops curriculum frameworks and professional development modules aligned to the common core standards and prepares the state's assessment system for reauthorization and alignment with common core; AB 124 (Fuentes), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011, requires alignment of the ELD standards to the common core ELA standards; and, SB 140 (Lowenthal), Chapter 623, Statutes of 2011, creates a process for the review and approval of supplemental instructional materials to provide a transition to the common core standards. This bill creates a substantially similar process to that established by SB 140 (Lowenthal) for purposes of reviewing and approving supplemental instructional materials that are aligned with revised ELD standards. CDE is starting the process of aligning the ELD standards with the common core ELA standards AB 1719 Page 4 and it is expected that the advisory committee will complete its work in the summer of 2012 and the SBE is required to adopt the revised standards by September 30, 2012, unless modifications need to be made. Need for the bill: In the 2010-2011 school year, 1.4 million EL pupils were enrolled in California public schools, representing approximately 23% of the total pupil enrollment. AB 2 X4 (Evans), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009-10 Fourth Extraordinary Session, and SB 70 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011, suspend the requirement for the SBE to adopt instructional materials for use in K-8 until the 2015-16 fiscal year, and relieves local educational agencies (LEAs) from the requirement to purchase newly adopted instructional materials within a specified timeframe following adoption of those materials until the 2015-16 fiscal year. The process for adopting instructional materials has been suspended for the next three years, however given that the state has adopted new content standards in ELA and math, and will soon be adopting new ELD standards, there will be a need to provide teachers and school districts tools that will help their ELs in the transition to the common core. Supplemental instructional materials: The development of a list of supplemental instructional materials is a one-time activity and a short-term, temporary solution to dealing with the budget restrictions on instructional materials while still providing districts with tools necessary for their ELs to access the common core standards. Supplemental instructional materials do not typically undergo a state-level review process, except to ensure compliance with social content requirements. The process envisioned by this bill is to assist districts in identifying materials that meet the recently-adopted common core standards and the revised ELD standards. The author states, "With the state's transition to the Common Core Standards in ELA, it is imperative the state not overlook the importance of providing teachers who instruct ELL ÝEnglish language learner] pupils with the necessary tools to ensure their pupils' achieve English proficiency via the revised ELD Standards and academic proficiency in the Common Core Standards in ELA." AB 1719 Page 5 Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Aviña / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0003920