BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1790
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1790 (Hagman)
As Amended August 22, 2012
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(April 23, |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 30, |
| | |2012) | | |2012) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires a publisher or manufacturer submitting a
printed instructional material for adoption by the State Board
of Education (SBE) or the governing board of a school district
to ensure that the printed instructional material is also
available in a digital format, during the entire term of the
adoption.
The Senate amendments :
Require publishers to offer a digital format of instructional
materials only if the publisher offers a print version and
stipulate that this bill does not require a publisher that
submits only in digital format to offer or submit an equivalent
print version of the instructional material.
Clarify that the digital versions of instructional materials
shall be an equivalent format of the print versions.
Delete language prohibiting the use of instructional materials
that would constitute an infringement of copyright under the
federal Copyright Revision Act of 1976 and language making the
requirements of the bill apply only to instructional material
adoptions that occur after the current suspension of
instructional materials adoptions.
Make enactment of this bill contingent on the enactment of SB
1154 (Walters) of the 2011-12 Regular Session.
Add co-authors.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
AB 1790
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : The most recent statewide adoptions have seen a
number of publishers submit programs that have an integrated
electronic component, or in some cases, are entirely
technology-based, even though current law does not require
publishers to submit materials for adoption in electronic
formats. A 2007 study of previous SBE adoptions showed that
publishers were beginning to make electronic editions of their
materials available as an alternate format to their print
textbooks. For example, the 2007 math adoption includes 22
basic programs, 10 of which are available on an optical disc,
two are available as online texts, and one program has an
integrated electronic component. The 2008 reading language arts
(RLA) adoption included various electronic components whereas,
the 2002 RLA adoption did not include any electronic versions of
instructional materials.
The recently revised Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations currently stipulates that publishers must: "provide
the CDE with a URL (uniform resource locator) to those
instructional materials intended for student use that are being
submitted for adoption, and the CDE shall post on its website
direct hyperlinks to the URLs provided by the publishers. The
instructional materials posted on each publisher's website shall
be identical to the hard copy version of the instructional
materials submitted for adoption, except that copyrighted items
that do not allow for posting online may be omitted and replaced
by a description of the omitted item, and any online features
that are absent from the hard copy version shall be identified."
This requirement for posting is within the context of public
inspection of materials being considered for adoption and not
necessarily in the context of purchasing these materials. This
means that even though publishers submit an electronic version
of a program, those materials may not necessarily be available
beyond the submission period or for purchase by districts. This
bill would require materials to be available for the entire term
of the adoption.
Many of the larger publishers are already moving in the
direction of including digital versions of instructional
materials, and thus the requirements of this bill may not create
a significant burden on those publishers. However, it is not
clear that the smaller publishers will be able to meet this
AB 1790
Page 3
requirement. Many of the small publishers already have a
difficult time with the statewide adoption process and therefore
there is a possibility that this proposal may add an additional
burden on small publishers. Additionally, it is unclear whether
this bill may be requiring publishers to submit the materials in
various electronic formats so that they are compatible with the
various forms of hardware available in the market.
Suspension of adoption activities: As a result of the fiscal
climate in the state, adoptions of instructional materials have
been suspended until the 2015-16 fiscal year, thus there are no
adoptions taking place at the moment and districts are not
required to purchase instructional materials by a specified
timeline. The requirements of this bill would be applicable
only after the existing suspension is lifted.
The limited resources or lack thereof have often limited a
district's ability to provide technology-based or electronic
versions of instructional materials to its pupils. School
districts and the state have grappled with funding challenges
but also challenges of ensuring equal access to technology for
all students.
This bill was previously in conflict with SB 1154 (Walters).
The author of this bill and the author of SB 1154 agreed to a
set of amendments that resolve the conflicts and make the
provisions of the two bills complementary and contingent upon
the enactment of each other.
Related legislation : SB 1154 (Walters) requires a publisher or
manufacturer that offers equivalent digital formats of printed
instructional materials to offer the digital formats at the same
cost as or lower cost than, the cost of the purchased printed
format.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0005489
AB 1790
Page 4