BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 140 (Lowenthal)
Hearing Date: 04/11/2011 Amended: As introduced
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 7-1
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 140 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. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
develop a list, by July 1, 2012, of supplemental
instructional materials that are aligned with the common
core academic standards in English language arts and math,
as specified.
2) Requires the State Board of Education (SBE), by August 1,
2012, to either adopt or reject the instructional materials
proposed by CDE, as specified.
3) Authorizes school districts to different instructional
materials if the governing board determines that other
materials are aligned with the common core standards and
meet the needs of the pupils in the district.
4) Prohibits schools districts from adopting any instructional
materials that do not comply with existing requirements for
locally adopted materials for grades 9-12.
5) Requires the SBE and school districts, prior to adopting
instructional materials, to review the materials for
academic content, social content, and instructional support
to teachers and pupils, as specified.
6) Requires the CDE to maintain on its website a portal for
school districts to share information about instructional
materials that are aligned with the common core academic
content standards.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Develop materials list Unknown; likely tens of
thousands General
SBE review ----- Minor and
absorbable ---- General
CDE website portal $1,500 $1,500
$150* General
*Annual maintenance in future years
SB 140 (Lowenthal)
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
The SBE adopted common core academic content standards in
English language arts and mathematics on August 2, 2010,
pursuant to Education Code Section 60605.8.
After adopting content standards, California's process for
adopting instructional materials (to teach those standards)
would take 30 months, and include a review and update of the
curricular framework in each subject area (which must be
approved by the
SBE), and a subsequent adoption process for instructional
materials that fit those curricular frameworks.
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials has been suspended since July 2009,
pursuant to AB 2 of the Fourth Extraordinary Session (Chapter 2,
July 2009), which among other things, prohibited the SBE from
reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials until
the 2013-14 school year. AB 2 also extended to the 2012-13
fiscal year the suspension of the requirement to purchase
instructional materials within any specific period of time
following adoption of those materials by the SBE. (EC § 60200.7
and 60422.1)
This bill would establish a streamlined process for the
state-level adoption of supplemental instructional materials
that are aligned with the common core academic content
standards, while the normal process is suspended. To begin the
process, the CDE must develop a list, by July 1, 2012, of
supplemental instructional materials that are aligned with the
common core academic standards in English language arts and
math, as specified. The CDE would be responsible for the
workload associated with reviewing potential instructional
materials and selecting a final list to be submitted to the SBE
for approval. The workload cost to the CDE will depend on the
extent of the selection process, and whether or not the SBE
approves the CDE's instructional materials list. If the SBE
approves the list, the process ends for the CDE; if the SBE
rejects the list, however, the CDE will presumably start the
SB 140 (Lowenthal)
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process again and incur additional workload.
As previously noted, this bill requires the SBE, by August 1,
2012, to either adopt or reject the instructional materials
proposed by CDE. If the SBE rejects the instructional materials
as proposed by the CDE, it must provide a specific written
explanation to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
Governor, and the Legislature of the reasons why the proposed
materials were rejected. The workload associated with this task
will likely be minor and absorbable, and is consistent with
activities performed by the SBE.
This bill would also require the CDE to maintain on its website
a "portal" for school districts to share information about
instructional materials that are aligned with the common core
academic content standards. While the bill does not detail the
required functionality of the portal, a portal is typically
understood to be more complex than a content website, and
include offers a broad array of resources and services, such as
email, forums, and search engines. The CDE has indicated that
creating and maintaining a web portal would provide more
advanced functionality than exists on its current website, and
estimates that the cost to develop and maintain the new portal
would be $3.5 million.