BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 509
AUTHOR: Price
AMENDED: May 3, 2011
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: May 11, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Instructional materials: sufficiency.
SUMMARY
This bill modifies a provision of the Williams settlement
to authorize school districts to purchase new instructional
materials for their neediest schools, rather than for every
school in the district.
BACKGROUND
The settlement of Williams v. the State of California,
among other things, established a process whereby the
county superintendent of schools is to determine whether
pupils in schools ranked in deciles 1-3 on the Academic
Performance Index have access to sufficient textbooks.
Current law:
1) Requires, beginning with 2010-11 fiscal year and every
third year thereafter, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to identify a list of schools ranked
in deciles 1-3 of the Academic Performance Index (API)
for which the county superintendent must annually
submit a report to each district, the county board of
education and the board of supervisors, that describes
the state of the schools. (Education Code § 1240)
2) States that the priority objective of the visits made
by the county superintendent is to determine the
status of all of the following circumstances:
a) Sufficient textbooks.
b) The condition of a facility that poses an
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emergency or urgent threat to the health or
safety or pupils or staff.
c) The accuracy of data reported on the school
accountability report card with respect to the
availability of sufficient textbooks and
instructional materials, and the safety,
cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities.
d) The extent to which pupils who have not
passed the high school exit exam by the end of
12th grade are informed that they are entitled to
receive intensive instruction and services for up
to two consecutive academic years after
completion of the 12th grade or until the pupil
has passed both parts of the high school exit
exam, whichever comes first.
e) The extent to which pupils who have elected
to receive intensive instruction and services are
being served. (EC § 1240)
3) For the 2008-09 to 2014-15 fiscal years, provides that
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials
include standards-aligned textbooks or instructional
materials, or both, that were adopted prior to July 1,
2008. Current law states legislative intent that each
local educational agency (LEA) provide each pupil with
standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials
from the same adoption. Current law specifies that
LEAs are not required to purchase all of the
instructional materials included in an adoption if the
materials that are purchased are made available to all
the pupils for whom they are intended in all of the
schools within the LEA. These provisions sunset on
July 1, 2013. (EC § 1240.3)
4) For the 2008-09 to 2014-15 fiscal years, provides that
school districts are not required to provide pupils
with instructional materials by a specified period of
time following adoption of those materials by the
State Board of Education. However, school districts
are not relieved of their obligations to provide every
pupil with textbooks or instructional materials.
(EC § 60422.1)
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5) Defines "sufficient textbooks or instructional
materials" to mean that each pupil, including English
learners, has a standards-aligned textbook or
instructional materials, or both, to use in class and
to take home. Two sets of textbooks or instructional
materials for each pupil is not required. (EC §
60119)
ANALYSIS
This bill modifies a provision of the Williams settlement
to authorize school districts to purchase new instructional
materials for their neediest schools, rather than for every
school in the district. Specifically, this bill:
1) Authorizes a school district to purchase the newest
adopted instructional materials for the neediest
schools in the district prior to purchasing these
materials for the remaining schools in the district.
2) Defines "neediest schools" as those ranked in deciles
1-3 of the base Academic Performance Index (API) in
any one of the past three school years.
3) Authorizes a school district to establish criteria to
define the neediest schools for schools that do not
have at least one year of valid rankings in the base
API.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Purpose of the bill . According to the author, "Under
the Williams Settlement statutes, sufficiency for
instructional materials is defined to be standards
aligned instructional materials from the same
adoption. If a district wants to purchase new
materials, it must provide students in the same grade
level or course with materials from the same adoption.
In these difficult fiscal times, it makes it
difficult for a district to make any purchases at all
because it becomes an 'all or nothing' decision. This
bill provides an option to school districts and it
gives greater flexibility in helping their most
disadvantaged students have the tools necessary to
close the achievement gap."
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2) Williams and instructional materials . Pursuant to the
settlement of the Williams lawsuit, schools ranked in
deciles 1-3 on the Academic Performance Index are
monitored for, among other things, the provision to
pupils of sufficient textbooks or instructional
materials that are aligned to the content standards.
Sufficiency is met when each pupil, including English
learners, has a standards-aligned textbook or
instructional materials, or both, to use in class and
to take home. Two sets of textbooks or instructional
materials for each pupil are not required.
Prior to the enactment of education budget trailer bills in
2009, districts were required to purchase
instructional materials within 24 months of adoption
by the State Board of Education. This requirement has
been suspended until the 2014-15 fiscal year.
Districts are specifically authorized to purchase
standards-aligned instructional materials that were
adopted prior to July 1, 2008.
Current law states legislative intent that each school
district provide each pupil with standards-aligned
textbooks or instructional materials from the same
adoption. School districts are not required to
purchase all of the instructional materials included
in an adoption if the materials that are purchased are
made available to all the pupils for whom they are
intended in all of the schools within the district.
Nothing in current law prohibits districts from purchasing
instructional materials from the most recent adoption;
however, current law requires instructional materials
to be provided to each pupil at every school within
the district. This bill specifically authorizes the
purchase of instructional materials from the most
recent adoption for only some of the schools within
the district.
Some have raised the concern that this bill could
confuse school districts about how to meet the
sufficiency requirements of Williams, possibly leading
districts to believe that they must purchase
instructional materials from the most recent adoption
for their decile 1-3 schools. Should this bill be
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clarified to specifically state that districts are not
required to purchase from the most recent adoption to
meet Williams requirements?
SUPPORT
Association of American Publishers
OPPOSITION
San Bernardino County District Advocates for Better Schools