BILL NUMBER: SB 532 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 238
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 15, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 12, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hernandez
(Coauthor: Senator Price)
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Sections 52240 and 52920 of the Education Code,
relating to pupil instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 532, Hernandez. Pupil instruction: high school curriculum:
advanced placement courses: International Baccalaureate Diploma
Program.
(1) Existing law contains legislative findings and declarations
stating that advanced placement courses, among other things, help to
improve the overall curriculum at schools where they are provided and
provide a cost-effective means for high school pupils to obtain
college-level coursework experience.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to annually update the information on advanced placement available on
the Internet Web site of the State Department of Education to
include current information on the various means available to school
districts to offer or access advanced placement courses, including
online courses, and to annually communicate with high schools that
offer advanced placement courses in fewer than 5 subjects and inform
them of the various options for making advanced placement courses and
other rigorous courses available to pupils who may benefit from
them.
(2) Existing law authorizes a system of incentives to encourage
high schools to operate International Baccalaureate Diploma Programs,
and to encourage pupils in these schools to enroll in, attempt, and
pass the International Baccalaureate course of study and examinations
that lead to the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
This bill would require the Superintendent to annually update
information on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
available on the department's Internet Web site and to provide
support to high schools that offer International Baccalaureate
courses, as specified. The bill would encourage the Academic Senate
for the California Community Colleges, the Academic Senate of the
California State University, and the Academic Senate of the
University of California to continue their efforts to adopt
consistent systemwide guidelines for the acceptance and granting of
credit for International Baccalaureate Diploma Program courses taken
by students while they are in high school.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52240 of the Education Code is amended to read:
52240. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Advanced placement courses, for which school credit is
awarded, provide rigorous academic coursework opportunities for high
school pupils and help to improve the overall curriculum at schools
where those courses are provided.
(2) The successful completion of advanced placement courses and
the subsequent advanced placement examinations, which are conducted
by the College Entrance Examination Board and for which college
credit is awarded, provide a cost-effective means for high school
pupils to obtain college-level coursework experience.
(3) To the extent that economically disadvantaged pupils are
provided financial assistance to take advanced placement
examinations, they will be provided with successful college-level
experience and be encouraged to pursue postsecondary education
opportunities.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, that certain
state funding that currently is provided to school districts be made
available to provide financial assistance to economically
disadvantaged pupils for the payment of advanced placement
examination fees. It is further the intent of the Legislature that a
competitive grant program also be established for the purpose of
awarding grants to economically disadvantaged pupils to cover the
costs of advanced placement examination fees, thereby creating a
second source of financial assistance for economically disadvantaged
pupils taking advanced placement examinations.
(c) The Superintendent shall annually update the information on
advanced placement available on the department's Internet Web site to
include current information on the various means available to school
districts to offer or access advanced placement courses, including
online courses. The Superintendent shall annually communicate with
high schools that offer advanced placement courses in fewer than five
subjects, and inform them of the various options for making advanced
placement courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who
may benefit from them.
SEC. 2. Section 52920 of the Education Code is amended to read:
52920. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program is a comprehensive and
rigorous two-year curriculum, leading to examinations for high school
pupils. Its objectives are to provide pupils with a balanced
education, to facilitate geographic and cultural mobility, and to
promote international understanding through a shared academic
experience. Successful International Baccalaureate Diploma candidates
pursue a specific, intensive, balanced liberal arts course of study
and must pass rigorous examinations in seven curricula areas.
Successful International Baccalaureate Diploma candidates are
typically granted substantial advanced placement credit at the finest
colleges and universities in the nation. The academic content and
rigor of the instruction and examinations in International
Baccalaureate Diploma Programs is governed and continuously monitored
by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva,
Switzerland.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a system of
appropriate incentives to encourage high schools to offer the
intensive, rigorous course of instruction leading to International
Baccalaureate Diplomas and to encourage pupils in these schools to
enroll in, attempt, and pass the rigorous International Baccalaureate
Diploma course of study and the rigorous examinations leading to the
International Baccalaureate Diploma.
(c) The Superintendent shall annually update information on the
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program available on the
department's Internet Web site. The Superintendent also shall provide
support to high schools that offer International Baccalaureate (IB)
courses to facilitate communication with the Academic Senate for the
California Community Colleges, the Academic Senate of the California
State University, and the Academic Senate of the University of
California about the rigor of those courses and to ensure that
college credit is given to pupils who participate so that they
benefit from successful efforts in IB programs.
SEC. 3. The Legislature encourages the Academic Senate for the
California Community Colleges, the Academic Senate of the California
State University, and the Academic Senate of the University of
California to continue their efforts to adopt consistent systemwide
guidelines for the acceptance and granting of credit for
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program courses taken by students
while they are in high school.