BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 611
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Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 611 (Steinberg) - As Amended: July 13, 2011
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:6-2
Education 7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requests the Regents of the University of California
(UC) to establish and maintain the University of California
Curriculum Integration Institute (UCCII). Specifically, this
bill:
1)Request the regents, subject to the availability of funds in
the Budget Act and/or the availability of federal or private
funds, to operate the UCCII to facilitate, among secondary
level teachers, postsecondary education instructors, and
statewide career technical education (CTE) associations, the
development and promotion of integrated academic and technical
education courses that meet UC and California State University
(CSU) admission requirements and align with identified
high-priority industry sectors.
2)States legislative intent that the UCCII facilitate at least
10 convenings and serve at least 500 educators annually, and
develop at least 250 courses by January 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT
Estimated annual costs of $4 million to conduct 10 convenings,
subject to availability of a Budget Act appropriation from the
General Fund and/or federal or private funding. (The UCCIIs are
currently funded with $600,000 from the Career Technical
Education Pathways and Workforce Development Program established
through SB 70 (Scott)/Chapter 352 of 2005, which sunsets in
2014.)
SB 611
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ÝThe UC has incurred GF budget reductions of $650 million for
the 2011-12 fiscal year (FY). While a portion of this reduction
in state support has been offset by significant student fee
increases, UC is also reducing enrollment and course offerings.
If GF revenues do not meet specified projections, UC may incur
an additional $100 reduction this FY.]
COMMENTS
1)Background . UC and CSU have established common high school
course ("a-g") requirements for undergraduate admissions to
ensure that potential university students are prepared to
engage and be successful in university-level coursework.
Students who follow the articulated sequence of courses in
each subject area and who meet other specified criteria are
eligible to apply and be considered for admission. The UC
Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS),
comprised of UC faculty, reviews and determines which high
school courses meet the "a-g" approval criteria. The CSU
accepts courses certified by BOARS, thus enabling students to
complete the same course-taking sequence whether they choose
to apply for admission to UC or CSU.
Since 2001-02, the number of CTE courses deemed "a-g" eligible
has grown dramatically. According to a December 2010 report by
the state Department of Education, there are 8,389 high school
career technical education (CTE) courses meeting the "a-g"
requirements.
2)Purpose . While the author notes that progress has been made,
as mentioned above, he argues there are significant gaps in
developing eligible CTE courses in critical subject areas.
According to the author, only 334 approved courses exist in
language other than English, 47 in history/social sciences, 18
in English, and just eight courses in math. (Fully 95% of the
approved CTE courses are either in the areas visual and
performing arts, electives, or laboratory sciences.) The
author maintains the concentration of approved CTE courses in
a few subject areas suggests that "hands-on, career-oriented
academic and technical learning opportunities that meet "a-g"
requirements have yet to become part of the core set of
learning options available for California high school
students.
SB 611
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"According to the author, "SB 611 would begin to address this
deficiency by establishing a robust, centralized mechanism for
high school teachers, university faculty and other experts to
develop and disseminate new, model courses that provide
students rigorous academic content that is linked to real
world applications and relevant to the needs of the industries
that California seeks to grow."
3)The UCCII was established in 2009-10 with $600,000 in funding,
pursuant to SB 70, to help high school faculty create "a-g"
approved courses and to prepare faculty groups as a cadre of
experts who can further the development of integrated courses.
The first UCCII, held in May 2010, focused on mathematics as
integrated with finance and business sectors. A total of 38
high school teachers participated in the institute. The fall
2010 institute focused on history/social studies and English
in conjunction with six media sectors, including arts, media,
and entertainment and health science and medical technology.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081