BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Alan Lowenthal, Chair 2011-12 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 612 AUTHOR: Steinberg INTRODUCED: February 17, 2011 FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2011 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill SUBJECT : Teacher Professional Development: Subject Matter Projects. SUMMARY This bill authorizes the establishment of three additional California Subject Matter Projects, deletes the sunset date on existing projects, adds new areas of emphasis for subject matter projects, and makes various changes to the concurrence committee and project advisory boards. BACKGROUND Existing law provides for the establishment and maintenance of six California Subject Matter Projects (CSMP) for the purpose of developing and enhancing teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills. Current law authorizes the following subject matter projects: (Education Code § 99201) a) The California Writing Project. b) The California Reading and Literature Project. c) The California Mathematics Project. d) The California Science Project. e) The California History-Social Science Project. f) The World History and International Studies project. Existing law authorizes the UC to establish other subject matter projects and specifies that no funds allocated in the annual Budget Act shall be used for subject matter projects in subjects not specifically authorized in statute. (EC § 99201.5) Existing law requires the Regents of the University of SB 612 Page 2 California (UC), with the approval of an intersegmental Concurrence Committee, to establish and maintain the projects and specifies the composition of the concurrence committee to be representatives of the various segments of education. Existing law requires the advisory board of each subject matter project to use specified criteria in recommending funding for local project sites. (EC § 99200) Existing law makes the CSMP inoperative on June 30, 2012, and repeals the authorizing statute on January 1, 2013, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends those dates. (EC § 99206) ANALYSIS This bill : 1) Makes findings and declarations about the high dropout rate in California high schools; the need for an educated workforce, the value of schools offering a more integrated approach to learning, and declares that investments in delivering to pupils the skills and knowledge needed for further education and employment in California's high-growth, high-demand industries are investments in the growth of a knowledge-intensive, innovative economy. 2) Makes further findings and declarations about the role and purpose of the California Subject Matter Projects (CSMP) as a statewide network of subject-specific professional development programs and how the CSMP infrastructure may be leveraged to align middle and high school curricula more closely to the needs of growing and emerging sectors of the California economy by providing teachers with the supports and tools necessary to deliver career-oriented, integrated academic and technical education content. 3) Adds two new areas of emphasis for CSMP to provide teachers with: a) Instructional strategies for delivering career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content in a manner that is linked to high priority industry sectors identified in the California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum SB 612 Page 3 Standards as adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE). Requires the CSMP Concurrence Committee, in consultation with the appropriate state entities, industry leaders, and representatives of organized labor, educators, and other parties, to determine the priority of the industry sectors. b) Instructional strategies for ongoing collaboration on the delivery of career-oriented, integrated academic and technical education content. 4) Clarifies that the CSMP provide support to teachers to develop and enhance content knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to implement the state adopted content standards and the curriculum frameworks. 5) Requires the CSMP Concurrence Committee, beginning January 1, 2016, and every three years thereafter, to provide a report, as specified, on the subject matter projects to the Governor and to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. Makes the reporting requirement inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to the Government Code. 6) Modifies the composition of the nine-member CSMP Concurrence Committee by reducing the number of representatives selected by the SBE from two to one; and by adding a representative selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). 7) Requires the CSMP, in partnership with the University of California Curriculum Integration Institute or other appropriate entities, to provide teachers with support in the implementation of career-oriented, integrated academic and technical courses that meet course requirements for admission to the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and align with high-priority industry sectors as specified. 8) Adds the following projects to the list of authorized subject matter projects: a) The California Physical Education-Health SB 612 Page 4 Project. b) The California Arts Project. c) The California Foreign Language Project. 9) Deletes the inoperative and repeal dates, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. 10) Modifies the composition of project advisory boards for each subject matter project by reducing from two to one, representatives selected by the UC, CSU, SPI, and SBE such that the new composition of each advisory board is as follows: a) One representative selected by the California Postsecondary Education Committee (CPEC). b) One representative, selected by the President of the UC, who is a member of the faculty in the discipline addressed by the project. c) One representative, selected by the Chancellor of the CSU, who is a member of the faculty in the discipline addressed by the project. d) One representative, selected by the SPI, who is a classroom teacher in the subject area addressed by the project. e) One representative, selected by the SBE, who is a classroom teacher in the subject area addressed by the project. f) One representative selected by the Governor. g) One representative selected by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. h) One representative of a statewide professional organization of teachers in the subject matter addressed by the project, as specified. i) Two representatives of the California community colleges, selected by the Chancellor, one of whom is a faculty member in the subject matter addressed by the project. SB 612 Page 5 j) Two representatives of an independent postsecondary institution selected by the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU), one of whom is a faculty member in the subject matter addressed by the project. aa) One representative who is from an industry sector that principally utilizes the discipline addressed by the project and who is selected by the advisory board. 11) Adds high pupil drop-out rates to the criteria each project advisory board must use in recommending funding for local project sites. 12) Specifies that for purposes of recommending funding for local project sites that serve middle or high school teachers, the project advisory board shall give special consideration to sites that utilize or are preparing to utilize instructional strategies to deliver career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content. STAFF COMMENTS 1) California Subject Matter Projects . The California Subject Matter Projects provide intensive, content-rich and discipline-based professional development designed to develop and enhance teachers' content knowledge and instructional strategies for the purpose of improving student learning and academic performance as measured against the state's K-12 academic content standards. In addition, the CSMP provide teachers with instructional strategies for working with English learners and help teachers use research and data to improve student learning and achievement. In addition to the six subject matter projects authorized in statute, the UC has established and maintains three additional projects in art, physical education-health, and foreign languages. Together, the nine projects serve over 800 school districts and close to 100 sites statewide on campuses of the UC, California State University, and independent colleges and universities. According to the UC, the projects served 94,703 teachers, administrators, SB 612 Page 6 and university faculty from 2006 to 2010. 2) Legislative history . Prior to 1998, the Education Code provided for the establishment and maintenance of subject matter projects in each subject area of teachers in the public schools and established priority for funding according to subjects required for high school graduation and subjects that coincided with state curriculum initiatives. With the adoption of K-12 academic content standards in the late 1990s, the state narrowed the focus of the CSMP to the core content areas of English language Arts, mathematics, science, and history-social science. AB 1734 (Mazzoni, Chapter 333, Statutes of 1998), authorized the six projects currently specified in Education Code and authorized the UC to establish additional subject matter projects, but prohibited those projects from receiving funding in the annual budget act. Although subsequent legislation expressed legislative intent that maintenance-level funding be provided for projects in academic fields seeking standards approval from the State Board of Education and although the SBE has adopted K-12 academic content standards in visual and performing arts (2001), physical education (2005), health education (2008), and world languages (2009), legislative attempts to authorize these subject areas in statute been unsuccessful (see below). While authorizing these three additional subject matter projects could create cost pressure to provide maintenance-level funding, it could be argued that authorizing them in statute will make it easier for the UC to successfully compete for foundation funding to provide additional support for the projects and will provide a formal recognition that all nine subject areas are included in the course of study undertaken by middle school and high school students and represent the content standards adopted by the SBE. Given that the SBE adopted academic content standards in "world languages" would it make more sense for the CSMP in foreign languages to be called "The California World Language Project?" 3) Career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content . In recent years, many high schools have established partnership academies, career-themed small learning communities, and other programs that integrate academic coursework with applied learning opportunities. SB 612 Page 7 Additionally, many schools and regional occupational centers/programs have worked to increase the rigor of career technical education courses to ensure that these courses prepare students for more options following high school. The goal of these programs is to provide students with rigorous, relevant learning opportunities that link what we expect them to know when they leave high school with the skills necessary to follow a chosen career pathway. Pursuant to AB 2648 (Bass, Chapter 681, Statutes of 2008), the California Department of Education (CDE) submitted a report to the Governor and the Legislature in 2010, that explores the feasibility of establishing and expanding additional high school programs that prepare students to be successful in their chosen pathways after high school. The AB 2648 Multiple Pathways to Student Success Report suggests that teachers in linked learning programs "need to have competencies in four domains: knowledge, pedagogy, professional skills, and foundational comprehension. Teachers need knowledge of the academic concepts that underlie work in industries, intellectual skills to solve problems in the real world, and must know how to work in a community of practice." The report also noted that teachers need pedagogical skills specific to engaging engage students in project-based and cooperative learning, building on students' prior knowledge and skills, and using multiple assessment measures and ways for students to demonstrate their competencies. Teachers must have appropriate professional skills that equip them to work in pathway settings and collaborate with other teachers and industry partners. By expanding the emphasis of the CSMP to include providing teachers with instructional strategies to deliver career-oriented integrated academic and technical content and by providing teachers with strategies for ongoing collaboration in the delivery of that content, this bill will enable the CSMP to help teachers working in these programs and could enable teachers of traditional academic courses incorporate real-world examples and applied learning opportunities into their day-to-day instruction. 4) Time to eliminate the sunset ? The Legislature established the CSMP in 1988 and the projects have been SB 612 Page 8 providing professional development to teachers continuously since that time. The CSMP serves as a model of intersegmental collaboration in the delivery of content-rich professional development that has helped develop teacher leaders in schools. The unique adaptable structure of the CSMP has enabled the projects to help schools implement state academic content standards and respond to priorities established by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) while maintaining a strong focus on teachers with the most need of support: those in low-performing schools and those working English learners. According to a 2005 evaluation of the CSMP conducted by SRI International, teachers reported that the CSMP influenced their instruction more than other professional development and contributed to improvements in student learning. Case study evidence gathered by SRI further suggests that when these changes influence teaching practice across departments or grade levels, schools have observed increases in student achievement and made progress in closing the achievement gap, especially for English learners. Given the positive evaluations associated with this long-established program and the fiscal control the Legislature has over its funding, deleting the sunset date appears to pose little policy risk to the state. 5) Administrative and Fiscal issues . This bill specifies that each CSMP advisory board is to have one representative from the UC and CSU, but provides for two representatives each from the California Community Colleges and an AICCU institution. To ensure balance in the representation from higher education segments, shouldn't the CCC and the AICCU have only one representative on each advisory board? The 2010-11 Budget Act allocates $9.35 million in state and federal funding to support the six existing CSMPs. ($4.35 million is federal funding and $5.0 million in non-98 General Funds.) Since the newly authorized projects could be allocated funds from the annual Budget Act, this bill could create cost pressure to increase funding for the CSMP. Funding for CSMP in 2011-12 includes $5 million in General Funds and $5.758 million in federal funds. 6) Amendments . Staff recommends the following amendments: SB 612 Page 9 a) Technical amendments to address incorrect code citations: i) The Government Code citation that repeals the reporting requirement on page 7, line 19 of the bill is incorrect. The correct citation should be Government Code § 10231.5. ii) The Education Code citation intended to refer to the curriculum frameworks, on page 7, line 36 of the bill is incorrect. The correct citation should be § 51226. For clarity, staff also recommends adding "curriculum frameworks" to the text of that subparagraph and adding language to allow for standards that may be adopted pursuant to the Common Core Initiative. b) To ensure balance in the representation from higher education segments on CSMP advisory committees, staff recommends amendments to specify that each advisory committee should have one representative of the CCC selected by the Chancellor and one representative of an independent postsecondary institution selected by the AICCU. c) To maintain consistency with the academic content standards adopted by the SBE in "World Languages," staff recommends amendments that would authorize "The California World Language Project" instead of The California Foreign Language Project as specified in the current version of the bill. 7) Related and prior legislation . SB 199 (Ducheny, 2009) would have authorized the establishment of subject matter projects in arts, physical education and health, and foreign languages, deleted the sunset date for CSMP and authorized projects to provide assistance to teachers providing instruction in integrated academic and career technical education programs. This measure was passed by the Senate SB 612 Page 10 Education Committee on a 6-0 vote and was subsequently held by the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 232 (Ducheny, Chapter 292, 2007), required the Concurrence Committee to report to the Governor and the Legislature on specified elements of the CSM and would have also authorized the establishment of subject matter projects in arts, physical education and health, and foreign languages, and This measure was passed by the Senate Education Committee on a 6-1 vote, and was amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee to delete the provisions authorizing the specified projects. SB 1073 (Simitian, 2006) would have added the California Arts Project, the California Foreign Language Project, and the California Physical Education-Health Project to the subject matter projects already created by law. This measure was passed by the Senate Education Committee on a 10-0 vote and was subsequently held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 108 (Mazzoni, 2000) would have, among other things, authorized the California Arts Project, the California Foreign Language Project, and the California Physical Education-Health Project to the statewide subject matter projects. This bill was passed by the Senate Education Committee on a 10-2 vote and was subsequently vetoed by Governor Gray Davis who opined that the highest priority for the use of state funds should be to support the existing subject matter projects aimed at improving student academic performance in English, mathematics, science, and the social sciences. SUPPORT California Alliance for Arts Education California Art Education Association California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance California Association of Leaders for Career Preparation California Language Teachers Association California Teachers Association Genentech Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles Unified School District University of California SB 612 Page 11 OPPOSITION None received.