BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 613
AUTHOR: Alquist
INTRODUCED: February 18, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 6, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Instructional materials: open-source.
SUMMARY
This bill requires at least one-half of the instructional
materials adopted by the State Board of Education, and at
least one of the instructional materials adopted by school
districts, to be open-source materials.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt
instructional materials for grades K-8, and requires
school districts to adopt materials for use in grades
9-12. (Education Code § 60200 and 60400)
2) Defines "instructional materials" to include
technology-based materials, and includes the use of
current and relevant technology that further engages
interactive learning in the classroom and beyond as a
purpose of "supplementary instructional materials."
Current law defines "technology-based materials" as
basic or supplemental instructional materials that are
designed for use by pupils and teachers as learning
resources and that require the availability of
electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning
resource. This definition specifically excludes the
electronic equipment required to make use of those
materials, unless that equipment is to be used by
pupils and teachers as a learning resource. (EC §
60010)
3) Defines "sufficient textbooks or instructional
SB 613
Page 2
materials" and allows the materials to be in digital
format as long as each pupil has access to the same
materials in the class and to take home as all other
pupils in the same class or course in the district.
All pupils must have the ability to use and access the
materials at home. (EC § 60119)
4) Authorizes the use of instructional material funding
to purchase materials in an electronic or hardbound
format if it can ensure that each pupil will be
provided with a copy of the instructional materials to
use at school and at home. (EC § 60422.1)
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)
SB 70 (Chapter 7, March 24, 2011) extended the prohibition
on the adoption of instructional materials by the SBE to
the 2015-16 school year.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires at least one-half of the instructional
materials adopted by the State Board of Education, and at
least one of the instructional materials adopted by school
districts, to be open-source materials. Specifically, this
bill:
1) Requires at least one-half, or one-half plus one in
the case of an odd number, of the basic instructional
materials adopted by the State Board of Education to
be open-source instructional materials.
2) Requires at least one of the instructional materials
adopted by a school district governing board (for use
in grades 9-12) to be an open-source instructional
material.
SB 613
Page 3
3) Defines "open-source instructional materials" to mean
instructional materials that are available in a
digital format and free to view online. This bill
authorizes open-source materials to be developed in
either of the following manners:
a) Through a consortium of other
states, of which California may be a part, that
develops free open-source instructional materials
that are linked to the common core academic
standards developed by the Common Core State
Standards Initiative consortium.
b) By a single author or publisher.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Purpose of the bill . According to the author,
"Today's students are surrounded by technology. They
use it for communication, recreation, and social
networking. They also use it for learning and
research. Today, a child is more likely to do a Google
search or go to Wikipedia with a question before
heading to a library. Yet in the classroom, most
students continue to use traditional printed
textbooks. And while traditional textbooks offer
quality, standards-aligned curriculum, there are more
ways to meet the evolving educational needs of
students in a way that they understand and enjoy.
Digital textbooks are interactive, can be efficiently
updated, and provide standards aligned curriculum that
can be accessed at no charge. As we implement the
Common Core Standards, we should be looking to expand
our use of open source digital textbooks because it
can reduce the cost of instructional materials for
schools and still deliver standards aligned curriculum
in a manner that students value."
2) Existing projects . The California Learning Resource
Network (CLRN) is a collaborative of county offices of
education that have had a contract with the California
Department of Education since 1999 to review
electronic learning resources (software and
internet-based) that are aligned to the state's
academic content standards. CLRN has begun the
process of reviewing English language arts and
SB 613
Page 4
mathematics resources that are aligned to the common
core standards, and is currently accepting submissions
from publishers for review.
In 2009, then-Governor Schwarzenegger launched the Digital
Textbook Initiative, to provide access to digital high
school texts that meet California's academic content
standards. CLRN reviewed resources for this
initiative in three phases, and provide a list of
these instructional resources on their website.
3) Access to hardware . Over the past decade there have
been several sources of one-time funding to enable
schools to purchase hardware and connecting to the
Internet. Despite the occasion availability of
funding for some schools, many do not have sufficient
computers and other devices, networks or connectivity
necessary to access electronic resources.
Current law authorizes instructional materials to be in
digital format as long as each pupil has access to the
same materials in the class and to take home as all
other pupils in the same class or course in the
district. All pupils must have the ability to use and
access the materials at home. Current law also
authorizes school districts to use instructional
material funding to purchase materials in an
electronic or hardbound format if the district can
ensure that each pupil will be provided with a copy of
the instructional materials to use at school and at
home.
Staff should note that the State Board of Education (SBE)
is prohibited from adopting instructional materials
(for grades K-8) until the 2015-16 school year, nor
are school districts required to purchase materials
within a specific period following adoption by the
SBE. Therefore, absent other legislative action, this
bill should not affect K-8 instructional materials for
several years.
The practical effect of this bill is that high schools
would have to adopt digital instructional materials.
Does current law adequately ensure that districts will
not find themselves with instructional materials that
are not accessible to all pupils?
SB 613
Page 5
Could this bill exacerbate the digital divide? While
districts with fewer resources and that serve
low-income pupils may not be required to adopt digital
instructional materials due to sufficiency
requirements, pupils attending those districts won't
necessarily have access to digital formats while
pupils in other districts will.
4) Suggested amendments : This bill does not explicitly
require open-source instructional materials to meet
academic content standards and the evaluation criteria
that printed instructional materials must meet.
Therefore, staff recommends an amendment to make this
clarification.
This bill requires one-half of instructional materials to
be open-source. Staff recommends an amendment to
clarify that fewer than one-half of materials may be
open-source if there is an insufficient submission of
open-source materials or too few submitted open-source
materials meet existing criteria by which
instructional materials must be evaluated. This
amendment is similar to existing law relative to print
instructional materials.
On page 4, line 24, strike "off" and insert "odd." On page
8, strike "one" and insert "one-half."
SUPPORT
None on file.
OPPOSITION
None on file.