BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1200
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1200 (Hancock) - As Amended: June 19, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 26-13
SUBJECT : Academic content standards: recommended additional
standards or modifications: expert group
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to recommend and the State Board of Education (SBE) to
approve, modifications to the common core academic content
standards adopted by the SBE. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the SBE, if it modifies the common core academic
content standards, to explain, in writing, to the Governor and
the Legislature the reasons for modifying the standards.
2)Requires the SPI's recommendations and the SBE's actions to
assist schools in the implementation of the common core state
standards.
3)Requires the SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to consult a
group of experts in English language arts (ELA) and
mathematics for purposes of developing recommendations
pursuant to this bill and requires the SPI to ensure that the
group of experts includes, but is not limited to, individuals
who are teachers of mathematics and English language arts in
elementary and secondary schools, schoolsite principals,
administrators of school districts or county offices of
education, and university professors.
4)Provides that the SPI and the SBE shall hold a minimum of two
public hearings pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act
in order for the public to provide input on the modifications
recommended.
5)Requires on or before July 30, 2013, the SPI to present the
modifications to the SBE, and the SBE to adopt, reject, or
modify the recommendations by September 30, 2013.
6)Stipulates that the modifications to the common core academic
content standards shall ensure that:
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a) The rigor of the state common core academic content
standards is maintained so that all high school graduates
are prepared for college and careers, as specified in the
common core academic content standards;
b) All of the common core academic standards developed by
the specified consortium or interstate collaboration are
adopted;
c) Modifications include the anchor standards of the common
core standards for ELA;
d) One set of standards is adopted at a grade level;
e) The content standards for Algebra I are based upon the
common core standards for mathematics;
f) Redundant math standards are eliminated;
g) The implementation of standards is improved;
h) The cost of implementing the standards is reduced; and,
i) The modifications amount to no more than 15% of the
common core academic content standards.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the SBE to adopt statewide academic content standards
in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, and
mathematics, no later than January 1, 1998, and in H/SS and
science not later than November 1, 1998, based on the
recommendation of the Commission for the Establishment of
Academic Content and Performance Standards.
2)Establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission
(Standards Commission), as specified, to develop academic
content standards in language arts and mathematics and present
recommended academic content standards to the SBE by July 15,
2010. Requires that at least 85% of these standards be the
common core academic standards developed by the Common Core
State Standards Initiative consortium sponsored by the
National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief
State School Officers (CCSSO) or any associated or related
interstate collaboration to jointly develop common
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high-quality standards or assessments aligned with the common
set of standards, and requires the SBE to adopt or reject the
recommended standards by August 2, 2010.
3)Requires, if the standards in #2 above are rejected, the SBE
to provide a specific written explanation to the SPI, the
Governor, and the Legislature of the reasons why the proposed
standards were rejected.
4)Requires the SPI and the SBE to present to the Governor and to
the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating
the revised language arts and math academic content standards
into the state educational system.
5)Requires the SBE to adopt revised curriculum frameworks and
evaluation criteria that are aligned to the common core
academic content standards for mathematics and language arts
no later than May 30, 2013, and May 30, 2014, respectively.
6)Requires the SPI, in collaboration with the SBE, and specified
individuals, to develop criteria to guide the development of
model professional development modules for teachers and
administrators that incorporate, make use of, and build upon
existing programs currently available at the local, state and
national levels to deepen the understanding of the common core
academic content standards and specified topics.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Convening group of experts: $25,000 in 2012-13, and $25,000 in
2013-14 for the CDE to staff additional Bagley-Keene compliant
meetings and reimburse participant travel.
2)Potentially substantial savings, if the grade 8 mathematics
standards are altered to be more consistent with the Common
Core standards.
COMMENTS : This bill authorizes the SPI to make recommendations
for and the SBE to approve modifications to the recently-adopted
common core standards in ELA and mathematics.
Current law does not provide for a process for periodically
reviewing, updating, modifying or revising the academic content
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standards. Although the ELA and math standards were recently
revised, the modification of these standards was accomplished
through legislation that directed a one-time review for the
adoption of the common core standards through a very specific
process. The adoption of these standards was driven by
California's attempt to compete for a federal Race to the Top
(RTTT) program grant in 2009-2010, and therefore was a one-time
activity and only focused on ELA and math.
Common core state standards : Legislation enacted for purposes
of satisfying part of the criteria for the RTTT program, SB 1 X5
(Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009-10, Fifth Extraordinary
Session, established the Standards Commission to develop and
recommend to the SBE academic content standards in ELA and
mathematics by July 15, 2010. SB 1 X5 (Steinberg) required that
at least 85% of these standards be the common core academic
standards developed by the Common Core State Standards
Initiative consortium sponsored by the NGA and the CCSSO or any
associated or related interstate collaboration and required the
SBE to adopt or reject the recommended standards by August 2,
2010. Per the requirements of SB 1 X5 (Steinberg), the
Standards Commission submitted its recommendations to the SBE to
adopt the common core state standards with additional
California-specific standards and these recommendations were
adopted by the SBE on August 2, 2010.
The problem : The author argues that the adoption of the common
core standards resulted in some challenges. As an example, the
author notes that "California adopted two sets of grade 8 math
standards: (1) the common core grade 8 standards and (2) a set
that combined elements of the common core grade 8 and high
school math standards with California's own algebra standards.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is based on the
premise that all students in grades 1 through 8 are taught and
assessed on the same set of standards."
The author further states, "Several implementation issues arise
by California adopting a different set of grade 8 math standards
from other participating states. For example, instructional
materials for use in California would need to be different from
those used by other states- the unique additional standards may
increase the costs of those materials for our local school
districts. In addition, assessment consortia will be developing
assessments aligned to the Common Core standards and not the
variation adopted in California. This may result in issues with
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our algebra standards and curriculum not being aligned with our
assessment and accountability system."
Having two sets of grade eight math standards may result in
misalignment with any common assessments that may be adopted in
the future, and may also result in challenges in the practical
implementation of having two different sets of standards and
expectations for students in the same grade level. It is not
clear as to how school districts will make the determination of
which standards will be delivered to which pupils. The
difficulties with having two sets of standards are widely
recognized. For example, SB 140 (Lowenthal), Chapter 623,
Statutes of 2011, which requires the development of a list of
supplemental instructional materials to bridge the gap between
current instructional materials and the common core standards,
specifically excludes materials for 8th grade mathematics.
The second issue this bill seeks to resolve is to adopt the
college and career readiness (CCR) anchor standards that
complement the grade-specific common core content standards in
ELA. The anchor standards were left out of the original
adoption of the common core, even though the statute required
the adoption of the common core standards in their entirety. It
is uncertain as to why the anchor standards were not adopted.
Some have argued that the Standards Commission worked under a
very short timeline and did not have the time to consider the
anchor standards.
Revising the common core standards : An argument can be made
that giving the authority to the SPI and SBE to modify the
common core standards may contradict prior legislative action
and intent to ensure that the recommendations of the Standards
Commission relative to the common core state standards would not
be modified by the SBE. The Legislature crafted such language
in SB 1 5X in response to previous SBE actions during the
original adoption of the content standards in the 1990's, when
the SBE substantially modified, and essentially re-wrote, the
math standards developed and recommended by the original
standards commission. This bill, however, provides for a very
narrow review of the standards that is limited to the identified
areas rather than authorizing a broad review of the common core
standards.
A previous similar measure, AB 1033 (Feuer) of 2011, in its
introduced version gave the SPI and the SBE the authority to
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modify the academic content standards, including the common core
standards. However, AB 1033 was amended by this Committee to
instead convene a standards review commission to make
recommendations to the SBE relative to modifications for the
common core standards. This Committee was interested in
providing for an open and transparent process- consistent with
the original legislation- that would involve a majority of
teachers and experts in any subsequent review of the standards.
Previous legislation, namely SB 1 X5 (Steinberg), which gave the
SBE the authority to adopt the ELA and math common core
standards, did so through the establishment of the Standards
Commission, which was comprised of a majority of teachers.
Considering that a standards commission consisting of a majority
of teachers was established through legislation specifically for
purposes of reviewing the common core standards and making
recommendations to the SBE, this Committee may wish to consider
whether this bill should be amended to specify that the panel of
experts established in this bill shall be comprised of a
majority of teachers, consistent with the original common core
standards legislation and with previous actions of this
Committee. Previous bills dealing with standards revisions, SB
300 (Hancock), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2011, and AB 124
(Fuentes), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011, as approved by this
Committee, included language specifying that the advisory
committees established through those bills would be comprised of
a majority of teachers.
The two prior bills were amended in Appropriations Committee to
authorize the revision of standards through consultation with a
panel of experts, instead of through the establishment of a
commission or an advisory committee. In light of the fiscal
climate, the current Administration did not support the creation
of new commissions or advisory committees and thus the expert
panel approach has been utilized to reduce costs of such work.
This bill, as amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee, is
consistent with the language in the two previous measures.
Legislative history : Previous legislative attempts to establish
a periodic review of the academic content standards have been
unsuccessful. In years past, several bills have been introduced
trying to revise the academic content standards most of which
have been vetoed by two former governors and some of which did
not reach the governor's desk. Three of the four vetoed bills
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were vetoed claiming that the SBE had the authority to review
and revise the content standards as it deemed necessary.
However, in 2005 the Legislative Counsel opined that the SBE did
not have the authority to revise or amend the content standards
after their initial adoption. Additionally, the Legislative
Counsel stated that the Legislature had reserved for itself the
power to decide if, when, and the process by which the content
standards should be revised or amended. A bill establishing a
process for the revision of the content standards reached the
Governor's desk subsequent to the Legislative Counsel opinion,
SB 1097 (Torlakson) of 2008, but it was also vetoed. The veto
message was based on the argument that the bill would have
diluted the authority of the Governor and the SBE in the process
of reviewing and revising the standards. The Governor's veto
message specifically raised concerns regarding the composition
of the standards review panels established in SB 1097.
Arguments in support : The State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, the sponsor of this bill writes, "The CCSS Ýcommon
core state standards] College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor
Standards define the literacy expectations for students entering
college and careers, and provide the foundation for the
kindergarten through grade twelve English-language arts
standards. Although the CCR Anchor Standards were never adopted
by the SBE, they are essential to understanding the structure
and cohesive nature of the CCSS." Additionally the SPI states,
"SB 1200 will reduce costs, eliminate confusion, and promote
academic rigor with regard to the academic content standards."
Related legislation : AB 2116 (Lara) Requires the CDE to
contract for a multiyear independent study of the implementation
of the common core academic content standards. AB 2116 was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Previous legislation : SB 1 X5 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes
of 2009-10, Fifth Extraordinary Session, proposes comprehensive
changes to the Education Code (EC) consistent with the federal
RTTT program, and addresses the four RTTT policy reform areas of
standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction,
great teachers and leaders and turning around the
lowest-achieving schools. Establishes the Standards Commission
to develop academic content standards in RLA and mathematics and
present recommended academic content standards to the SBE by
July 15, 2010 and requires the SBE to adopt or reject the
recommended standards by August 2, 2010.
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AB 1033 (Feuer) of 2011 establishes a content standards review
commission (CSRC), if the SPI and the SBE jointly find a need to
revise or modify the state's content standards. Allows the
following content standards to be reviewed by the CSRC: (a) the
Common Core standards in English language arts (ELA) and
mathematics; (b) history/social science; (c) science; (d) career
technical education (CTE); (e) visual and performing arts; (f)
physical education; and (g) foreign language. AB 1033 was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 124 (Fuentes), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011, establishes a
process to update, revise, and align the ELD standards to the
common core state standards in ELA and requires the SPI and the
SBE to present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and
implementation plan for integrating the revised ELD standards
into the education system.
SB 140 (Lowenthal), Chapter 623, Statutes of 2011 requires the
CDE, on a one time basis, to develop a list, on or before July
1, 2012, of supplemental instructional materials for use in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that are aligned with
California's common core (CCC) academic content standards in
language arts and for kindergarten and grades 1-7, inclusive,
that are aligned with CCC standards in mathematics, and repeals
these provisions on July 1, 2014.
SB 300 (Hancock), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2011, requires the
SPI in consultation with the SBE to convene a group of science
experts that, include but is not limited to, individuals who are
elementary and secondary science teachers, school-site
principals, school district or county office of education
administrators, and university professors for purposes of
adopting science content standards.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Sponsor)
Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
Los Angeles County Office of Education
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Aviña / ED. / (916) 319-2087