BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ķ



                                                                SB 1200
                                                                Page  1


        SENATE THIRD READING
        SB 1200 (Hancock)
        As Amended  August 20, 2012
        Majority vote 

         SENATE VOTE  :26-13  
         
         EDUCATION           7-4         APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
         
         ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
        |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano,        |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield,       |
        |     |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, |     |Bradford, Charles         |
        |     |Eng, Williams             |     |Calderon, Campos, Davis,  |
        |     |                          |     |Fuentes, Hall, Hill,      |
        |     |                          |     |Cedillo, Mitchell,        |
        |     |                          |     |Solorio                   |
        |     |                          |     |                          |
        |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
        |Nays:|Norby, Grove, Halderman,  |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
        |     |Wagner                    |     |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner    |
        |     |                          |     |                          |
         ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
         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 in 
        mathematics adopted by the SBE.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

        1)Requires the SBE, if it modifies the common core academic content 
          standards in mathematics, to explain, in writing, to the Governor 
          and the Legislature the reasons for modifying the standards, and 
          requires the SPI's recommendations and the SBE's actions to assist 
          schools in the implementation of the common core state standards.

        2)Requires the SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to consult a group 
          of experts in 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, and requires that no less than one-half 
          of the members of the group be currently employed public school 
          teachers.









                                                                SB 1200
                                                                Page  2


        3)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.

        4)Requires on or before March 30, 2013, the SPI to recommend 
          modifications to the mathematics standards to the SBE, and the SBE 
          to adopt, reject, or modify the recommendations by that same date.

        5)Stipulates that the modifications to the common core academic 
          content standards in mathematics shall ensure all of the 
          following:

           a)   The rigor of the state common core academic content 
             standards in mathematics 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)   One set of standards is adopted at a grade level;

           d)   The content standards for algebra I are based upon the 
             common core standards for mathematics;

           e)   Redundant mathematics standards are eliminated;

           f)   The implementation of standards is improved;

           g)   Any technical issues in the standards are resolved; and,

           h)   The modifications amount to no more than 15% of the common 
             core academic content standards.

        6)Requires any modifications to the common core academic content 
          standards in mathematics made pursuant to this bill be 
          incorporated into the curriculum framework and evaluation criteria 
          for mathematics for the purpose of adopting instructional 
          materials in mathematics as provided and makes this part of the 
          bill operative only if AB 1246 (Brownly) of the current 
          legislative session is enacted.  

        7)Authorizes the SPI to recommend and the SBE to adopt the college 








                                                                SB 1200
                                                                Page  3


          and career readiness (CCR) anchor standards developed by Common 
          Core State Standards Initiative consortium and authorizes the SBE 
          to take action to resolve any technical issues in the English 
          language arts (ELA) common core state standards.  

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, 
        General Fund administrative costs, likely between $50,000 and 
        $150,000, to the California Department of Education to complete the 
        requirements of this bill. Actual costs will depend on the amount of 
        revisions to the common core standards the SPI recommends to the 
        SBE.

         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 
        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 National Governors Association (NGA) and the 
        Council of Chief State School Officers (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.  









                                                                SB 1200
                                                                Page  4


        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 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.  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 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 








                                                                SB 1200
                                                                Page  5


        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 1990s, 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.


         Analysis Prepared by  :    Marisol Aviņa / ED. / (916) 319-2087   
                                                                  FN: 0005107