BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 133
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 133 (Hagman)
As Amended June 20, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(April 18, |SENATE: |33-0 |(July 8, 2013) |
| | |2013) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires a publisher or manufacturer submitting printed
instructional materials for adoption to the State Board of Education
(SBE) or the governing board of a school district to ensure that the
printed instructional materials are also available in digital
format, during the entire term of the adoption and requires the
digital materials conform to specified standards for accessibility
by those with disabilities.
The Senate amendments :
1)Add a reference to the provision of law that permits a school
board to use instructional materials that have not been adopted by
the SBE.
2)Make clear that a publisher or manufacturer must make materials
available in a digital format, regardless of the authority under
which a district adopts those instructional materials.
3)Require the digital format of a printed instructional material
conform to the most current, ratified standards under Section 508
of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 United States Code
(U.S.C.) Section 794d), as amended, and the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium
for accessibility.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the SBE, via the California Constitution, to adopt
textbooks for use in grades 1-8, inclusive, throughout the state
to be furnished without cost and ensure that the instructional
materials it adopts meet specified criteria.
2)Prohibits the SBE from adopting instructional materials or
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following the procedures for the adoption of instructional
materials until the 2015-16 school year. Exceptions to this have
been made for the adoption of instructional materials in
mathematics. (AB 1246 (Brownley), Chapter 668, Statutes of 2012).
3)Permits the governing board of each school district to adopt
instructional materials that are aligned to the Common Core State
Standards regardless of whether those instructional materials have
been adopted by the SBE.
4)Requires the governing board of each school district maintaining
one or more high schools to adopt instructional materials for use
in the high schools under its control, and specifies that only
instructional materials of those publishers who comply with the
specified requirements may be adopted by the district board.
5)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. Technology-based materials include, but are not limited
to, software programs, video disks, compact disks, optical disks,
video and audiotapes, lesson plans, and databases.
6)Specifies that technology-based materials do not include 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.
7)Makes clear that instructional materials may be in a digital
format as long as each pupil, at a minimum, has and can access the
same materials in the class and to take home, as all other pupils
in the same class or course in the district and has the ability to
use and access them at home.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : Many of the larger publishers are already moving in the
direction of including digital versions of instructional materials,
and thus the requirements of this bill may not create a significant
burden on those publishers. However, it is not clear whether the
smaller publishers will be able to meet this requirement. Many of
the small publishers already have a difficult time with the
statewide adoption process and therefore there is a possibility that
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this proposal may add an additional burden on small publishers.
Additionally, it is unclear whether this bill may be requiring
publishers to submit the materials in various platforms so that they
are compatible with the various forms of hardware available in the
market.
The Senate amendments require that the digital material made
available by the publisher be accessible by all pupils in accordance
with federal law which requires that persons with disabilities to
have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to
the access to and use of the information and data available to
persons without disabilities. This bill also requires the digital
materials to be aligned with the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for
accessibility. According to the W3C, its Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to make
the Web more accessible for people with disabilities and older
users.
WAI pursues accessibility of the Web by ensuring
that Web technologies support accessibility;
developing guidelines for Web content, browsers
and media players, and authoring tools;
developing resources to support improved
evaluation tools; developing resources for
education and outreach; and coordinating with
research and development efforts that can affect
future accessibility of the Web. WAI is
supported in part by the U.S. Department of
Education's National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), the European
Commission's Information Society Technologies
Programme, HP and IBM.
It is important to note that existing law includes
protections to ensure that all pupils have access, both at
school and at home, to the same instructional materials as
all other pupils in the same class or course.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001260
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