BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 455
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 455 (Medina)
As Amended
May 24, 2013
Majority vote
Education 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Gomez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Chávez, Nazarian, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ammiano, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to recommend and the State Board of Education (SBE) to
adopt standards for the mastery of the braille reading,
literacy, and mathematics codes that are aligned to California's
Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Additionally, this bill
requires that the SPI recommend and the SBE adopt standards for
the mastery of American Sign Language (ASL) that are aligned to
CCSS.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time General Fund administrative costs, likely between
$150,000 and $250,000, to reestablish the braille standards
task force and establish a task force to develop ASL
standards, as specified.
1)Potential, unknown General Fund/Proposition 98 costs, likely
less than $100,000, to County Offices of Education, school
districts, and Special Education Local Plan Areas to provide
deaf and hard of hearing pupils opportunities for instruction
to master ASL literacy standards aligned to the CCSS, as
specified. Presumably, these costs would not be reimbursable
if in the pupil's individualized education plan delineated the
use of these literacy standards in their instructional
program.
AB 455
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COMMENTS : Educational standards describe what students should
know and be able to do in each subject in each grade. In
California, the SBE adopts standards that may be used by LEAs
for students, from kindergarten through high school. The
California Department of Education (CDE) helps schools make sure
that all students are meeting the standards. The SBE adopted
the CCSS for California in English Language Arts and Mathematics
in 2010. In 2012, the SBE adopted English Language Development
Standards that are aligned to the California CCSS in English
Language Development.
According to a Legislative Analyst Office Report in 2012, in
the 2011-12 school year, approximately 4,325 California
students met the definition of "visually impaired" and another
14,097 were Deaf or hard of hearing.
California was the first state in the nation to address the
unique needs of students who use braille for learning their
state-adopted reading and mathematics content standards when
the SBE adopted the Braille Mathematics and Reading Standards
in 2009. These standards do not establish new content
standards; instead they include instructional principles and
prerequisites appropriate for students who learn through the
sense of touch. These standards were carefully aligned with the
English-language arts and mathematics content standards for
students who use print. However, with the adoption of the
California CCSS for English Language Arts and Mathematics, the
Braille Mathematics and Reading Standards are no longer useful
tools in ensuring that visually impaired students are college
and career ready and have access to the same standards and
instructional materials as other students.
California does not, however, have standards for ASL. While
California has established standards and benchmarks for what
students should know and be able to demonstrate in academic
subject areas, including English and some foreign languages,
there have not been formal standards and benchmarks established
for ASL learning. Given the importance of being able to assess
students' ASL skills by comparing them against a set of
standards, and planning instruction accordingly, the development
of such standards is a key component of helping Deaf and hard of
hearing students become fluent in both ASL and English.
AB 455
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Currently, there are efforts underway to develop a set of
national content standards for ASL. These efforts are being led
by Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet
University in Washington D.C. The leaders of California's State
School for the Deaf in Fremont are leading and participating in
these efforts.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000856