BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 455
AUTHOR: Medina
AMENDED: June 15, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Common core standards: Braille and American Sign
Language.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to develop standards in Braille and American Sign Language
that are aligned to the common core standards.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI),
by June 30, 2004, to convene an advisory task force to
develop K-12 standards for Braille, and required
specific representation on the task force. Current law
requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt, by
June 1, 2006, reading and mathematics standards in
Braille for students who, due to a visual impairment,
are functionally blind or may be expected to have a need
to learn the braille code as their primary literacy mode
for learning (Education Code § 56351.7, § 56351.8, and §
56351.9)
2) Requires schools to provide opportunities for Braille
instruction to students who, due to a prognosis of
visual deterioration, may be expected to need Braille as
a reading medium. (EC § 56351)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
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to develop standards in Braille and American Sign Language
that are aligned to the common core standards. Specifically,
this bill:
Braille
1) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
to consult with a group of experts on the blind and
visually impaired to develop K-12 standards that are
aligned to the common core academic standards to learn,
and achieve the mastery of and literacy in, Braille.
2) Requires the SPI to consult with the same group of
experts to develop standards that are aligned to the
common core standards in Braille mathematics.
3) Requires the group of experts to include, but is not
limited to, representatives of all of the following:
a) Parents of blind and visually
impaired students.
b) Teachers of blind and visually
impaired students who are currently and actively
engaged in the teaching of Braille.
c) Researchers in the field of
blindness and visual impairment.
d) Curriculum and instructional
specialists with experience with blind and visually
impaired students.
e) People who are blind or
organizations that use and promote the reading and
writing of Braille.
Requires at least one-half of the members of the group
of experts to be currently employed public school
teachers.
American Sign Language
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1) Requires the SPI to consult with a group of experts on
the Deaf or Heard-of-Hearing to develop K-12 standards
that are aligned to the common core standards to learn,
and achieve the mastery of and literacy in, American
Sign Language.
2) Requires the group of experts to include, but is not
limited to, representatives of all of the following:
a) Parents of students who are Deaf or
Hard-of-Hearing.
b) Teachers of students who are Deaf or
Hard-of-Hearing.
c) Researchers in the field of deafness and
auditory impairment.
d) Curriculum and instructional specialists with
experience with students who are Deaf or
Hard-of-Hearing.
e) Groups that advocate for the teaching of, and
the use of, American Sign Language.
Requires at least one-half of the group of experts to be
currently employed public school teachers.
3) Requires the American Sign Language standards to be
developed for students who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing
and use American Sign Language as their primary language
or literacy access mode, as defined in the student's
individualized education program (IEP). Provides that
the standards are {not} intended for students who are
Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and do not use American Sign
Language as their primary language, but instead access a
general education curriculum by use of amplification,
residual hearing, listen and spoken language, cued
speech, or sign supported speech.
4) Authorizes county offices of education, school
districts, and special education local plan areas to
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provide to students who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing
opportunities for instruction to master the American
Sign Language literacy standards adopted by the SBE.
This bill requires the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
standards to be advisory and provide that they are not
intended to interfere with a student's IEP.
Recommendation and adoption of standards
1) Requires the SPI to recommend the standards to the
State Board of Education (SBE) by May 31, 2016.
2) Requires the SBE to adopt the standards by June 30,
2016, unless the SBE revises the standards. This bill
requires the SBE, upon revision of the standards, to
provide written reasons for the revisions at a regularly
scheduled public meeting, and adopt the revised
standards at a subsequent meeting but no later than July
31, 2016.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Drafting error . This bill provides that the American
Sign Language standards are intended for students who
are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and do not use American Sign
Language as their primary language, but instead access a
general education curriculum by use of amplification,
residual hearing, listen and spoken language, cued
speech, or sign supported speech. A drafting error
omitted a critical word that changes the entire meaning
of this provision. The language should provide that the
American Sign Language standards are not intended for
students who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing who do not use
American Sign Language as their primary language. Staff
recommends an amendment to correct this drafting error.
2) Existing Braille standards . The State Board of
Education (SBE) adopted standards in Braille reading and
mathematics in 2006. These standards are aligned to the
prior English language arts and mathematics
Reading standards:
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http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/documents/braillereadstand
.pdf#search=Braille%20standards&view=FitH&pagemode=none
Mathematics standards:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/documents/braillemathstand
.pdf#search=Braille%20standards&view=FitH&pagemode=none
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to develop standards in Braille
(English and mathematics) that are aligned to the common
core standards.
3) American Sign Language . California does not currently
have content standards in American Sign Language. This
bill requires the SPI to develop English language arts
standards in American Sign Language that are aligned to
the common core standards.
The Deaf and Hard-of Hearing Education Advisory Task Force
issued a report in 1999. One of the recommendations was
that CDE coordinate the implementation of rigorous
content and performance standards in all areas of
instruction, including communication, vocational and
career preparation, and transition readiness, consistent
with California's curriculum frameworks and content
standards.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ss/dh/documents/deafhhrpt.pdf#search=
deaf/hard%20of%20hearing&view=FitH&pagemode=none
Current law states legislative findings and declarations that
acknowledge the essential need for students who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing to be educated in an environment that
respects and uses the student's preferred mode of
communication.
(EC § 56000.5)
This bill, once amended to correct a drafting error, provides
that the standards in American Sign Language are not
intended for students who do not use American Sign
Language as their primary language. Students who are
deaf or hard-of-hearing use a variety of modes of
communication, one of which is American Sign Language.
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Other modes include the use of amplification, residual
hearing, listen and spoken language, cued speech and
sign supported speech.
This bill authorizes, but does not require, local educational
agencies to provide students with opportunities for
instruction in American Sign Language. This bill
provides that standards in American Sign Language are to
be advisory and are not intended to interfere with a
student's individualized education program (IEP). It is
the role of the IEP team to determine the appropriate
modality for each student; the development of standards
in American Sign Language will not require all students
who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to be instructed using
American Sign Language.
4) Technical amendments . This bill requires the SPI to
make a recommendation to the State Board of Education
(SBE) regarding the standards. Staff recommends an
amendment to clarify that the SPI is to recommend
adoption of the standards.
This bill requires the development of standards that are
aligned to the common core academic content standards.
Staff recommends an amendment to include a
cross-reference to the sections of the Education Code
that relate to the adoption of the common core standards
(EC § 60605.8 and § 60605.11).
5) Fiscal impac t. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill could impose:
a) 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 American Sign
Language standards.
b) Potential, unknown General Fund (Proposition
98) costs, likely less than $100,000, to local
educational agencies to provide students who are
deaf and hard of hearing with opportunities for
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instruction in American Sign Language. 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.
6) Related legislation . SB 1057 (Corbett) requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop
history-social science standards by March 30, 2018, and
requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt,
reject, or modify the history-social science content
standards by July 30, 2018. SB 1057 is scheduled to be
heard in the Assembly Education Committee on June 25.
AB 1539 (Hagman) requires the Instructional Quality
Commission to develop computer science content standards
by July 31, 2016. AB 1539 is scheduled to be heard in
this Committee on June 25.
AB 2016 (Campos) requires the SBE to consider adopting, by
March 1, 2017, content standards in sexual abuse and
sexual assault awareness and prevention upon the
recommendations of the SPI. AB 2016 is scheduled to be
heard in this committee on June 25.
SUPPORT
Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Superintendent of Public Instruction
OPPOSITION
None on file.