BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 631 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 631 (Fox) As Amended July 2, 2013 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |32-0 |(July 8, 2013) | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY : Permits a county board of education to modify the course of study offered to pupils in juvenile court schools. Specifically, this bill : 1)Permits a county board of education to adopt an enhanced course of study for pupils enrolled in juvenile court schools who are performing three or more grades below grade level. 2)Specifies that this course of study shall meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts (ELA) and math. 3)Allows a county board of education to use locally approved assessments or statewide assessments to determine the academic needs of the pupil. 4)Specifies the purpose of this course of study is to increase a pupil's academic literacy and reading fluency. 5)Makes technical non-substantive amendments to this section. The Senate amendments insert the word "shall" and are technical and clarifying. FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : Juvenile court schools provide public education for individuals who are incarcerated in facilities run by counties. Juvenile court schools are public schools or classes in any juvenile hall, juvenile home, day center, juvenile ranch, juvenile camp, regional youth educational facility or in any group home housing 25 or more children. These schools operate under the central administration of a county office of education, with acceptable AB 631 Page 2 school structures at one or more centrally located sites to serve the single or composite populations of juvenile court school pupils. These schools, under the protection or authority of the juvenile court system, provide an educational program that meets the needs of students who have been incarcerated in juvenile halls as well as students who have been expelled from their home district schools because of a status offense or other infraction or behavior governed by the Welfare and Institution Code or Education Code. Funding is provided by the state General Fund and is included in the annual apportionment to county offices of education. Using data available through the California Department of Education (CDE) from the 2011-12 administration of the California Standardized Tests (CST) in ELA and math, the number of students in a sampling of juvenile court schools that score below basic or far below basic is staggering: Imperial County Office of Education - Juvenile Court School 75% of students in grades 7 - 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST ELA 89% of students in grades 10 and 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST Algebra I Los Angeles County Office of Education - Central Juvenile Hall 86% of students in grades 8 - 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST ELA 96% of students in grades 9 - 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST Algebra I Fresno County Office of Education - Court School 75% of students in grades 8 - 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST ELA AB 631 Page 3 89% of students in grades 10 and 11 scored below basic or far below basic on the CST Algebra I Course of Study Existing law requires each local educational agency (LEA) to adopt a course of study for use in each of its schools. There are numerous elements that must be met within this course of study as prescribed by statute. These courses of study, while often aligned to the state's academic content standards, are designed by each LEA to meet the unique needs of its pupils. A county office of education may set its priorities within this course of study, so long as all required elements are included. Narrowing of the Curriculum The requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and state accountability programs have resulted in districts spending much of their instructional time on reading and math. School and school districts that fail to make their annual targets in English language arts and math are subject to a variety of sanctions ranging from redirection of federal Title I funds to state takeover. For these reasons instructional time in other subject areas has greatly diminished and there is almost no time for teachers to teach critical thinking skills. Partly in response to this, California adopted the CCSS. Building on the rigorous standards of NCLB but recognizing the unintended consequence of a narrowed curriculum, the CCSS focus on core conceptual understandings and procedures starting in the early grades, thus enabling teachers to take the time needed to teach core concepts and procedures well-and to give students the opportunity to master them. In adopting the CCSS, this Legislature signaled an end to curriculum that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, excluded a comprehensive curriculum. This bill would permit a county board of education to adopt a AB 631 Page 4 separate course of study for pupils in juvenile hall by providing increased attention to basic reading and math skills for specified pupils who are performing three or more grades below grade level. The author, however, has indicated that while increased instruction in reading fluency and academic literacy is intended, it is not the author's intention that this increased focus be at the cost of a pupil's access to the general curriculum. By using the literacy strands in science, social science, and technical subjects embedded in the CCSS in English language arts, this increased focus would permit intensive remediation within the given instructional time without limiting curriculum areas. Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001461