BILL NUMBER: AB 899 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 60811 of, and to add and repeal
Section 60811.4 to of , the Education
Code, relating to academic content standards.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 899, as amended, Weber. Academic content standards: English
language development standards.
(1) Existing law requires each school district that has one or
more pupils who are English learners and, to the extent required by
federal law, each county office of education and each charter school,
to assess the English language development of each of those pupils
upon initial enrollment in order to determine the level of
proficiency of those pupils, and thereafter to assess each of those
pupils annually until the pupil is redesignated as English
proficient.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to approve
standards for English language development for pupils whose primary
language is a language other than English. Existing law further
requires that these standards be comparable in rigor and specificity
to the statewide academically rigorous content standards for English
language arts.
This bill would instead require that the standards for English
language development for pupils whose primary language is a language
other than English be comparable in rigor and specificity to the
academic content standards to which they are aligned, including
specified standards for English language arts and mathematics and
specified science content standards.
(2) Existing law, which is to be repealed on July 1, 2013,
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation
with the state board, to update, revise, and align the English
language development standards adopted pursuant to existing law to
the state board-approved academic content standards for English
language arts, as provided.
This bill would require the Superintendent, on or before January
1, 2015, to recommend modifications to the English language
development standards to align with the state board-approved academic
content standards for mathematics, and would also require the
Superintendent to recommend modifications to the English language
development standards to align with the state board-approved science
content standards, for adoption to the state board. The bill
would require the Superintendent, in consultation with the state
board, to convene a group of experts in English language instruction,
curriculum, and assessment, as provided, to meet those requirements.
The bill would require the Superintendent to hold a minimum of
2 public meetings in order for the public to provide input regarding
any modifications to the English language development standards.
The bill would require the state board, on or before August 1,
2015, to adopt or reject the Superintendent's recommendations for the
alignment of the English language development standards with the
state board-approved academic content standards for mathematics and
science, as specified.
This bill would require that funding be provided in the annual
Budget Act or another statute before these provisions could be
implemented. The bill would make its provisions inoperative on July
1, 2016.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60811 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60811. The state board shall approve standards for English
language development for pupils whose primary language is a language
other than English. The standards shall be comparable in rigor and
specificity to the academic content standards to which they are
aligned, including the standards for English language arts and
mathematics adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8 and the science
content standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605.85.
SEC. 2. Section 60811.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
60811.4. (a) On or before January 1, 2015, the Superintendent
shall recommend to the state board modifications to the English
language development standards, adopted pursuant to Section 60811, to
align with the academic content standards for mathematics adopted by
the state board pursuant to Section 60605.8. If the state board
modifies the English language development standards to align with the
academic content standards for mathematics, it shall explain, in
writing, to the Governor and the Legislature the reasons for the
modification. The Superintendent's recommendations and the state
board's actions shall assist schools in the implementation and
application of English language development standards in the
mathematics subject area.
(b) On or before January 1, 2015, the Superintendent shall
recommend to the state board modifications to the English language
development standards, adopted pursuant to Section 60811, to align
with the science content standards adopted by the state board
pursuant to Section 60605.85. If the state board modifies the English
language development standards to align with the science content
standards, it shall explain, in writing, to the Governor and the
Legislature the reasons for the modification. The Superintendent's
recommendations and the state board's actions shall assist schools in
the implementation and application of English language development
standards in the science subject area.
(c) In meeting the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall convene a
group of experts in English language instruction, curriculum, and
assessment, including individuals who have a minimum of three years
of demonstrated experience instructing English learners in the
classroom at the elementary or secondary level. The Superintendent
shall ensure that the group includes, but is not necessarily limited
to, members who are schoolsite principals, school district or county
office of education administrators overseeing programs and support
for English learners, personnel of teacher training schools at
institutions of higher education, and curriculum and instructional
specialists with English learner experience. For the purpose of this
subdivision, the Superintendent may use the group of experts convened
pursuant to subdivision (b) of former Section 60811.3, as it read on
June 30, 2013, with modifications to account for mathematics and
science content experience.
(c) In carrying out
(d) Prior to completing the
requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b), the Superintendent
shall hold a minimum of two public meetings pursuant to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code) in order for the public to provide input regarding
any modifications recommended pursuant to this section.
(d)
(e) On or before August 1, 2015, the state board shall
do both of the following:
(1) Adopt or reject the Superintendent's recommendations for the
alignment of the English language development standards adopted
pursuant to Section 60811 with the state board-approved academic
content standards for mathematics adopted pursuant to Section
60605.8.
(2) Adopt or reject the Superintendent's recommendations for the
alignment of the English language development standards adopted
pursuant to Section 60811 with the state board-approved academic
content standards for science adopted pursuant to Section 60605.85.
(f) This section shall not be implemented unless funds are
appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another
statute for its purposes.
(g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2016, and as
of January 1, 2017, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
becomes operative on or before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.