BILL NUMBER: AB 899 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 26, 2013
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 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
state board to direct the Superintendent to recommend to the state
board linking the adopted English language development standards to
the academic content standards for mathematics and science. The bill
would require the Superintendent to convene a group of experts, as
provided, to review the mathematics and science academic content
standards to identify those standards that correspond to the English
language development standards. The bill would instead require
the standards for linked English
language development for pupils whose primary language is a
language other than English standards to be
comparable in rigor and specificity to the academic content standards
to which they are aligned, linked,
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(2) Existing law, which is to be repealed on July 1, 2013,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 link
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 link with the state
board-approved science content standards, for adoption to
by 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 to correspond 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. direct the Superintendent
to recommend to the state board linking the adopted English language
development standards to the academic content standards for
mathematics and science. The Superintendent shall convene a group of
experts, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 60811.4, to review
the mathematics and science academic content standards to identify
those standards that correspond to the English language development
standards. The linked English language development
standards shall be comparable in rigor and specificity to the
academic content standards to which they are aligned,
linked, 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 link 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 link
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 link 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 link 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
members of the group include, but are not
necessarily limited to, members individuals
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. At least
one-half of the members of the group of experts shall be currently
employed public school teachers.
(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.
(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 to correspond
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 to correspond
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.