[Approved by Governor October 10, 2013. Filed with Secretary of State October 10, 2013.]
AB 899, 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 standards for English language arts.
This bill would additionally require these standards to be comparable in rigor and specificity to the standards for mathematics and science.
(2) Provisions that were repealed on July 1, 2013, required the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the state board, to update, revise, and align the English language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 link with the state board-approved academic content standards for mathematics and science for adoption 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 and to review the mathematics and science academic content standards to identify those standards that correspond to the English language development standards. 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 English language development standards to correspond with the state board-approved academic content standards for mathematics and science, as specified. The bill would require the state board to ensure that any modifications to the English language development standards adopted by the state board are incorporated into the appropriate mathematics and science curriculum frameworks.
The 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 the above provisions inoperative on July 1, 2016, and would repeal them on January 1, 2017.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 60811 of the Education Code is amended to read:
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 standards for English language arts adopted pursuant to Section 60605.8, the standards for mathematics adopted pursuant to Sections 60605.8 and 60605.11, and the standards for science adopted pursuant to Section 60605.85.
Section 60811.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
(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 60811.3, to link with the academic content standards for mathematics adopted by the state board pursuant to Sections 60605.8 and 60605.11 and the academic content standards for science adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60605.85. If the state board modifies the English language development standards to link with the academic content standards for mathematics and science, 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 and science subject areas.
(b) In meeting the requirements of subdivision (a), 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 experts shall review the mathematics and science academic content standards to identify those standards that correspond to the English language development standards. The Superintendent shall ensure that members of the group include, but are not necessarily limited to, 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. At least a majority of the members of the group of experts shall be currently employed public schoolteachers.
(c) Before completing the requirements of subdivision (a), 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) (1) On or before August 1, 2015, the state board shall adopt or reject the Superintendent’s recommendations for the English language development standards adopted pursuant to Section 60811.3 to correspond with the state board-approved academic content standards for mathematics adopted pursuant to Sections 60605.8 and 60605.11 and the state board-approved academic content standards for science approved pursuant to Section 60605.85.
(2) The state board shall ensure that any modifications to the English language development standards adopted by the state board pursuant to this section are incorporated into the appropriate mathematics and science curriculum frameworks.
(e) This section shall not be implemented unless funds are appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes.
(f) 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.
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