BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 899
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 899 (Weber)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Campos, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Chávez, Nazarian, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ammiano, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Seeks to align the English Language Development (ELD)
Standards with California's Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
in Mathematics and California's Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
update, revise, and align the ELD Standards with California's
CCSS in Mathematics and California's NGSS.
2)Requires the SPI to present these ELD standards to the State
Board of Education (SBE) on or before January 1, 2015.
3)Requires the SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to convene a
group of experts in ELD instruction for the purposes of
developing the standards presented to the SBE.
4)Requires, the SPI to hold public meetings for the purpose of
allowing the public to provide input regarding the work of the
group of experts.
5)Requires the SBE to adopt or reject the SPI's recommendation
for ELD standards on or before August 1, 2015.
6)Prohibits the implementation of this bill unless funds are
appropriated by the Legislature in the Annual Budget Act or
AB 899
Page 2
another statute for its purposes.
7)Makes this measure inoperative on July 1, 2016, and repeals
this measure on January 1, 2017, unless a later enacted
statute deletes or extends the inoperative and repeal dates.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time General Fund administrative cost pressure to
California Department of Education (CDE), likely between
$125,000 and $175,000, to complete the requirements of this
measure.
2)General Fund/Proposition 98 cost pressure, likely in the low
to tens of millions, to school districts to provide
instructional materials and professional development on the
revised ELD standards. This bill requires the SPI and the SBE
to provide the governor and Legislature with an implementation
plan, including costs, to integrate the revised standards into
the education system.
COMMENTS : California adopted ELD standards in 1999, as a result
of AB 748 (Escutia), Chapter 936, Statutes of 1997. The
standards, developed for the domains of listening and speaking,
reading and writing, represent what English Learner (EL) pupils
must know and be able to do as they move toward full fluency in
the English language. These standards are the basis for the
California English language development test (CELDT). Current
law requires the ELD standards to be comparable in rigor and
specificity to the English language arts standards adopted by
the SBE. According to the introduction in the ELD standards
document prepared by the CDE, the ELD standards "are designed to
supplement the English-language arts content standards to ensure
that limited-English proficient (LEP) students (now called
English learners in California) develop proficiency in both the
English language and the concepts and skills contained in the
English-language arts content standards."
Importance of English language development : Nearly 1.4 million
of the California's 6.2 million students were identified as ELs
during the 2011-12 school year, representing approximately 22%
of the state's total public school enrollment. ELs are at a
considerable disadvantage relative to their native English
AB 899
Page 3
speaking peers, as they enter school with different levels of
English fluency and therefore, have different instructional
needs to achieve language and academic proficiency. The
Proposition 227 Year 5 evaluation, Effects of the Implementation
of Proposition 227 on the Education of English learners, K-12,
finds that one of the key factors that leads to EL success
includes having systematic, carefully designed plans for the
provision of ELD instructional services. The ELD standards can
be an important tool in developing and delivering instructional
services to ELs that differentiate instruction according to
proficiency levels.
ELD instruction in the content areas : The National Governors
Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief
State School Officers, as developers of the Common Core State
Standards, have opined that "mathematics instruction for ELs
should address mathematical discourse and academic language.
This instruction involves much more than vocabulary lessons.
Language is a resource for learning mathematics; it is not only
a tool for communicating, but also a tool for thinking and
reasoning mathematically. All languages and language varieties
(e.g., different dialects, home or everyday ways of talking,
vernacular, slang) provide resources for mathematical thinking,
reasoning, and communicating. Regular and active participation
in the classroom-not only reading and listening but also
discussing, explaining, writing, representing, and presenting-is
critical to the success of ELs in mathematics. Research has
shown that ELs can produce explanations, presentations, etc. and
participate in classroom discussions as they are learning
English." Similarly, the NGSS, Appendix D: "All Standards, All
Students: Making Next Generation Science Standards Accessible to
All Students" identifies both "learning opportunities and
challenges that NGSS presents to student groups that have
traditionally been underserved in science classrooms and
describes effective strategies for implementation of NGSS in the
science classroom, school, home, and community."
While these suggested resources and strategies can be helpful,
they are not substitutes for the comprehensive approach to
English language development provided in the ELD standards.
California's ELD Standards form a foundation for the ways in
which we educate our K-12 EL students so that each EL student is
able to access, engage, and successfully achieve state subject
matter standards for college and careerreadiness. It critical to
AB 899
Page 4
note that the ELD Standards are intended to provide teachers a
foundation for delivering rich instruction for EL students.
Previous Legislation : AB 124 (Fuentes), Chapter 605, Statutes of
2011, required the SPI , in consultation with the SBE, to
update, revise, and align the ELD standards to the academic
common core state standards for English language arts.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000844