BILL NUMBER: AB 1530 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chau
JANUARY 17, 2014
An act to add and repeal Article 7 (commencing with
Section 51300) to of Chapter 2 of Part
28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school
curriculum.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1530, as amended, Chau. Model curriculum:
curricula: computer science.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to
12, inclusive, to include in various areas of study, including, but
not limited to, English, mathematics, and social sciences. Existing
law requires the State Department of Education to adopt model
curricula in certain areas of instruction, including, among others,
driver's driver education and training,
gang violence suppression, and substance abuse prevention.
This bill would encourage the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to develop identify, develop, or, as
needed, revise a model curriculum new or
existing model curricula on computer science, and to
submit submit, on or before July 1, 2017, the
model curriculum curricula to the State
Board of Education for adoption. The bill, in addition to funds that
may be appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of implementing
the provisions of the bill, would authorize the Superintendent to
seek out alternative nonstate funding sources to defray the cost of
developing the model curriculum, as specified.
identifying, developing, or revising the model curricula. The
bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2018, and
would repeal them on January 1, 2019.
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. Article 7 (commencing with Section 51300) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 7. Model Curriculum Curricula
for Computer Science
51300. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the
establishment of programs of instruction in computer science, with
instruction beginning as early as feasible for each school district.
51301. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Computer science is an established discipline at the
collegiate and postgraduate levels, but the integration of computer
science concepts into kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
curriculum has not kept pace in the United States.
(b) Computer science education is not just about access to
computers or about preparing pupils to be passive users of
technology, it is about preparing pupils to be innovative creators of
new technologies.
(c) Our educational system should prepare our pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, with the fundamental
computer science knowledge, skills, insights, and perspectives they
need for future success and for a world in which computing is
everywhere. While computer usage in classrooms is increasing,
knowledge and familiarity about computing is not keeping pace.
(d) The goal of the computer science
curriculum curricula in kindergarten and grades
1 to 6, inclusive, should be to introduce the fundamental concepts of
computer science, including instruction on computational thinking,
algorithmic processes and principles, hardware and software design,
computer applications, and the impact of computers on society, and to
increase the knowledge of computer science for all pupils,
especially those pupils who are members of underrepresented groups.
(e) The National Science Foundation and nonprofit organizations
publish and maintain comprehensive computer science curricula for use
in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that are free of
charge to all persons. These curricula promote an introduction to,
and an understanding of, the fundamental concepts of computer
programming and coding.
51302. The Superintendent is encouraged to develop
identify, develop, or, as needed, revise
a model curriculum new or existing
model curricula on computer science, and to submit
submit, on or before July 1, 2017, the model
curriculum curricula to the state board
for adoption. Upon adoption, the Superintendent shall make the model
curriculum curricula available on the
department's Internet Web site.
51303. In addition to any funds that may be appropriated by the
Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes
of implementing this article, the Superintendent may seek out, apply
for, and accept nonstate funding sources to defray the cost of
developing a model curriculum identifying,
developing, or revising the model curricula pursuant to this
article, including, but not limited to, federal funds, grant
programs, and private funds.
51304. This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018, and
as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.