Amended in Senate June 10, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 2, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1539

Introduced by Assembly Member Hagman

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Nestande, and Waldron)

(Coauthor: Senator Knight)

January 22, 2014

An act to add Section 60605.4 to the Education Code, relating to content standards.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1539, as amended, Hagman. Content standards: computer science.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards, pursuant to recommendations of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards, in core curriculum areas.

This bill would begin delete encourage end delete begin insert require end insert the Instructional Quality Commission to develop and recommend to the state board, on or before July 31, 2016, computer science content standards, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts. The bill would begin delete express that the Legislature encourages end delete begin insert require end insert the commission to consider existing computer science content standards, including, but not limited to, national K-12 computer science content standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association. The bill would begin delete encourage end delete begin insert require end insert the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the commission, to convene that group of experts and ensure that the group includes individuals from specified groups.

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 60605.4 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

60605.4.  

(a) On or before July 31, 2016, the Instructional
Quality Commission begin delete is encouraged to end delete begin insert shall end insert develop and
recommend to the state board computer science content standards,
pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer
science experts. The begin delete Legislature encourages the end delete Instructional
Quality Commission begin delete to end delete begin insert shall end insert consider existing computer science
content standards, which include, but are not limited to, the national
K-12 computer science content standards developed by the
Computer Science Teachers Association, and consider content
standards that include, but are not necessarily limited to, standards
for teaching coding. For purposes of this section, “coding” is the
process of converting a program design into an accurate and
detailed representation of that program in a suitable language.

(b) (1) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Instructional
Quality Commission, begin delete is encouraged to end delete begin insert shall end insert convene the group of
experts referenced in subdivision (a), and begin delete is encouraged to end delete begin insert shall end insert
ensure that the members of the group include, but are not
necessarily limited to, all of the following:

(A) Teachers who teach computer science, including
mathematics and science teachers, in grades 7 to 12, inclusive.

(B) Schoolsite principals.

(C) School district or county office of education administrators.

(D) University professors.

(E) Representatives of private sector business or industry.

(2) The Superintendent, in consultation with the state board,
shall ensure that one-half of the members of the group are teachers
as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(c) The computer science content standards may be used by
school districts to develop computer science programs and course
assessments but are not mandatory.