Senate Bill No. 247

Introduced by Senator Liu

February 12, 2013

An act to amend Section 60601 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 60603, 60604, 60605.6, 60640, 60642.5, 60643, and 60643.1 of, and to add Section 60644 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil assessment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 247, as introduced, Liu. Pupil assessment: grade levels assessed.

(1) Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act (hereafter the Greene Act), requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to design and implement a statewide pupil assessment program, and requires school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests, including a standards-based achievement test pursuant to the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.

This bill, commencing July 1, 2014, would exclude pupils in grade 2 from the STAR Program.

The bill would require the State Department of Education, by November 1, 2014, to identify and make available to school districts information regarding existing assessments in language arts and mathematics for pupils in grade 2 for diagnostic use by classroom teachers. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented from the savings realized from the elimination of the grade 2 standards-based achievement testing.

(2) Existing law makes the Greene Act inoperative on July 1, 2014, and repeals it on January 1, 2015.

This bill would instead make the Greene Act inoperative on July 1, 2016, and would repeal it on January 1, 2017. By extending the operation of the Greene Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) This bill would make conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 60601 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

60601.  

This chapter shall become inoperative on July 1, begin delete 2014 end delete
begin insert 2016 end insert , and as of January 1, begin delete 2015 end delete begin insert 201 end insert begin insert 7 end insert , is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, begin delete 2015 end delete begin insert 201 end insert begin insert 7 end insert , deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.

SEC. 2.  

Section 60603 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

60603.  

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Achievement test” means any standardized test that
measures the level of performance that a pupil has achieved in the
core curriculum areas.

(b) “Assessment of applied academic skills” means a form of
assessment that requires pupils to demonstrate their knowledge
of, and ability to apply, academic knowledge and skills in order
to solve problems and communicate. It may include, but is not
limited to, writing an essay response to a question, conducting an
experiment, or constructing a diagram or model. An assessment
of applied academic skills begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not include assessments of
personal behavioral standards or skills, including, but not limited
to, honesty, sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(c) “Basic academic skills” means those skills in the subject
areas of reading, spelling, written expression, and mathematics
that provide the necessary foundation for mastery of more complex
intellectual abilities, including the synthesis and application of
knowledge.

(d) “Content standards” means the specific academic knowledge,
skills, and abilities that all public schools in this state are expected
to teach and all pupils expected to learn in each of the core
curriculum areas, at each grade level tested.

(e) “Core curriculum areas” means the areas of reading, writing,
mathematics, history-social science, and science.

(f) “Diagnostic assessment” means interim assessments of the
current level of achievement of a pupil that serves both of the
following purposes:

(1) The identification of particular academic standards or skills
a pupil has or has not yet achieved.

(2) The identification of possible reasons that a pupil has not
yet achieved particular academic standards or skills.

(g) “Direct writing assessment” means an assessment of applied
academic skills that requires pupils to use written expression to
demonstrate writing skills, including writing mechanics, grammar,
punctuation, and spelling.

(h) “End of course exam” means a comprehensive and
challenging assessment of pupil achievement in a particular subject
area or discipline.

(i) “Formative assessment” means assessment tools and
processes that are embedded in instruction and are used by teachers
and pupils to provide timely feedback for purposes of adjusting
instruction to improve learning.

(j) “High-quality assessment” means an assessment designed
to measure a pupil’s knowledge of, understanding of, and ability
to apply critical concepts through the use of a variety of item types
and formats, including, but not limited to, items that allow for
open-ended responses and items that require the completion of
performance-based tasks. A high-quality assessment should have
the following characteristics:

(1) Enable measurement of pupil achievement and pupil growth.

(2) Be of high technical quality by being valid, reliable, fair,
and aligned to standards.

(3) Incorporate technology where appropriate.

(4) Include the assessment of pupils with disabilities and English
learners.

(5) Use, to the extent feasible, universal design principles, as
defined in Section 3 of the federal Assistive Technology Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 3002) in its development and administration.

(k) “Interim assessment” means an assessment that is given at
regular and specified intervals throughout the school year, is
designed to evaluate a pupil’s knowledge and skills relative to a
specific set of academic standards, and produces results that can
be aggregated by course, grade level, school, or local educational
agency in order to inform teachers and administrators at the pupil,
classroom, school, and local educational agency levels.

(l) “Performance standards” are standards that define various
levels of competence at each grade level in each of the curriculum
areas for which content standards are established. Performance
standards gauge the degree to which a pupil has met the content
standards and the degree to which a school or school district has
met the content standards.

(m) “Publisher” means a commercial publisher or any other
public or private entity, other than the department, which is able
to provide tests or test items that meet the requirements of this
chapter.

(n) “Statewide pupil assessment program” means the systematic
achievement testing of pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, pursuant
to the standardized testing and reporting program under Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640) begin delete and the assessment of basic
academic skills and applied academic skills, administered to pupils
in grade levels specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60605,
required by this chapter in all schools within each school district
by means of tests designated by the state board end delete .

begin insert

(o) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 60603 is added to the Education Code, to read:

60603.  

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Achievement test” means any standardized test that
measures the level of performance that a pupil has achieved in the
core curriculum areas.

(b) “Assessment of applied academic skills” means a form of
assessment that requires pupils to demonstrate their knowledge
of, and ability to apply, academic knowledge and skills in order
to solve problems and communicate. It may include, but is not
limited to, writing an essay response to a question, conducting an
experiment, or constructing a diagram or model. An assessment
of applied academic skills shall not include assessments of personal
behavioral standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty,
sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(c) “Basic academic skills” means those skills in the subject
areas of reading, spelling, written expression, and mathematics
that provide the necessary foundation for mastery of more complex
intellectual abilities, including the synthesis and application of
knowledge.

(d) “Content standards” means the specific academic knowledge,
skills, and abilities that all public schools in this state are expected
to teach and all pupils expected to learn in each of the core
curriculum areas, at each grade level tested.

(e) “Core curriculum areas” means the areas of reading, writing,
mathematics, history-social science, and science.

(f) “Diagnostic assessment” means interim assessments of the
current level of achievement of a pupil that serves both of the
following purposes:

(1) The identification of particular academic standards or skills
a pupil has or has not yet achieved.

(2) The identification of possible reasons that a pupil has not
yet achieved particular academic standards or skills.

(g) “Direct writing assessment” means an assessment of applied
academic skills that requires pupils to use written expression to
demonstrate writing skills, including writing mechanics, grammar,
punctuation, and spelling.

(h) “End of course exam” means a comprehensive and
challenging assessment of pupil achievement in a particular subject
area or discipline.

(i) “Formative assessment” means assessment tools and
processes that are embedded in instruction and are used by teachers
and pupils to provide timely feedback for purposes of adjusting
instruction to improve learning.

(j) “High-quality assessment” means an assessment designed
to measure a pupil’s knowledge of, understanding of, and ability
to apply critical concepts through the use of a variety of item types
and formats, including, but not limited to, items that allow for
open-ended responses and items that require the completion of
performance-based tasks. A high-quality assessment should have
the following characteristics:

(1) Enable measurement of pupil achievement and pupil growth.

(2) Be of high technical quality by being valid, reliable, fair,
and aligned to standards.

(3) Incorporate technology where appropriate.

(4) Include the assessment of pupils with disabilities and English
learners.

(5) Use, to the extent feasible, universal design principles, as
defined in Section 3 of the federal Assistive Technology Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 3002) in its development and administration.

(k) “Interim assessment” means an assessment that is given at
regular and specified intervals throughout the school year, is
designed to evaluate a pupil’s knowledge and skills relative to a
specific set of academic standards, and produces results that can
be aggregated by course, grade level, school, or local educational
agency in order to inform teachers and administrators at the pupil,
classroom, school, and local educational agency levels.

(l) “Performance standards” are standards that define various
levels of competence at each grade level in each of the curriculum
areas for which content standards are established. Performance
standards gauge the degree to which a pupil has met the content
standards and the degree to which a school or school district has
met the content standards.

(m) “Publisher” means a commercial publisher or any other
public or private entity, other than the department, which is able
to provide tests or test items that meet the requirements of this
chapter.

(n) “Statewide pupil assessment program” means the systematic
achievement testing of pupils in grades 3 to 11, inclusive, pursuant
to the standardized testing and reporting program under Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640).

(o) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 4.  

Section 60604 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

60604.  

(a) The Superintendent shall design and implement,
consistent with the timetable and plan required pursuant to
subdivision (b), a statewide pupil assessment program consistent
with the testing requirements of this article in accordance with the
objectives set forth in Section 60602. That program shall include
all of the following:

(1) A plan for producing valid, reliable, and comparable
individual pupil scores in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, and a
comprehensive analysis of these scores based on the results of the
achievement test designated by the state board that assesses a broad
range of basic academic skills pursuant to the Standardized Testing
and Reporting (STAR) Program established by Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640).

(2) A method of working with publishers to ensure valid,
reliable, and comparable individual, grade-level, school-level,
begin insert school end insert district-level, county-level, and statewide scores in grades
2 to 11, inclusive.

(3) Statewide academically rigorous content and performance
standards that reflect the knowledge and skills that pupils will need
in order to succeed in the information-based, global economy of
the 21st century. These skills shall not include personal behavioral
standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty,
sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(4) A statewide system that provides the results of testing in a
manner that reflects the degree to which pupils are achieving the
academically rigorous content and performance standards adopted
by the state board.

(5) The alignment of assessment with the statewide academically
rigorous content and performance standards adopted by the state
board.

(6) The active, ongoing involvement of parents, classroom
teachers, administrators, other educators, governing board members
of school districts, and the public in all phases of the design and
implementation of the statewide pupil assessment program.

(7) The development of a contract or contracts with a publisher
or publishers, after the approval of statewide academically rigorous
content standards by the state board, for the development of
performance standards and assessments of applied academic skills
designed to test pupils’ knowledge of academic skills and abilities
to apply that knowledge and those skills in order to solve problems
and communicate.

(b) The Superintendent shall develop and annually update for
the Legislature a five-year cost projection, implementation plan,
and timetable for implementing the program described in
subdivision (a). The annual update shall be submitted on or before
March 1 of each year to the chairperson of the fiscal subcommittee
considering budget appropriations in each house. The update shall
explain any significant variations from the five-year cost projection
for the current year budget and the proposed budget.

(c) The Superintendent shall provide each school district with
guidelines for professional development that are designed to assist
classroom teachers to use the results of the assessments
administered pursuant to this chapter to modify instruction for the
purpose of improving pupil learning. These guidelines shall be
developed in consultation with classroom teachers and approved
by the state board before dissemination.

(d) The Superintendent and the state board shall consider
comments and recommendations from school districts and the
public in the development, adoption, and approval of assessment
instruments.

(e) The results of the achievement test administered pursuant
to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) shall be returned
to the school district within the period of time specified by the
state board.

begin insert

(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 5.  

Section 60604 is added to the Education Code, to read:

60604.  

(a) The Superintendent shall design and implement,
consistent with the timetable and plan required pursuant to
subdivision (b), a statewide pupil assessment program consistent
with the testing requirements of this article in accordance with the
objectives set forth in Section 60602. That program shall include
all of the following:

(1) A plan for producing valid, reliable, and comparable
individual pupil scores in grades 3 to 11, inclusive, and a
comprehensive analysis of these scores based on the results of the
achievement test designated by the state board that assesses a broad
range of basic academic skills pursuant to the Standardized Testing
and Reporting (STAR) Program established by Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640).

(2) A method of working with publishers to ensure valid,
reliable, and comparable individual, grade-level, school-level,
school district-level, county-level, and statewide scores in grades
3 to 11, inclusive.

(3) Statewide academically rigorous content and performance
standards that reflect the knowledge and skills that pupils will need
in order to succeed in the information-based, global economy of
the 21st century. These skills shall not include personal behavioral
standards or skills, including, but not limited to, honesty,
sociability, ethics, or self-esteem.

(4) A statewide system that provides the results of testing in a
manner that reflects the degree to which pupils are achieving the
academically rigorous content and performance standards adopted
by the state board.

(5) The alignment of assessment with the statewide academically
rigorous content and performance standards adopted by the state
board.

(6) The active, ongoing involvement of parents, classroom
teachers, administrators, other educators, governing board members
of school districts, and the public in all phases of the design and
implementation of the statewide pupil assessment program.

(7) The development of a contract or contracts with a publisher
or publishers, after the approval of statewide academically rigorous
content standards by the state board, for the development of
performance standards and assessments of applied academic skills
designed to test pupils’ knowledge of academic skills and abilities
to apply that knowledge and those skills in order to solve problems
and communicate.

(b) The Superintendent shall develop and annually update for
the Legislature a five-year cost projection, implementation plan,
and timetable for implementing the program described in
subdivision (a). The annual update shall be submitted on or before
March 1 of each year to the chairperson of the fiscal subcommittee
considering budget appropriations in each house. The update shall
explain any significant variations from the five-year cost projection
for the current year budget and the proposed budget.

(c) The Superintendent shall provide each school district with
guidelines for professional development that are designed to assist
classroom teachers to use the results of the assessments
administered pursuant to this chapter to modify instruction for the
purpose of improving pupil learning. These guidelines shall be
developed in consultation with classroom teachers and approved
by the state board before dissemination.

(d) The Superintendent and the state board shall consider
comments and recommendations from school districts and the
public in the development, adoption, and approval of assessment
instruments.

(e) The results of the achievement test administered pursuant
to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) shall be returned
to the school district within the period of time specified by the
state board.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 6.  

Section 60605.6 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

60605.6.  

Subject to the availability of funds appropriated in
the annual Budget Act for this purpose, the Superintendent, upon
approval of the state board, shall contract for the development and
distribution of workbooks, as follows:

(a) One workbook to be distributed to all pupils in grade 10.
This workbook shall contain information on the proficiency levels
that must be demonstrated by pupils on the high school exit
examination described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
60850). The workbook also shall contain sample questions, with
explanations describing how these sample questions test pupil
knowledge of the language arts and mathematics content standards
adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60605.

(b) Separate workbooks for each of grades 2 to 11, inclusive.
Each pupil in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, who is required to take the
achievement tests described in Section 60642.5 shall receive a
copy of the workbook designed for the same grade level in which
the pupil is enrolled. These workbooks shall contain material to
assist pupils and their parents with standards-based learning,
including the grade appropriate academic content standards adopted
by the state board pursuant to Section 60605 and sample questions
that require knowledge of these standards to answer. The
workbooks also shall describe how the sample questions test
knowledge of the state board adopted academic content standards.

begin insert

(c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 7.  

Section 60605.6 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60605.6.  

Subject to the availability of funds appropriated in
the annual Budget Act for this purpose, the Superintendent, upon
approval of the state board, shall contract for the development and
distribution of workbooks, as follows:

(a) One workbook to be distributed to all pupils in grade 10.
This workbook shall contain information on the proficiency levels
that must be demonstrated by pupils on the high school exit
examination described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
60850). The workbook also shall contain sample questions, with
explanations describing how these sample questions test pupil
knowledge of the language arts and mathematics content standards
adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60605.

(b) Separate workbooks for each of grades 3 to 11, inclusive.
Each pupil in grades 3 to 11, inclusive, who is required to take the
achievement tests described in Section 60642.5 shall receive a
copy of the workbook designed for the same grade level in which
the pupil is enrolled. These workbooks shall contain material to
assist pupils and their parents with standards-based learning,
including the grade appropriate academic content standards adopted
by the state board pursuant to Section 60605 and sample questions
that require knowledge of these standards to answer. The
workbooks also shall describe how the sample questions test
knowledge of the state board adopted academic content standards.

(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 8.  

Section 60640 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

60640.  

(a) There is hereby established the Standardized Testing
and Reporting Program, to be known as the STAR Program.

(b) From the funds available for that purpose, each school
district, charter school, and county office of education shall
administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, the
standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5.
The state board shall establish a testing period to provide that all
schools administer these tests to pupils at approximately the same
time during the instructional year, except as necessary to ensure
test security and to meet the final filing date.

(c) The publisher and the school district shall provide two
makeup days for the testing of previously absent pupils within the
testing period established by the state board in subdivision (b).

(d) The governing board of the school district may administer
achievement tests in grades other than those required by
subdivision (b) as it deems appropriate.

(e) Pursuant to Section begin delete 1412(a)(17) end delete begin insert 1412(a)(16) end insert of Title 20 of
the United States Code, individuals with exceptional needs, as
defined in Section 56026, shall be included in the testing
requirement of subdivision (b) with appropriate accommodations
in administration, where necessary, and those individuals with
exceptional needs who are unable to participate in the testing, even
with accommodations, shall be given an alternate assessment.

(f) (1) At the option of the school district, pupils with limited
English proficiency who are enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11,
inclusive, may take a second achievement test in their primary
language. Primary language tests administered pursuant to this
subdivision and subdivision (g) shall be subject to the requirements
of subdivision (a) of Section 60641. These primary language tests
shall produce individual pupil scores that are valid and reliable.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the state board shall
designate for use, as part of this program, a single primary language
test in each language for which a test is available for grades 2 to
11, inclusive, pursuant to the process used for designation of the
assessment chosen in the 1997-98 fiscal year, as specified in
Section 60643, as applicable.

(3) (A) The department shall use funds made available pursuant
to Title VI of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) and appropriated by the annual Budget
Act for the purpose of developing and adopting primary language
assessments that are aligned to the state academic content
standards. Subject to the availability of funds, primary language
assessments shall be developed and adopted for begin delete reading/language end delete
begin insert reading-language end insert arts and mathematics in the dominant primary
language of limited-English-proficient pupils. The dominant
primary language shall be determined by the count in the annual
language census of the primary language of each
limited-English-proficient pupil enrolled in the California public
schools.

(B) Once a dominant primary language assessment is available
for use for a specific grade level, it shall be administered in place
of the assessment designated pursuant to paragraph (1) for that
grade level.

(C) In choosing a contractor to develop a primary language
assessment the state board shall consider the criteria for choosing
a contractor or test publisher as specified by Section 60643, and
as specified by Section 60642.5, as applicable.

(D) Subject to the availability of funds, the assessments shall
be developed in grade order starting with the lowest grade subject
to the STAR Program.

(E) If the state board contracts for the development of primary
language assessments or test items to augment an existing
assessment, the state shall retain ownership rights to the assessment
and the test items. With the approval of the state board, the
department may license the test for use in other states subject to a
compensation agreement approved by the Department of Finance.

(F) On or before January 1, 2006, the department shall submit
to the Legislature a report on the development and implementation
of the initial primary language assessments and recommendations
on the development and implementation of future assessments and
funding requirements.

(g) A pupil identified as limited English proficient pursuant to
the administration of a test made available pursuant to Section
60810 who is enrolled in any of grades 2 to 11, inclusive, and who
either receives instruction in his or her primary language or has
been enrolled in a school in the United States for less than 12
months shall be required to take a test in his or her primary
language if a test is available.

(h) (1) The Superintendent shall apportion funds to school
districts to enable school districts to meet the requirements of
subdivisions (b), (e), (f), and (g).

(2) The state board annually shall establish the amount of
funding to be apportioned to school districts for each test
administered and annually shall establish the amount that each
publisher shall be paid for each test administered under the
agreements required pursuant to Section 60643. The amounts to
be paid to the publishers shall be determined by considering the
cost estimates submitted by each publisher each September and
the amount included in the annual Budget Act, and by making
allowance for the estimated costs to school districts for compliance
with the requirements of subdivisions (b), (e), (f), and (g).

(3) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned
per test shall not be valid without the approval of the Director of
Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount
of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing
to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal
committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying
material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of
Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related
to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall
approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the
request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees
of both houses of the Legislature of the decision.

(i) For purposes of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation
for the apportionments made pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h), and the payments made to the publishers under
the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643 or subparagraph
(C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60605 between
the department and the contractor, are “General Fund revenues
appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 41202, for the applicable fiscal year, and included within
the “total allocations to school districts and community college
districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant
to Article XIII  B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202,
for that fiscal year.

(j) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to
subdivision (h), a school district shall report to the Superintendent
all of the following:

(1) The number of pupils enrolled in the school district in grades
2 to 11, inclusive.

(2) The number of pupils to whom an achievement test was
administered in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, in the school district.

(3) The number of pupils in paragraph (1) who were exempted
from the test at the request of their parents or guardians.

(k) The Superintendent and the state board are authorized and
encouraged to assist postsecondary educational institutions to use
the assessment results of the California Standards Tests, including,
but not limited to, the augmented California Standards Tests, for
academic credit, placement, or admissions processes.

(l) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
annually shall release to the public test items from the
standards-based achievement tests pursuant to Section 60642.5
administered in previous years. The minimum number of test items
released per year shall be equal to 25 percent of the total number
of test items on the test administered in the previous year.

begin insert

(m) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 9.  

Section 60640 is added to the Education Code, to read:

60640.  

(a) There is hereby established the Standardized Testing
and Reporting Program, to be known as the STAR Program.

(b) From the funds available for that purpose, each school
district, charter school, and county office of education shall
administer to each of its pupils in grades 3 to 11, inclusive, the
standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5.
The state board shall establish a testing period to provide that all
schools administer these tests to pupils at approximately the same
time during the instructional year, except as necessary to ensure
test security and to meet the final filing date.

(c) The publisher and the school district shall provide two
makeup days for the testing of previously absent pupils within the
testing period established by the state board in subdivision (b).

(d) The governing board of the school district may administer
achievement tests in grades other than those required by
subdivision (b) as it deems appropriate.

(e) Pursuant to Section 1412(a)(16) of Title 20 of the United
States Code, individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in
Section 56026, shall be included in the testing requirement of
subdivision (b) with appropriate accommodations in administration,
where necessary, and those individuals with exceptional needs
who are unable to participate in the testing, even with
accommodations, shall be given an alternate assessment.

(f) (1) At the option of the school district, pupils with limited
English proficiency who are enrolled in any of grades 3 to 11,
inclusive, may take a second achievement test in their primary
language. Primary language tests administered pursuant to this
subdivision and subdivision (g) shall be subject to the requirements
of subdivision (a) of Section 60641. These primary language tests
shall produce individual pupil scores that are valid and reliable.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the state board shall
designate for use, as part of this program, a single primary language
test in each language for which a test is available for grades 3 to
11, inclusive, pursuant to the process used for designation of the
assessment chosen in the 1997-98 fiscal year, as specified in
Section 60643, as applicable.

(3) (A) The department shall use funds made available pursuant
to Title VI of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) and appropriated by the annual Budget
Act for the purpose of developing and adopting primary language
assessments that are aligned to the state academic content
standards. Subject to the availability of funds, primary language
assessments shall be developed and adopted for reading-language
arts and mathematics in the dominant primary language of
limited-English-proficient pupils. The dominant primary language
shall be determined by the count in the annual language census of
the primary language of each limited-English-proficient pupil
enrolled in the California public schools.

(B) Once a dominant primary language assessment is available
for use for a specific grade level, it shall be administered in place
of the assessment designated pursuant to paragraph (1) for that
grade level.

(C) In choosing a contractor to develop a primary language
assessment the state board shall consider the criteria for choosing
a contractor or test publisher as specified by Section 60643, and
as specified by Section 60642.5, as applicable.

(D) Subject to the availability of funds, the assessments shall
be developed in grade order starting with the lowest grade subject
to the STAR Program.

(E) If the state board contracts for the development of primary
language assessments or test items to augment an existing
assessment, the state shall retain ownership rights to the assessment
and the test items. With the approval of the state board, the
department may license the test for use in other states subject to a
compensation agreement approved by the Department of Finance.

(F) On or before January 1, 2006, the department shall submit
to the Legislature a report on the development and implementation
of the initial primary language assessments and recommendations
on the development and implementation of future assessments and
funding requirements.

(g) A pupil identified as limited English proficient pursuant to
the administration of a test made available pursuant to Section
60810 who is enrolled in any of grades 3 to 11, inclusive, and who
either receives instruction in his or her primary language or has
been enrolled in a school in the United States for less than 12
months shall be required to take a test in his or her primary
language if a test is available.

(h) (1) The Superintendent shall apportion funds to school
districts to enable school districts to meet the requirements of
subdivisions (b), (e), (f), and (g).

(2) The state board annually shall establish the amount of
funding to be apportioned to school districts for each test
administered and annually shall establish the amount that each
publisher shall be paid for each test administered under the
agreements required pursuant to Section 60643. The amounts to
be paid to the publishers shall be determined by considering the
cost estimates submitted by each publisher each September and
the amount included in the annual Budget Act, and by making
allowance for the estimated costs to school districts for compliance
with the requirements of subdivisions (b), (e), (f), and (g).

(3) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned
per test shall not be valid without the approval of the Director of
Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount
of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing
to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal
committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying
material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of
Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related
to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall
approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the
request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees
of both houses of the Legislature of the decision.

(i) For purposes of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation
for the apportionments made pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h), and the payments made to the publishers under
the contracts required pursuant to Section 60643 or subparagraph
(C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60605 between
the department and the contractor, are “General Fund revenues
appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 41202, for the applicable fiscal year, and included within
the “total allocations to school districts and community college
districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant
to Article XIII  B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202,
for that fiscal year.

(j) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to
subdivision (h), a school district shall report to the Superintendent
all of the following:

(1) The number of pupils enrolled in the school district in grades
3 to 11, inclusive.

(2) The number of pupils to whom an achievement test was
administered in grades 3 to 11, inclusive, in the school district.

(3) The number of pupils in paragraph (1) who were exempted
from the test at the request of their parents or guardians.

(k) The Superintendent and the state board are authorized and
encouraged to assist postsecondary educational institutions to use
the assessment results of the California Standards Tests, including,
but not limited to, the augmented California Standards Tests, for
academic credit, placement, or admissions processes.

(l) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
annually shall release to the public test items from the
standards-based achievement tests pursuant to Section 60642.5
administered in previous years. The minimum number of test items
released per year shall be equal to 25 percent of the total number
of test items on the test administered in the previous year.

(m) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 10.  

Section 60642.5 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

60642.5.  

(a) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall provide for the development of an assessment
instrument, to be called the California Standards Tests, that
measures the degree to which pupils are achieving the academically
rigorous content standards and performance standards, to the extent
standards have been adopted by the state board. These
standards-based achievement tests shall contain the subject areas
specified in begin delete paragraph (3) of end delete subdivision begin delete (a) end delete begin insert (c) end insert of Section 60603
for grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and shall include an assessment in
begin delete history/social end delete begin insert history-social end insert science in at least one elementary or
middle school grade level selected by the state board and science
in at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected
by the state board, and the core curriculum areas specified in
begin delete paragraph (5) of end delete subdivision begin delete (a) end delete begin insert (e) end insert of Section 60603 for grades 9
to 11, inclusive, except that history-social science shall not be
included in the grade 9 assessment unless the state board adopts
academic content standards for a grade 9 history-social science
course, and shall include, at a minimum, a direct writing assessment
once in elementary school and once in middle or junior high school
and other items of applied academic skill if deemed valid and
reliable and if resources are made available for their use.

(b) In approving a contract for the development or administration
of the California Standards Tests, the state board shall consider
each of the following criteria:

(1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable
individual pupil scores.

(2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8.

(3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between
the standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous
content and performance standards as those standards are adopted
by the state board. This criterion shall include the ability of the
contractor to implement a process to establish and maintain
alignment between the test items and the standards.

(4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing and, if
appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system
to facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost
determinations.

(5) The procedures of the contractor to ensure the security and
integrity of test questions and materials.

(6) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting
testing programs adopted and administered by other states. For
experience to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested
shall be provided.

(c) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from
other tests.

begin insert

(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 11.  

Section 60642.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60642.5.  

(a) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall provide for the development of an assessment
instrument, to be called the California Standards Tests, that
measures the degree to which pupils are achieving the academically
rigorous content standards and performance standards, to the extent
standards have been adopted by the state board. These
standards-based achievement tests shall contain the subject areas
specified in subdivision (c) of Section 60603 for grades 3 to 8,
inclusive, and shall include an assessment in history-social science
in at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected
by the state board and science in at least one elementary or middle
school grade level selected by the state board, and the core
curriculum areas specified in subdivision (e) of Section 60603 for
grades 9 to 11, inclusive, except that history-social science shall
not be included in the grade 9 assessment unless the state board
adopts academic content standards for a grade 9 history-social
science course, and shall include, at a minimum, a direct writing
assessment once in elementary school and once in middle or junior
high school and other items of applied academic skill if deemed
valid and reliable and if resources are made available for their use.

(b) In approving a contract for the development or administration
of the California Standards Tests, the state board shall consider
each of the following criteria:

(1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable
individual pupil scores.

(2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8.

(3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between
the standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous
content and performance standards as those standards are adopted
by the state board. This criterion shall include the ability of the
contractor to implement a process to establish and maintain
alignment between the test items and the standards.

(4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing and, if
appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system
to facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost
determinations.

(5) The procedures of the contractor to ensure the security and
integrity of test questions and materials.

(6) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting
testing programs adopted and administered by other states. For
experience to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested
shall be provided.

(c) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from
other tests.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 12.  

Section 60643 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

60643.  

(a) To be eligible for consideration under Section
60642.5 by the state board, test publishers shall agree in writing
each year to meet the following requirements, as applicable, if
selected:

(1) Enter into an agreement, pursuant to subdivision (e) or (f),
with the department by October 15 of that year.

(2) Align the standards-based achievement test provided for in
Section 60642.5 to the academically rigorous content and
performance standards adopted by the state board.

(3) Comply with subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 60645.

(4) Provide valid and reliable individual pupil scores to parents
or guardians, teachers, and school administrators.

(5) Provide valid and reliable aggregate scores to school districts
and county boards of education in all of the following forms and
formats:

(A) Grade level.

(B) School level.

(C)  begin delete District end delete begin insert School district level end insert .

(D) Countywide.

(E) Statewide.

(F) Comparison of statewide scores relative to other states.

(6) Provide disaggregated scores, based on
limited-English-proficient status and nonlimited-English-proficient
status. For purposes of this section, pupils with
“nonlimited-English-proficient status” shall include the total of
those pupils who are English-only pupils, fluent-English-proficient
pupils, and redesignated fluent-English-proficient pupils. These
scores shall be provided to school districts and county boards of
education in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).

(7) Provide disaggregated scores by pupil gender and ethnicity
and provide disaggregated scores based on whether pupils are
economically disadvantaged or not. These disaggregated scores
shall be in the same forms and formats as listed in paragraph (5).
In any one year, the disaggregation shall entail information already
being collected by school districts, county offices of education, or
charter schools.

(8) Provide disaggregated scores for pupils who have
individualized education programs and have enrolled in special
education, to the extent required by federal law. These scores shall
be provided in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).
This section shall not be construed to exclude the scores of special
education pupils from any state or federal accountability system.

(9) Provide information listed in paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and
(8) to the department and the state board in the medium requested
by each entity, respectively.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the publisher work with
the Superintendent and the state board in developing a methodology
to disaggregate statewide scores as required in paragraphs (6) and
(7) of subdivision (a), and in determining which variable indicated
on the STAR testing document shall serve as a proxy for
“economically disadvantaged” status pursuant to paragraph (7) of
subdivision (a).

(c) Access to information about individual pupils or their
families shall be granted to the publisher only for purposes of
correctly associating test results with the pupils who produced
those results or for reporting and disaggregating test results as
required by this section. School districts are prohibited from
excluding a pupil from the test if a parent or parents decline to
disclose income. This chapter does not abridge or deny rights to
confidentiality contained in the federal Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) or other applicable
state and federal law that begin delete protect end delete begin insert protects end insert the confidentiality of
information collected by educational institutions.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the publisher of the
standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5
or any contractor under subdivision (f) shall comply with all of
the conditions and requirements enumerated in subdivision (a), as
applicable, to the satisfaction of the state board.

(e) (1) A publisher shall not provide a test described in Section
60642.5 or begin delete 60650 or in end delete subdivision (f) of Section 60640 for use
in California public schools, unless the publisher enters into a
written contract with the department as set forth in this subdivision.

(2) The department shall develop, and the state board shall
approve, a contract to be entered into with a publisher pursuant to
paragraph (1). The department may develop the contract through
negotiations with the publisher.

(3) For purposes of the contracts authorized pursuant to this
subdivision, the department is exempt from the requirements of
Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the
Public Contract Code and from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code.

(4) The contracts shall include provisions for progress payments
to the publisher for work performed or costs incurred in the
performance of the contract. Not less than 10 percent of the amount
budgeted for each separate and distinct component task provided
for in each contract shall be withheld pending final completion of
all component tasks by that publisher. The total amount withheld
pending final completion shall not exceed 10 percent of the total
contract price.

(5) The contracts shall require liquidated damages to be paid
by the publisher in the amount of up to 10 percent of the total cost
of the contract for any component task that the publisher through
its own fault or that of its subcontractors fails to substantially
perform by the date specified in the agreement.

(6) The contracts shall establish the process and criteria by
which the successful completion of each component task shall be
recommended by the department and approved by the state board.

(7) The publishers shall submit, as part of the contract
negotiation process, a proposed budget and invoice schedule, that
includes a detailed listing of the costs for each component task
and the expected date of the invoice for each completed component
task.

(8) The contracts shall specify the following component tasks,
as applicable, that are separate and distinct:

(A) Development of new tests or test items as required by
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(B) Test materials production or publication.

(C) Delivery of test materials to school districts.

(D) Test processing, scoring, and analyses.

(E) Reporting of test results to the school districts, including,
but not limited to, all reports specified in this section.

(F) Reporting of test results to the department, including, but
not limited to, the electronic files required pursuant to this section.

(G) All other analyses or reports required by the Superintendent
to meet the requirements of state and federal law and set forth in
the agreement.

(9) The contracts shall specify the specific reports and data files,
if any, that are to be provided to school districts by the publisher
and the number of copies of each report or file to be provided.

(10) The contracts shall specify the means by which any delivery
date for materials to each school district shall be verified by the
publisher and the school district.

(11) School districts may negotiate a separate agreement with
the publisher for any additional materials or services not within
the contracts specified in this subdivision, including, but not limited
to, the administration of the tests to pupils in grade levels other
than grades 2 to 11, inclusive. Any separate agreement is not within
the scope of the contract specified in this subdivision.

(f) The department, with approval of the state board, may enter
into a separate contract for the development or administration of
a test authorized pursuant to this part, including, but not limited
to, item development, coordination of tests, assemblage of tests
or test items, scoring, or reporting. The liquidated damages
provision set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) shall apply
to a contract entered into pursuant to this subdivision.

begin insert

(g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 13.  

Section 60643 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60643.  

(a) To be eligible for consideration under Section
60642.5 by the state board, test publishers shall agree in writing
each year to meet the following requirements, as applicable, if
selected:

(1) Enter into an agreement, pursuant to subdivision (e) or (f),
with the department by October 15 of that year.

(2) Align the standards-based achievement test provided for in
Section 60642.5 to the academically rigorous content and
performance standards adopted by the state board.

(3) Comply with subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 60645.

(4) Provide valid and reliable individual pupil scores to parents
or guardians, teachers, and school administrators.

(5) Provide valid and reliable aggregate scores to school districts
and county boards of education in all of the following forms and
formats:

(A) Grade level.

(B) School level.

(C) School district level.

(D) Countywide.

(E) Statewide.

(F) Comparison of statewide scores relative to other states.

(6) Provide disaggregated scores, based on
limited-English-proficient status and nonlimited-English-proficient
status. For purposes of this section, pupils with
“nonlimited-English-proficient status” shall include the total of
those pupils who are English-only pupils, fluent-English-proficient
pupils, and redesignated fluent-English-proficient pupils. These
scores shall be provided to school districts and county boards of
education in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).

(7) Provide disaggregated scores by pupil gender and ethnicity
and provide disaggregated scores based on whether pupils are
economically disadvantaged or not. These disaggregated scores
shall be in the same forms and formats as listed in paragraph (5).
In any one year, the disaggregation shall entail information already
being collected by school districts, county offices of education, or
charter schools.

(8) Provide disaggregated scores for pupils who have
individualized education programs and have enrolled in special
education, to the extent required by federal law. These scores shall
be provided in the same forms and formats listed in paragraph (5).
This section shall not be construed to exclude the scores of special
education pupils from any state or federal accountability system.

(9) Provide information listed in paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and
(8) to the department and the state board in the medium requested
by each entity, respectively.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the publisher work with
the Superintendent and the state board in developing a methodology
to disaggregate statewide scores as required in paragraphs (6) and
(7) of subdivision (a), and in determining which variable indicated
on the STAR testing document shall serve as a proxy for
“economically disadvantaged” status pursuant to paragraph (7) of
subdivision (a).

(c) Access to information about individual pupils or their
families shall be granted to the publisher only for purposes of
correctly associating test results with the pupils who produced
those results or for reporting and disaggregating test results as
required by this section. School districts are prohibited from
excluding a pupil from the test if a parent or parents decline to
disclose income. This chapter does not abridge or deny rights to
confidentiality contained in the federal Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) or other applicable
state and federal law that protects the confidentiality of information
collected by educational institutions.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the publisher of the
standards-based achievement test provided for in Section 60642.5
or any contractor under subdivision (f) shall comply with all of
the conditions and requirements enumerated in subdivision (a), as
applicable, to the satisfaction of the state board.

(e) (1) A publisher shall not provide a test described in Section
60642.5 or subdivision (f) of Section 60640 for use in California
public schools, unless the publisher enters into a written contract
with the department as set forth in this subdivision.

(2) The department shall develop, and the state board shall
approve, a contract to be entered into with a publisher pursuant to
paragraph (1). The department may develop the contract through
negotiations with the publisher.

(3) For purposes of the contracts authorized pursuant to this
subdivision, the department is exempt from the requirements of
Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the
Public Contract Code and from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code.

(4) The contracts shall include provisions for progress payments
to the publisher for work performed or costs incurred in the
performance of the contract. Not less than 10 percent of the amount
budgeted for each separate and distinct component task provided
for in each contract shall be withheld pending final completion of
all component tasks by that publisher. The total amount withheld
pending final completion shall not exceed 10 percent of the total
contract price.

(5) The contracts shall require liquidated damages to be paid
by the publisher in the amount of up to 10 percent of the total cost
of the contract for any component task that the publisher through
its own fault or that of its subcontractors fails to substantially
perform by the date specified in the agreement.

(6) The contracts shall establish the process and criteria by
which the successful completion of each component task shall be
recommended by the department and approved by the state board.

(7) The publishers shall submit, as part of the contract
negotiation process, a proposed budget and invoice schedule, that
includes a detailed listing of the costs for each component task
and the expected date of the invoice for each completed component
task.

(8) The contracts shall specify the following component tasks,
as applicable, that are separate and distinct:

(A) Development of new tests or test items as required by
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(B) Test materials production or publication.

(C) Delivery of test materials to school districts.

(D) Test processing, scoring, and analyses.

(E) Reporting of test results to the school districts, including,
but not limited to, all reports specified in this section.

(F) Reporting of test results to the department, including, but
not limited to, the electronic files required pursuant to this section.

(G) All other analyses or reports required by the Superintendent
to meet the requirements of state and federal law and set forth in
the agreement.

(9) The contracts shall specify the specific reports and data files,
if any, that are to be provided to school districts by the publisher
and the number of copies of each report or file to be provided.

(10) The contracts shall specify the means by which any delivery
date for materials to each school district shall be verified by the
publisher and the school district.

(11) School districts may negotiate a separate agreement with
the publisher for any additional materials or services not within
the contracts specified in this subdivision, including, but not limited
to, the administration of the tests to pupils in grade levels other
than grades 3 to 11, inclusive. Any separate agreement is not within
the scope of the contract specified in this subdivision.

(f) The department, with approval of the state board, may enter
into a separate contract for the development or administration of
a test authorized pursuant to this part, including, but not limited
to, item development, coordination of tests, assemblage of tests
or test items, scoring, or reporting. The liquidated damages
provision set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) shall apply
to a contract entered into pursuant to this subdivision.

(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 14.  

Section 60643.1 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

60643.1.  

(a) (1) The test publisher designated by the state
board pursuant to Section begin delete 60642 end delete begin insert 60642.5 end insert shall make available a
reading list on the Internet by June 1 of the applicable school year.
The reading list shall include an index that correlates ranges of
pupil reading scores on the English language arts portion of the
achievement test designated pursuant to Section begin delete 60642 end delete begin insert 60642.5 end insert
to titles of materials that would be suitable for pupils in each of
grades 2 to 11, inclusive, to read in order to improve their reading
skills. This reading list shall include titles of books that allow a
pupil to practice reading at his or her current reading level and that
will assist the pupil in achieving a higher level of proficiency. To
the extent possible, the index also shall include information related
to the subject matter of each title. At a minimum, the reading list
also shall categorize titles by subject matter and identify
age-appropriate distinctions in the list.

(2) The test publisher, in each school year, shall make available
for purchase by school districts a report that provides a numerical
distribution of the reading scores of all pupils in California who
took the achievement test designated pursuant to Section begin delete 60642 end delete
begin insert 60642.5 end insert .

(3) The test publisher, in each school year, shall make available
for purchase by school districts reading lists that can be distributed
to pupils based on a pupil’s age and the ranges of scores on the
English language arts portion of the achievement test designated
pursuant to Section begin delete 60642 end delete begin insert 60642.5 end insert .

(4) The requirements of this subdivision shall become operative
only upon a determination by the Director of Finance that funds
are available to make an adjustment pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 60640.

(b) The state board and the Superintendent jointly shall certify
that the process used by the publisher to determine the reading
levels of the corresponding reading list pursuant to paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) meets the following criteria:

(1) The process is educationally valid.

(2) The process results in a reading list for each reading span
that provides titles at the pupil’s current reading level and the next
higher level for challenging practice.

(3) The process results in a selection from the universe of titles
from the list developed pursuant to subdivision (d) that matches
each reading level.

(4) The process is unbiased in the selection of publishers’ titles
from the legal compliance list.

(c) The titles listed at each reading level range posted on the
Internet and the reading lists made available to school districts
pursuant to subdivision (a), at a minimum, shall include all relevant
literature materials approved as of September 1, 1999, as being
legally compliant pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
60040) of Chapter 1 of Part 33, and the titles listed in all of the
content area reading and literature lists that are developed and
published by the department and that have been determined by the
department to meet the relevant reading level as certified pursuant
to subdivision (b).

(d) By imposing the requirements of this section on publishers,
it is not the intent of the Legislature to unfairly disadvantage any
publisher who has otherwise met the requirements of this section
or of Article 3 (commencing with Section 60040) of Chapter 1 of
Part 33.

begin insert

(e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2014, and
as of January 1, 2015, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end insert

SEC. 15.  

Section 60643.1 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60643.1.  

(a) (1) The test publisher designated by the state
board pursuant to Section 60642.5 shall make available a reading
list on the Internet by June 1 of the applicable school year. The
reading list shall include an index that correlates ranges of pupil
reading scores on the English language arts portion of the
achievement test designated pursuant to Section 60642.5 to titles
of materials that would be suitable for pupils in each of grades 3
to 11, inclusive, to read in order to improve their reading skills.
This reading list shall include titles of books that allow a pupil to
practice reading at his or her current reading level and that will
assist the pupil in achieving a higher level of proficiency. To the
extent possible, the index also shall include information related to
the subject matter of each title. At a minimum, the reading list also
shall categorize titles by subject matter and identify age-appropriate
distinctions in the list.

(2) The test publisher, in each school year, shall make available
for purchase by school districts a report that provides a numerical
distribution of the reading scores of all pupils in California who
took the achievement test designated pursuant to Section 60642.5.

(3) The test publisher, in each school year, shall make available
for purchase by school districts reading lists that can be distributed
to pupils based on a pupil’s age and the ranges of scores on the
English language arts portion of the achievement test designated
pursuant to Section 60642.5.

(4) The requirements of this subdivision shall become operative
only upon a determination by the Director of Finance that funds
are available to make an adjustment pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 60640.

(b) The state board and the Superintendent jointly shall certify
that the process used by the publisher to determine the reading
levels of the corresponding reading list pursuant to paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) meets the following criteria:

(1) The process is educationally valid.

(2) The process results in a reading list for each reading span
that provides titles at the pupil’s current reading level and the next
higher level for challenging practice.

(3) The process results in a selection from the universe of titles
from the list developed pursuant to subdivision (d) that matches
each reading level.

(4) The process is unbiased in the selection of publishers’ titles
from the legal compliance list.

(c) The titles listed at each reading level range posted on the
Internet and the reading lists made available to school districts
pursuant to subdivision (a), at a minimum, shall include all relevant
literature materials approved as of September 1, 1999, as being
legally compliant pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
60040) of Chapter 1 of Part 33, and the titles listed in all of the
content area reading and literature lists that are developed and
published by the department and that have been determined by the
department to meet the relevant reading level as certified pursuant
to subdivision (b).

(d) By imposing the requirements of this section on publishers,
it is not the intent of the Legislature to unfairly disadvantage any
publisher who has otherwise met the requirements of this section
or of Article 3 (commencing with Section 60040) of Chapter 1 of
Part 33.

(e) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

SEC. 16.  

Section 60644 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60644.  

(a) By November 1, 2014, the department shall identify
and make available to school districts information regarding
existing assessments in language arts and mathematics that are
appropriate for pupils in grade 2 for diagnostic use by classroom
teachers. The purpose of these assessments shall be to aid teachers
and to gain information about the developing language arts and
computational skills of pupils in grade 2.

(b) This section shall be implemented from the savings realized
from the elimination of the grade 2 standards-based achievement
testing pursuant to the act that added this section.

SEC. 17.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines
that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.