SB 524, as amended, Lara. Pupil instruction: Pathways Curriculum Task Force.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive (K-12). Existing law also establishes a system of postsecondary education in the state that consists of 4 segments: the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to develop a voluntary K-12 curriculum to educate pupils and their families about college and career opportunities. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to appoint, and provide staff for, a 12-member Pathways Curriculum Task Force. The bill would specify the qualifications and duties of the members of the task force. The bill would require the task force to establish specified learning goals for pupils at elementary, middle, and high school levels and help pupils to achieve these goals. The bill would require the task force to develop a pathways curriculum that, among other things, would provide materials, resources, and information for K-12 pupils and their families to gain a comprehensive understanding of available opportunities in postsecondary educational institutions.
The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies consider adopting all or parts of the career and college pathways curriculum, but would specify that adoption of the curriculum would not be mandatory and that local educational agencies may decline to participate.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(1) California makes a major investment in three
4world-renowned systems of higher education: the University of
5California, the California State University, and the California
6Community Colleges. In addition, California is home to prestigious
7independent universities and a significant number of vocational
8and specialized private institutions. Yet many pupils complete
9their senior year of high school with little understanding of these
10institutions, poor knowledge of financial aid programs, and few
11tools for making wise postsecondary educational choices. Pupils
12from
disadvantaged backgrounds, pupils who would be the first
13in their families to go to college, and pupils with poor academic
14records are often the least informed.
15(2) The lack of information about postsecondary educational
16opportunity erodes the effectiveness of California’s investment in
17higher education, and exacerbates attempts to provide skilled
18workers for California’s economy. According to the Public Policy
19Institute of California, California will need one million more
20college graduates by 2025 than current trends will produce.
21California’s evolving economy will also need significantly more
22skilled workers with associate degrees and career certificates.
23California cannot afford to let pupils reach adulthood uninformed
P3 1of the institutions and programs available to help them become
2productive members of society.
3(3) The Legislature recently broadened the Academic
4Performance Index to include indicators of college and career
5preparedness, in addition to state test scores. To assist schools in
6improving these new benchmarks, some classroom attention to
7college eligibility requirements and the value of postsecondary
8education and training could be helpful to schools and local school
9districts.
10(4) Pathway guidance is too often left to chance. The
11development of opportunities for school districts to incorporate
12such guidance into their programs is an appropriate school
13responsibility. Effective pathway instructional programs can be
14an efficient and effective way to complement the important work
15of school counselors.
16(5) Postsecondary education and training has become
17increasingly expensive in both public and private institutions;
18student and family debt burden has grown dramatically in recent
19years. It is in the state’s interest to ensure that students and families
20understand the serious nature of student indebtedness, receive
21information on maximizing access to grant and work opportunities
22to reduce indebtedness, and are provided with alternatives and
23strategies to avoid excessive debt.
24(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to develop a K-12
25curriculum to educate pupils and their families about the rich array
26of college and career opportunities available and how appropriate
27
K-12 course taking and academic proficiency can ensure that pupils
28can meet their college and career goals. It is also the intent of the
29Legislature that such a pathway curriculum will educate pupils
30and their families about the cost of postsecondary education and
31the best ways to pay for it.
Chapter 16.5 (commencing with Section 11550) is
33added to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to
34read:
35
(a) (1) The Superintendent shall appoint and staff a
39Pathways Curriculum Task Force to develop a voluntary curriculum
40for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that will provide
P4 1pupils and their families with a basic understanding of
2postsecondary educational institutions, options, programs, and
3opportunities in California. The task force shall consist of 12
4members, including all of the following:
5(A) Four persons representing postsecondary education.
6(B) Four persons representing elementary and secondary
7education.
8(C) Two public members.
9(D) One person representing nonprofit organizations whose
10missions are focused on increased participation in postsecondary
11education.
12(E) One person with expertise in career preparation or
13apprenticeship.
14(2) The Superintendent is encouraged to include persons with
15specific knowledge and background in college admissions, financial
16aid, postsecondary educational opportunities, and development of
17a curriculum for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
18(b) The task force shall establish learning goals for pupils at
19elementary, middle, and high school levels, and shall develop
20curriculum to help pupils achieve those goals.
The task force shall,
21at a minimum, address all of the following topics:
22(1) The variety of college, university, and technical education
23in California.
24(2) The importance of postsecondary education and training.
25(3) Ways to finance postsecondary education and training, and
26attention to cost-benefit analysis.
27(4) The A-G course sequence required for admission to the
28University of California, postsecondary education admission
29requirements, and the community college transfer process.
30(c) The task force shall solicit and consider input from a broad
31range of interested persons, agencies, and organizations,
including,
32but not necessarily limited to, the Student Aid Commission, the
33Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education, specialists in
34elementary and secondary curriculum, school counselors, experts
35in federal and state financial aid and college admissions, and civil
36rights and nonprofit organizations whose missions are related to
37career preparation and college access, business, labor, parents, and
38pupils.
P5 1(d) The task force shall appoint a subgroup to consult with
2specialists in high school economics curriculum to develop a unit
3on postsecondary education.
4(e) The pathways curriculum developed pursuant to this chapter
5shall accomplish all of the following:
6(1) Be as concise and clear as possible so as to easily
integrate
7with other curriculum objectives, while still helping pupils gain a
8comprehensive understanding of postsecondary educational
9opportunity.
10(2) Include complementary materials for family and guardians
11to learn what steps in elementary, middle, and high school they
12may take to assist their pupils reach college and career goals, as
13well as suggested questions to ask of school officials.
14(3) Provide a cumulative resource for pupils and their families
15who come to California from other states and other countries and
16enter the California elementary and secondary education system
17at various grade levels.
18(4) Provide pathway curriculum materials as well as suggestions
19for college and work site field trips, guest
speakers, and other
20innovative means of inspiring and informing pupils and their
21families about college and career pathways.
22(5) Provide information on the availability of, and access to,
23the most current information on postsecondary educational
24opportunities, including, but not necessarily limited to, federal and
25state Internet Web sites devoted to postsecondary educational
26opportunity and how best to navigate those sites.
27(f) The task force shall develop the pathways curriculum within
28one year of its first convening, and shall accomplish all of the
29following:
30(1) Transmit the pathways curriculum to the Senate Committee
31on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Education, the
32Assembly Committee on Appropriations,
the Assembly Committee
33on Education, the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, the
34state board, the Regents of the University of California, the
35Trustees of the California State University, the Board of Governors
36of the California Community Colleges, the Chancellor of the
37California Community Colleges, the Student Aid Commission,
38and the Instructional Quality Commission for a three-month review
39and comment period.
P6 1(2) Consider comments and make changes as deemed
2appropriate.
3(3) Transmit the curriculum to the department, where it shall
4be available for school district and school use and where it shall
5be maintained. The Superintendent shall assume leadership
6responsibilities for dissemination of the curriculum to school
7districts, professional educational
organizations, and civic
8organizations throughout the state.
9(g) The task force shall recommend, and the department shall
10determine and implement, an annual process by which the pathways
11curriculum shall remain current in the rapidly changing and
12complex environment of postsecondary educational opportunity.
13The Chancellor of the California State University and the
14Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall, and the
15President of the University of California is requested to, provide
16cooperation and support to the department in this regard.
17(h) The
department shall work with the Instructional Quality
18Commission and appropriate framework committees to integrate
19the pathways curriculum into each subject matter curriculum
20framework as it is revised or updated.
21(i)
end delete
22begin insert(h)end insert Schools and school districts may use and deliver this
23curriculum in a manner that best suits local needs and resources.
It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational
25agencies consider adopting all or parts of the career and college
26pathways curriculum. However, adoption is not mandatory, and
27local educational agencies may decline to participate.
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