BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 524 (Lara) - Pupil Instruction: Pathways Curriculum Task
Force
Amended: May 1, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 524 requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to appoint and staff a 12-member task force to
develop a voluntary K-12 curriculum regarding postsecondary
opportunities and financial aid, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Pathways Curriculum Task Force: Significant costs to the
California Department of Education (CDE) to staff a
12-member task force with extensive duties. The actual costs
will be determined by the complexity of the curriculum
developed, the efficiency of the task force, and the
staffing level decided by the SPI; the CDE estimates that it
will require approximately $300,000 to implement the task
force.
Curriculum integration: This bill's requirement that the
CDE work with the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) and
appropriate framework committees to integrate the pathways
curriculum into each subject matter curriculum framework may
drive significant additional workload for the CDE, over
time, as frameworks are updated.
Background: Existing law establishes the Early Commitment to
College program, a voluntary program with the purpose of
motivating students to prepare for college, increasing high
school graduation rates, helping families understand that
college is attainable, providing a clear path and direct
assistance for students beginning in middle school, and
preparing a highly skilled workforce. The SPI is required to
designate College Opportunity Zones based on percentage of
low-income students and develop the "Save Me a Spot in College"
SB 524 (Lara)
Page 1
pledge, which assures students who sign it that the student can
continue his or her education at a California Community College
and receive financial aid as long as that student continues to
meet eligibility requirements. This program sunsets on January
1, 2019. (Education Code � 54710)
The California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP)
is administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
It was established in 1978 and is directed to improve the flow
of information about postsecondary education and financial aid
while raising the achievement levels of low-income, elementary
and secondary school student or geographic regions with
documented low eligibility or college participation rates, and
who are first in their families to attend college. The Cal-SOAP
currently funds projects operating in 17 locations through the
state by consortia made up of secondary and postsecondary
schools and community agencies. Projects annually apply to CSAC
for funds and, by law, must provide equal or greater matching
funds. Some common services provided by the consortia include
advising, tutoring, parent outreach and college awareness
workshops. (EC � 69560)
The Cash for College program, administered by CSAC, targets
outreach and assistance for low-income and first-generation
college-bound students by conducting financial aid workshops and
forming regional partnerships between outreach communities,
business and student groups. (EC � 69550)
Proposed Law: SB 524 requires the SPI to appoint and staff a
12-member Pathways Curriculum Task Force to develop voluntary
K-12 curriculum regarding postsecondary education opportunities
and financial aid. With regard to the task force, this bill:
1) Requires the task force to develop a voluntary K-12
curriculum that will provide students and their families
with a basic understanding of postsecondary educational
institutions, options, programs, and opportunities in
California.
2) Requires the task force to address, at a minimum: a) the
variety of college, university, and technical education in
California; b) the importance of postsecondary education
and training; c) ways to finance postsecondary education
and training; d) the A-G course sequence, postsecondary
SB 524 (Lara)
Page 2
education admission requirements, and the community college
transfer process.
3) Requires the task force to establish learning goals for
students at elementary, middle, and high school levels and
develop related curriculum.
4) Requires the task force to solicit and consider input from
a broad range of interested people, agencies, and
organizations, including CSAC, the Bureau of Private
Postsecondary Education, curriculum specialists, school
counselors, experts in federal and state financial aid and
college admissions, etc.
5) Specifies task force membership as: a) 4 people
representing postsecondary education; b) 4 people
representing elementary and secondary education; c) 2
public members; d) 1 person representing non-profit
organizations whose missions are focused on increased
participation in postsecondary education; e) 1 person with
expertise in career preparation or apprenticeship.
6) Requires the task force to appoint a subgroup to consult
with specialists in high school economics curriculum to
develop a unit on postsecondary education.
7) Requires the task force to complete the pathways curriculum
within one year of its first convening, and to: a) Send
copies of the curriculum to the Legislature, the State
Board of Education, the Regents of the University of
California, the Trustees of the California State
University, the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, the CSAC, and the IQC for a 3-month
review and comment period; b) consider comments and make
changes deemed appropriate; c) send the curriculum to the
CDE, where it is to be maintained and available for use by
schools.
8) Requires the task force to recommend, and requires the CDE
to determine and implement, an annual process for the
pathways curriculum to remain current. This bill requires
the Superintendent of Public Instruction to assume
leadership responsibilities for dissemination of the
curriculum to school districts, professional educational
SB 524 (Lara)
Page 3
organizations, and civic organizations throughout the
state.
9) Requires the CDE to work with the IQC and appropriate
framework committees to integrate the pathways curriculum
into each subject matter curriculum framework as it is
revised or updated.
Staff Comments: This bill establishes the Pathways Curriculum
Task Force, to be appointed by the SPI and staffed by the CDE,
and requires the task force to develop voluntary curriculum on
postsecondary educational opportunities and financial aid. This
is likely to result in significant new costs and workload for
the CDE.
This bill also requires that the curriculum developed by the
task force: a) Be as concise and clear as possible to easily
integrate with other curriculum objectives, while helping
students gain a comprehensive understanding of postsecondary
educational opportunities; b) include complementary materials
for families to learn to assist their students reach college and
career goals, as specified; c) provide a cumulative resource for
students and families who come to California from other states
and countries; d) provide pathway curriculum materials as well
as suggestions for college and work site field trips, guest
speakers, and other innovative means of inspiring and informing
students and families about college and career pathways; and, e)
provide information on the availability of, and access to, the
most current information on postsecondary educational
opportunities. The exact costs will be determined by the extent
to which new curriculum is developed instead of integrating
existing curriculum from other sources, as well as by the length
of the deliberative and creative process of the task force.
The development of curriculum in core academic subjects
typically involves the development of standards, frameworks,
evaluation criteria, instructional materials and professional
development, and costs millions of dollars. The process for the
development of general curriculum is not necessarily as lengthy
or encompassing. Even the cost of developing model curriculum
(which is less extensive than this bill's requirements for the
Pathways curriculum) can have significant costs. The Model
Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide, for example, cost the
CDE $150,000 (in 1980s dollars), and involved two years of
SB 524 (Lara)
Page 4
public hearings and debate.
The CDE estimates that staffing the Curriculum Pathways Task
Force to develop the pathways curriculum would require the
following resources for one year: $146,298 for 1 Education
Programs Consultant,$57,564 for .5 Associate Governmental
Programs Analyst, and $37,344 for .5 Office Technician. The CDE
would also incur costs of $13,000 to convene task force
meetings, and $45,000 for the curriculum website. The CDE
estimates the total cost of the task force to be approximately
$300,000. To the extent that existing materials are incorporated
into the curriculum, costs would likely be lower.
This bill also requires the CDE to work with the IQC and
appropriate framework committees to integrate the pathways
curriculum into each subject matter curriculum framework as it
is revised or updated, which is different from the creation of a
stand-alone, voluntary curriculum. Subject matter curriculum
frameworks serve as a blueprint for how to implement the
standards and provide guidance to publishers, along with
evaluation criteria, for the development of instructional
materials. Incorporating pathways curriculum into subject matter
frameworks, in the future, could result in significant
additional costs depending on how they are incorporated.
This bill creates additional cost pressure to restore and expand
the activities of the IQC (and the CDE staff who would support
the body). The IQC had its activities suspended in 2009, as part
of budget reductions. The CDE has already submitted a Budget
Change Proposal (BCP) requesting $290,000 to restore the IQC
(which would be necessary to complete the new Common Core
mathematics and ELA frameworks approved in statute).