BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Carol Liu, Chair
                           2013-2014 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       SB 897
          AUTHOR:        Steinberg
          AMENDED:       February 20, 2014
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  March 26, 2014
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira

           SUBJECT  :  Adult Education Consortium and California Career  
          Pathways Trust 
                    programs.   
          
           SUMMARY 

          This bill modifies the requirements established for  
          participation in the recently established California Career  
          Pathways Trust and Adult Education Consortium programs to  
          include civics instruction, as specified, and makes other  
          technical and clarifying changes.  

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law, AB 86 (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013), adopted  
          as part of the
          2013-14 Governor's Budget, among other things, established  
          the following two programs:

                 The Adult Education Consortium Program which  
               provides $25 million in planning grants for purposes  
               of regionally creating and implementing plans to  
               provide adult education programs.

                 The California Career Pathways Trust which provides  
               $250 million for school districts, county  
               superintendents of school, charter schools, and  
               community college districts in the form of one-time  
               competitive grants for K-14 career pathways programs.

           Adult Education Consortium Program  

          The requirements of AB 86 are being jointly implemented by  
          the California Department of Education and the California  
          Community College Chancellor's Office. Eligibility for the  




                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 2



          planning grant funds is limited to consortiums consisting  
          of at least one community college district and at least one  
          school district within the boundaries of a community  
          college district.  Consortia may include other entities  
          providing adult education courses, such as correctional  
          facilities, other local public entities and community-based  
          organizations. The planning grants must be used to create  
          and implement a plan to better provide adults in its region  
          with all of the following:

                 Elementary and secondary basic skills, including  
               classes required for a high school diploma or high  
               school equivalency certificate.

                 Classes and courses for immigrants eligible for  
               educational services in citizenship and English as a  
               second language, and workforce preparation classes in  
               basic skills.

                 Education programs for adults with disabilities.

                 Short-term career technical education programs with  
               high employment potential.

                 Programs for apprentices.

          The California Community College Chancellor and the  
          California Department of Education are required to submit a  
          joint status report on the plans submitted by consortia and  
          recommendations for improvements in the delivery system  
          serving adult learners by March 1, 2014, with a final  
          report by March 1, 2015.  
          (Education Code § 84830)

           California Career Pathways Trust  

          AB 86 provided for the use of $250 million appropriated in  
          the Budget Act of 2013 for the purposes of career technical  
          education.  It established the California Career Pathways  
          Trust to apportion funds for school districts, county  
          superintendents of school, charter schools, and community  
          college districts in the form of one-time competitive  
          grants for purposes of K-14 career pathways programs that,  
          among other things, establish regional collaborative  
          relationships and partnerships with business entities,  
          community organizations, and local institutions of  




                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 3



          postsecondary education. 

           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  :

          1)   Replaces the provisions providing for the use of funds  
               apportioned in the Budget Act for purposes of  
               establishing the California Career Pathways Trust with  
               codified provisions.

          2)   Clarifies that, for purposes of the California Career  
               Pathways Trust, "business entities" include public  
               sector entities.

          3)   Requires, for a career pathways program connected with  
               a public sector entity, that the Superintendent of  
               Public Instruction consider whether the grant  
               recipient should be required to include the College  
               Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social  
               Studies State Standards in the program as a condition  
               of the receipt of funds.

          4)   Requires that the adult education courses for  
               elementary and secondary basic skills, including  
               classes required for a high school diploma or high  
               school equivalency certificate, and classes for  
               immigrants in citizenship and English as a second  
               language and workforce preparation classes in basic  
               skills, which are delivered via the consortia include  
               basic instruction in American Government and civics  
               with instruction to include but not be limited to  
               federal, state, and local government, the three  
               branches of government, the importance of civic  
               engagement, and registering to vote.

          5)   Requires that the new requirements on the specified  
               adult education courses apply to any funding provided  
               to the regional consortia beginning with the fiscal  
               year 2015-16 and in future fiscal years. 

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Rationale for the bill  .  According to the author, "Too  
               many studies show an alarming deficiency in civic  
               knowledge and in turn the ability for our residents  




                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 4



               and citizens to protect our democracy?..As a  
               democracy, we depend on a knowledgeable and engaged  
               population.  Education plays a fundamental role in  
               building civic vitality within our communities and  
               states." 

           2)   Clarification consistent with practice  .  According to  
               the California Department of Education (CDE), based  
               upon the defined needs of a consortium, a business  
               partner or employer can be a private business, a  
               governmental agency, or a nonprofit agency or  
               organization. This bill clarifies that partnerships  
               with business entities includes public sector  
               entities, consistent with the CDE interpretation and  
               implementation of the Career Pathways Trust Program  
               requirements. 

           3)   Civics instruction in adult education programs  .   
               Current law specifies that students must pass a  
               minimum set of required courses and an exit  
               examination in order to graduate from high school.   
               These requirements include three courses in social  
               studies, which, among other things, must include a  
               one-semester course in American government and civics.  

               (EC § Section 51225.3)  Current law also provides for  
               the General Educational Development (GED) test for  
               adults who do not have a high school diploma. Those  
               who pass the test receive a California High School  
               Equivalency Certificate.  GED testing reports that 25%  
               of the questions in the social studies area are from  
               the civics and government content areas. 

               It appears that, for some adult education courses, the  
               civics instruction proposed by this bill may already  
               be required.  However, for some of the individual  
               basic skills or basic workforce courses, it may not be  
               practical or advisable to require actual civics  
               instruction.  According to the author, the intent of  
               the legislation is to insure that information on these  
               topics is provided, not that curriculum be developed  
               and instructed.  Staff recommends the bill be amended  
               to insert new language to clarify that it is the  
               legislature's intent that, consistent with the  
               requirements of education code sections 51225.3 and  
               52555, that participants in the specified adult  




                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 5



               education programs receive instruction in civics and  
               government.  Staff further recommends the bill be  
               amended on page 6, line 17 to replace "shall include  
               basic instruction" with "shall distribute basic  
               information" in the specified classes and courses. 

           4)   C3 Framework  ?  According to the National Council for  
               the Social Studies, the C3 framework is not a  
               standards document, but rather, provides a framework  
               to assist states, districts and schools in framing  
               their own standards and curriculum requirements.  The  
               Council also notes that they purposefully avoided  
               dictating standards and requirements which might be  
               acceptable in some places and not others. In addition,  
               the Council notes that the C3 framework is not part of  
               the Common Core.  

           5)   Inappropriate authority  ? This bill directs the  
               Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to consider  
               whether to require the inclusion of the C3 framework  
               as a condition of the receipt of grant funds.   
               Directing the SPI to consider whether to require a  
               curriculum which has never been reviewed or adopted  
               for any state purpose would extend a new authority to  
               the SPI.  Currently the Instructional Quality  
               Commission (IQC) reviews and recommends, and the State  
               Board of Education (SBE) adopts any curriculum  
               frameworks and standards. The processes for reviewing  
               frameworks and adopting instructional materials have  
               been suspended since July 28, 2009, and the SBE is  
               specifically prohibited from reviewing frameworks and  
               adopting instructional materials until the 2015-16  
               school year, except as provided is staff comment #6.  
               (EC § 60200.7)

           6)   Alternative  ?  Current law requires the SBE to adopt  
               revised frameworks that are aligned to the common core  
               standards in Mathematics by November 30, 2013, and  
               English language arts by May 30, 2014.  
               (EC § 60207)

               Current law also authorizes the SBE to adopt a revised  
               framework for history social science, but only after  
               the CDE has completed work related to the frameworks  
               for the common core standards.  (EC § 60200.8)  





                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 6



               Although civics is generally included in the  
               history-social science standards and framework,  
               current law requires the SBE and the CDE to request  
               that the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) review  
               and revise, as necessary, the course requirements in  
               the history-social science framework to ensure that  
               minimum standards for courses in American government  
               and civics include sufficient attention to teaching  
               students how to interact, in a practical manner, with  
               state and local governmental agencies and  
               representatives to solve problems and to petition for  
               changes in laws and procedures.  In addition, when the  
               history-social science framework is revised, the IQC  
               must ensure that specified historical documents are  
               incorporated into the framework, as appropriate.  (EC  
               § 33540)

               If it is the desire of the committee that the C3  
               framework be considered for use in any state purposes,  
               staff recommends the bill be amended to require the  
               Instructional Quality Commission, when revising the  
               history-social science framework, to consider whether  
               and how to incorporate the C3 Framework. 

           7)   Prior legislation  . Similar efforts to integrate civics  
               instruction into curriculum have recently been enacted  
               by the Legislature and Governor.  As proposed to be  
               amended per staff comment #6, the process established  
               by the bill would be consistent with these recent  
               efforts:

                AB 700 (Gomez, Chapter 483, Statutes of 2013)  requires  
               the Instructional Quality Commission, in its regular  
               adoption schedule for the history/social science  
               framework, to ensure that voter education information  
               is included in the American government and civics  
               curriculum at the high school level, including, but  
               not limited to, information on the importance of  
               registering to vote in local, state, and federal  
               elections, where and how to access and understand the  
               voter information pamphlet and other materials to  
               become an informed voter.

                AB 137 (Buchanan, Chapter 225, Statutes of 2013)   
               requires the Instructional Quality Commission, when  
               revising the history-social science framework, among  




                                                                SB 897
                                                                Page 7



               other things, to receive input from civics learning  
               experts, including civics education program providers,  
               associations of civics educators, and organizations  
               dedicated to research on civics learning, for the  
               purpose of integrating civics learning content,  
               concepts, and skills, at all appropriate grade levels  
               and with the SBE adopted standards in the core  
               curriculum areas.

           SUPPORT  

          California Adult Education Administrators Association
          California Council for Adult Education
          California Council for the Social Studies
          California School Boards Association
          State Bar of California
          Students First

           OPPOSITION

           California Right to Life Committee