BILL NUMBER: SB 1006 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 20, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wyland
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
An act to amend Sections 51225.3, 60850, and 60851 of, and
to add Section 51008.5 to to, the
Education Code, relating to school curriculum.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1006, as amended, Wyland. School curriculum: American history
and government. government: high school
graduation course requirements: high school exit examination.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to
6, inclusive, and grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include courses in
the social sciences for the purpose of, among other things, providing
pupils with a foundation for understanding the history, resources,
development, and government of California and the United States of
America.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and the State Board of Education to consider methods for enhancing
pupil knowledge of, and pride in, our history and form of government
and for increasing civic participation. The bill would set forth
methods that the Superintendent and the state board may consider to
accomplish these goals, which include, among other things, developing
new curriculum frameworks and, if necessary, standards, expanding
the time and grades in which American history and government are
studied, and requiring a basic understanding of United States history
in order to graduate from high school.
Existing law requires each pupil completing grade 12 to satisfy
certain requirements as a condition of receiving a diploma of
graduation from high school. These requirements include the
successful passage of the high school exit examination and the
completion of designated coursework in grades 9 to 12, inclusive. The
coursework requirements include the completion of 3 courses, each
course having a duration of one year, in social studies, including
United States history and geography, world history, culture, and
geography, a one-semester course in American government and civics,
and a one-semester course in economics.
Commencing with the 2019-20 school year, this bill would increase
this American government and civics course requirement to a one-year
course. By increasing this course requirement to one year, the bill
would impose additional duties on school districts and would impose a
state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with the approval of the State Board of Education, to develop a high
school exit examination in English language arts and mathematics in
accordance with state academic content standards. Existing law
requires, commencing with the 2003-04 school year and each school
year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 to successfully pass
the high school exit examination as a condition of receiving a
diploma of graduation or as a condition of graduation from high
school. Existing law requires that each pupil take the high school
exit examination in grade 10 beginning in the 2001-02 school year and
allows each pupil to take the examination during each subsequent
administration, until each section of the examination has been
passed.
This bill would require the Superintendent, with the approval of
the state board, to develop an additional section to be included in
the high school exit examination that tests United States history and
government in accordance with the statewide academically rigorous
content standards for history-social science adopted by the state
board, as specified. The bill would require the Superintendent to
subject the United States history and government section to specified
field testing and review requirements before adoption by the state
board. The bill would require the state board, by January 1, 2017, to
adopt a United States history and government section developed by
the Superintendent for inclusion in the high school exit examination.
The bill would require, commencing with the 2020-21 school year and
each school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 to, in
addition to successfully passing the English language arts and
mathematics sections of the high school exit examination, to
successfully pass the United States history and government section
adopted by the state board. The bill would require, commencing with
the 2018-19 school year, each pupil to take the high school exit
examination, including the United States history and government
section, in grade 10 and would allow each pupil to take the
examination during each subsequent administration, until each section
of the examination has been passed. The bill would make conforming
changes and other nonsubstantive changes.
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: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 51008.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
51008.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Over the last 20 years and more, high school pupils have
significantly less knowledge of American history and government than
previous generations.
(2) Pupils and young adults over this period know significantly
less about current events, and they subscribe at a significantly
lower rate to newspapers and news periodicals.
(3) Pupils and young adults have, over time, less faith and pride
in American government and its institutions.
(4) Pupils and young people vote at significantly lower rates than
their elders.
(b) The Superintendent and the state board shall consider methods
for accomplishing both of the following:
(1) Enhancing pupil knowledge of, and pride in, our history and
form of government.
(2) Increasing all levels of civic participation, from knowledge
of current events to regular voting in elections.
(c) To accomplish the goals set forth in subdivision (b), the
Superintendent and state board may consider the following methods:
(1) Developing new curriculum frameworks and, if necessary,
standards that engage pupils in learning about American history and
government from oral histories to biographical sketches and
age-appropriate descriptions of heroic efforts on the part of
Americans to build our society and its institutions.
(2) Expanding the time devoted to the study of American history
and government and the grades in which that study is provided.
(3) Developing pride in American values, history, and government
through the comparative study of other cultures and histories.
(4) Comparing the success of American society and government in
developing a society governed by the democratically devised rule of
law with societies that, although desiring to be so governed, have
struggled to reach this accomplishment.
(5) Incorporating into the curriculum, at age-appropriate levels,
the objective analysis of both historical and modern governmental
policies so that pupils may learn to understand the complexity of
many issues, to view those policies from different perspectives, to
consider evidence, and to reach their own conclusions.
(6) Comparing American and Western democracies and histories of
those in other regions of the world, and the role that American
democracy and society may play in modern history.
(7) Requiring basic understanding of United States history in
order to graduate from high school.
SEC. 2. Section 51225.3 of the
Education Code , as amended by Section 2 of Chapter
324 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended to read:
51225.3. (a) A pupil shall complete all of the following while in
grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of
graduation from high school:
(1) At least the following numbers of courses in the subjects
specified, each course having a duration of one year, unless
otherwise specified:
(A) Three courses in English.
(B) Two courses in mathematics.
(C) Two courses in science, including biological and physical
sciences.
(D) Three courses in social studies, including United States
history and geography; world history, culture, and geography; a
one-semester course in American government and civics until the
end of the 2018-19 school year; commencing with the 2019-20 school
year, a course in American government and civics ; and a
one-semester course in economics.
(E) One course in visual or performing arts, foreign language, or,
commencing with the 2012-13 school year, career technical education.
(i) For purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in this
subparagraph, a course in American Sign Language shall be deemed a
course in foreign language.
(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, "a course in career
technical education" means a course in a district-operated career
technical education program that is aligned to the career technical
model curriculum standards and framework adopted by the state board,
including courses through a regional occupational center or program
operated by a county superintendent of schools or pursuant to a joint
powers agreement.
(iii) This subparagraph does not require a school or school
district that currently does not offer career technical education
courses to start new career technical education programs for purposes
of this section.
(iv) If a school district or county office of education elects to
allow a career technical education course to satisfy the requirement
imposed by this subparagraph, the governing board of the school
district or county office of education, before offering that
alternative to pupils, shall notify parents, teachers, pupils, and
the public at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of
all of the following:
(I) The intent to offer career technical education courses to
fulfill the graduation requirement specified in this subparagraph.
(II) The impact that offering career technical education courses,
pursuant to this subparagraph, will have on the availability of
courses that meet the eligibility requirements for admission to the
California State University and the University of California, and
whether the career technical education courses to be offered pursuant
to this subparagraph are approved to satisfy those eligibility
requirements. If a school district elects to allow a career technical
education course to satisfy the requirement imposed by this
subparagraph, the school district shall comply with subdivision (m)
of Section 48980.
(III) The distinction, if any, between the high school graduation
requirements of the school district or county office of education,
and the eligibility requirements for admission to the California
State University and the University of California.
(F) Two courses in physical education, unless the pupil has been
exempted pursuant to the provisions of this code.
(2) Other coursework requirements adopted by the governing board
of the school district.
(b) The governing board, with the active involvement of parents,
administrators, teachers, and pupils, shall adopt alternative means
for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study that may
include practical demonstration of skills and competencies,
supervised work experience or other outside school experience, career
technical education classes offered in high schools, courses offered
by regional occupational centers or programs, interdisciplinary
study, independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary
educational institution. Requirements for graduation and specified
alternative modes for completing the prescribed course of study shall
be made available to pupils, parents, and the public.
(c) On or before July 1, 2017, the department shall submit a
comprehensive report to the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature on the addition of career technical education courses to
satisfy the requirement specified in subparagraph (E) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the following
information:
(1) A comparison of the pupil enrollment in career technical
education courses, foreign language courses, and visual and
performing arts courses for the 2005-06 to 2011-12 school years,
inclusive, to the pupil enrollment in career technical education
courses, foreign language courses, and visual and performing arts
courses for the 2012-13 to 2016-17 school years, inclusive.
(2) The reasons, reported by school districts, that pupils give
for choosing to enroll in a career technical education course to
satisfy the requirement specified in subparagraph (E) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a).
(3) The type and number of career technical education courses that
were conducted for the 2005-06 to 2011-12 school years, inclusive,
compared to the type and number of career technical education courses
that were conducted for the 2012-13 to 2016-17 school years,
inclusive.
(4) The number of career technical education courses that
satisfied the subject matter requirements for admission to the
University of California or the California State University.
(5) The extent to which the career technical education courses
chosen by pupils are aligned with the California Career Technical
Education Standards, and prepare pupils for employment, advanced
training, and postsecondary education.
(6) The number of career technical education courses that also
satisfy the visual and performing arts requirement, and the number of
career technical education courses that also satisfy the foreign
language requirement.
(7) Annual pupil dropout and graduation rates for the 2011-12 to
2014-15 school years, inclusive.
(d) For purposes of completing the report described in subdivision
(c), the Superintendent may use existing state resources and federal
funds. If state or federal funds are not available or sufficient,
the Superintendent may apply for and accept grants, and receive
donations and other financial support from public or private sources
for purposes of this section.
(e) For purposes of completing the report described in subdivision
(c), the Superintendent may accept support, including, but not
limited to, financial and technical support, from high school reform
advocates, teachers, chamber organizations, industry representatives,
research centers, parents, and pupils.
(f) This section shall become inoperative on the earlier of the
following two dates:
(1) On July 1, immediately following the first fiscal year after
the enactment of the act that adds this paragraph in which the number
of career technical education courses that, as determined by the
department, satisfy the foreign language requirement for admission to
the California State University and the University of California is
at least twice the number of career technical education courses that
meet these admission requirements as of January 1, 2012. This section
shall be repealed on the following January 1, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before that date, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. It
is the intent of the Legislature that new career technical education
courses that satisfy the foreign language requirement for admission
to the California State University and the University of California
focus on world languages aligned with career preparation, emphasizing
real-world application and technical content in related career and
technical education courses.
(2) On July 1, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018, is repealed,
unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before
January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes
inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 51225.3 of the
Education Code , as amended by Section 3 of Chapter
324 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended to read:
51225.3. (a) A pupil shall complete all of the following while in
grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of
graduation from high school:
(1) At least the following numbers of courses in the subjects
specified, each course having a duration of one year, unless
otherwise specified:
(A) Three courses in English.
(B) Two courses in mathematics.
(C) Two courses in science, including biological and physical
sciences.
(D) Three courses in social studies, including United States
history and geography; world history, culture, and geography; a
one-semester course in American government and civics until the
end of the 2018-19 school year; commencing with the 2019-20 school
year, a course in American government and civics ; and a
one-semester course in economics.
(E) One course in visual or performing arts or foreign language.
For purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in this
subparagraph, a course in American Sign Language shall be deemed a
course in foreign language.
(F) Two courses in physical education, unless the pupil has been
exempted pursuant to the provisions of this code.
(2) Other coursework requirements adopted by the governing board
of the school district.
(b) The governing board, with the active involvement of parents,
administrators, teachers, and pupils, shall adopt alternative means
for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study that may
include practical demonstration of skills and competencies,
supervised work experience or other outside school experience, career
technical education classes offered in high schools, courses offered
by regional occupational centers or programs, interdisciplinary
study, independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary
educational institution. Requirements for graduation and specified
alternative modes for completing the prescribed course of study shall
be made available to pupils, parents, and the public.
(c) If a pupil completed a career technical education course that
met the requirements of subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 51225.3, as amended by the act adding this
section, before the inoperative date of that section, that course
shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements of subparagraph (E) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of this section.
(d) This section shall become operative upon the date that Section
51225.3, as amended by the act adding this section, becomes
inoperative.
SEC. 4. Section 60850 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
60850. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction
, with the approval of the State Board of
Education state board , shall develop a high
school exit examination in English language arts and mathematics in
accordance with the statewide academically rigorous content standards
adopted by the State Board of Education
state board pursuant to Section 60605. To facilitate the
development of the examination, the superintendent
Superintendent shall review any existing high school
subject matter examinations that are linked to, or can be aligned
with, the statewide academically rigorous content standards for
English language arts and mathematics adopted by the State
Board of Education state board . By October 1,
2000, the State Board of Education state
board shall adopt a high school exit examination that is
aligned with statewide academically rigorous content standards.
(b) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
shall develop an additional section to be included in the high school
exit examination that tests United States history and government in
accordance with the statewide academically rigorous content standards
for history-social science adopted by the state board pursuant to
Section 60605. Before the adoption by the state board, the
Superintendent shall subject the United States history and government
section to the field testing and review requirements specified in
subdivisions (d) and (e). By January 1, 2017, the state board shall
adopt a United States history and government section developed
pursuant to this subdivision for inclusion in the high school exit
examination.
(b)
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction
, with the approval of the State Board of
Education, state board, shall establish a High
School Exit Examination Standards Panel to assist in the design and
composition of the exit examination and to ensure that the
examination is aligned with statewide academically rigorous content
standards. Members of the panel shall include, but are not limited
to, teachers, administrators, school board members, parents, and the
general public. Members of the panel shall serve without compensation
for a term of two years and shall be representative of the state's
ethnic and cultural diversity and gender balance. The
superintendent Superintendent shall also make
the best effort to ensure representation of the state's diversity
relative to urban, suburban, and rural areas. The State
Department of Education department shall provide
staff to the panel.
(c)
( d) The Superintendent of Public
Instruction shall require that the examination be field
tested before actual implementation to ensure that the examination is
free from bias and that its content is valid and reliable.
(d)
( e) Before the State Board of
Education state board adopts the exit
examination, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall submit the examination to the Statewide Pupil
Assessment Review Panel established pursuant to Section 60606. The
panel shall review all items or questions to ensure that the content
of the examination complies with the requirements of Section 60614.
(e)
( f) The exit examination prescribed in
subdivision (a) subdivisions (a) and (b)
shall conform to the following standards or it shall not be
required as a condition of graduation:
(1) The examination may not be administered to a pupil who did not
receive adequate notice as provided for in paragraph (1)
(2) of subdivision (f)
(g) regarding the test.
(2) The examination, regardless of federal financial
participation, shall comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 2000d et seq.), its implementing regulations (34 C.F.R.
Part 100), and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 1701).
(3) The examination shall have instructional and curricular
validity.
(4) The examination shall be scored as a criterion referenced
examination.
(f)
( g) For purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Accommodations" means any variation in the assessment
environment or process that does not fundamentally alter what the
test measures or affect the comparability of scores. "Accommodations"
may include variations in scheduling, setting, aids, equipment, and
presentation format.
(2) "Adequate notice" means that the pupil and his or her parent
or guardian have received written notice, at the commencement of the
pupil's 9th grade, and each year thereafter through the annual
notification process established pursuant to Section 48980, or if a
transfer pupil, at the time the pupil transfers. A pupil who has
taken the exit examination in the 10th grade is deemed to have had
"adequate notice" as defined in this paragraph.
(3) "Curricular validity" means that the examination tests for
content found in the instructional textbooks. Fo r the
purposes of this section, any textbook or other
instructional material adopted pursuant to this code and consistent
with the state's adopted curriculum frameworks shall be deemed to
satisfy this definition.
(4) "Instructional validity" means that the examination is
consistent with what is expected to be taught. For the
purposes of this section, instruction that is consistent
with the state's adopted curriculum frameworks for the subjects
tested shall be deemed to satisfy this definition.
(5) "Modification" means any variation in the assessment
environment or process that fundamentally alters what the test
measures or affects the comparability of scores.
(g)
( h) The examination shall be offered to
individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, in
accordance with paragraph (17) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of
Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 794 and following of
Title 29 of the United States Code. Individuals with exceptional
needs shall be administered the examination with appropriate
accommodations, where necessary.
(h)
( i) Nothing in this chapter shall
prohibit prohibits a school district from
requiring pupils to pass additional exit examinations approved by the
governing board of the school district as a condition for
graduation.
SEC. 5. Section 60851 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
60851. (a) Commencing with the 2003-04 school year and each
school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 shall
successfully pass the high school exit examination as a condition of
receiving a diploma of graduation or a condition of graduation from
high school. Commencing with the 2020-21 school year and each
school year thereafter, each pupil completing grade 12 shall, in
addition to successfully passing the English language arts and
mathematics sections of the high school exit examination,
successfully pass the United States history and government section of
the high school exit examination adopted by the state board pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 60850. Funding for the
administration of the high school exit examination shall be provided
for in the annual Budget Act. The Superintendent shall apportion
funds appropriated for this purpose to enable school districts to
meet the requirements of this subdivision and subdivisions (b), (c),
and (d). The state board shall establish the amount of funding to be
apportioned per test administered, based on a review of the cost per
test.
(b) Each pupil shall take the high school exit examination in
grade 10 beginning in the 2001-02 school year and may take the
examination during each subsequent administration, until each section
of the examination has been passed. Commencing with the 2018-19
school year, each pupil shall take the high school exit examination,
including the United States history and government section adopted
by the state board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
60850, in grade 10 and may take the examination during each
subsequent administration, until each section of the examination has
been passed.
(c) (1) At the parent or guardian's request, a school principal
shall submit a request for a waiver of the requirement to
successfully pass the high school exit examination to the governing
board of the school district for a pupil with a disability who has
taken the high school exit examination with modifications that alter
what the test measures and has received the equivalent of a passing
score on one or both , two, or all
subject matter parts of the high school exit examination. A governing
board of a school district may waive the requirement to successfully
pass one or both , two, or all subject
matter parts of the high school exit examination for a pupil with a
disability if the principal certifies to the governing board of the
school district that the pupil has all of the following:
(A) An individualized education program adopted pursuant to the
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1400 et seq.) or a plan adopted pursuant to Section 504 of the
federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)) in place
that requires the accommodations or modifications to be provided to
the pupil when taking the high school exit examination.
(B) Sufficient high school level coursework either satisfactorily
completed or in progress in a high school level curriculum
sufficient to have attained the skills and knowledge otherwise needed
to pass the high school exit examination.
(C) An individual score report for the pupil showing that the
pupil has received the equivalent of a passing score on the high
school exit examination while using a modification that fundamentally
alters what the high school exit examination measures as determined
by the state board.
(2) A school district shall report to the state board, in a manner
and by a date determined by the Superintendent, the number and
characteristics of waivers reviewed, granted, and denied under this
subdivision and any additional information determined to be in
furtherance of this subdivision.
(d) The high school exit examination shall be offered in each
public school and state special school that provides instruction in
grades 10, 11, or 12, on the dates designated by the Superintendent.
An exit examination may not be administered on any date other than
those designated by the Superintendent as examination days or makeup
days.
(e) The results of the high school exit examination shall be
provided to each pupil taking the examination within eight weeks of
the examination administration and in time for the pupil to take any
section of the examination not passed at the next administration. A
pupil shall take again only those parts of the examination he or she
has not previously passed and may shall
not retake any portion of the exit examination that he or she has
previously passed.
(f) Supplemental instruction shall be provided to any pupil who
does not demonstrate sufficient progress toward passing the high
school exit examination. To the extent that school districts have
aligned their curriculum with the state academic content standards
adopted by the state board, the curriculum for supplemental
instruction shall reflect those standards and shall be designed to
assist the pupils to succeed on the high school exit examination.
This chapter does not require the provision of supplemental services
using resources that are not regularly available to a school or
school district, including summer school instruction provided
pursuant to Section 37252. In no event shall any action taken as a
result of this subdivision cause or require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates. Sufficient progress shall be determined
on the basis of either of the following:
(1) The results of the assessments administered pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33 and
the minimum levels of proficiency recommended
adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60648.
(2) The grades of the pupil and other indicators of academic
achievement designated by the school district.
SEC. 6. 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.