BILL NUMBER: SB 1174 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara
( Coauthor: Senator Block
)
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to repeal Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 300)
of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1 of amend Sections
300, 305, 306, 310, 320, and 335 of, and to repeal Section 311 of,
the Education Code, relating to English language education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1174, as amended, Lara. English language education.
(1) Existing law, as added by Proposition 227, a measure approved
by the voters at the June 2, 1998, statewide primary election,
requires, among other things, that all children in California public
schools be taught English by being taught in English. Proposition 227
specifies that English learner pupils, as defined, be educated
through sheltered English immersion, as defined, during a temporary
transition period not normally intended to exceed one year.
Proposition 227 further provides that its requirements relating to
sheltered English immersion instruction may be waived with the prior
written consent of a pupil's parent or legal guardian, as specified.
Proposition 227 also encourages family members and others to provide
personal English language tutoring to English learner pupils.
This bill would amend and repeal various provisions of Proposition
227. The bill would, among other things, delete the sheltered
English immersion requirement and waiver provisions, and would
instead authorize school districts and county offices of education to
determine the best language instruction methods and language
acquisition programs to implement by consulting experts in the field,
parents, and engaging local communities. The bill would authorize
parents to choose the education model that best suits their child, as
provided.
Proposition
(2) Proposition 227 also
specifies that a pupil's parent or legal guardian has standing to sue
for enforcement of its provisions and, if successful, to receive
normal and customary attorney's fees and actual damages, but not
punitive or consequential damages. Proposition 227 further provides
that school board members, other elected officials, and public school
teachers or administrators who wilfully and repeatedly refuse to
implement its provisions may be held personally liable for fees and
actual damages by a pupil's parent or legal guardian.
This bill would repeal Proposition 227.
delete that provision.
(3) Proposition 227 provides that its provisions may be amended by
a statute to further its purpose passed by a 2/3 vote of each house
of the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
This bill would delete the requirement that the amendment further
the purpose of Proposition 227, and would revise the vote threshold
to a majority vote in each house of the Legislature.
(2)
(4) The California Constitution authorizes the
Legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute by another
statute that becomes effective when approved by the electors.
This bill would provide that it would become effective only upon
approval of the voters, and would require the Secretary of State to
submit this measure to the voters for approval at a
the November 2016 statewide general election.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
300) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code is
repealed.
SECTION 1. This measure shall be known, and may be
cited, as the "California Ed.G.E. Initiative" or "California
Education for a Global Economy Initiative."
SEC. 2. Section 300 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
300. The People of California find and declare as follows:
(a) Whereas, The English language is the national public language
of the United States of America and of the State of California, is
spoken by the vast majority of California residents, and is also the
leading world language for science, technology, and
international business, thereby being the science and
technology, thereby being an important language of economic
opportunity; and
(b) Whereas, Immigrant All parents
are eager to have their children acquire a good knowledge of
English, master the English language and obtain a
high-quality education, thereby allowing
preparing them to fully participate in the American Dream
of economic and social advancement; and
(c) Whereas, California is home to thousands of multinational
businesses that must communicate daily with associates around the
world; and
(d) Whereas, California employers across all sectors, both public
and private, are actively recruiting multilingual employees because
of their ability to forge stronger bonds with customers, clients, and
business partners; and
(e) Whereas, Multilingual skills are necessary for our nation's
national security and essential to conducting diplomacy and
international programs; and
(f) Whereas, California has a natural reserve of the world's
largest languages, including English, Mandarin, and Spanish, which
are critical to the state's economic trade and diplomatic efforts;
and
(g) Whereas, California has the unique opportunity to provide all
parents with the choice to have their children educated to high
standards in English and one or more additional languages, including
Native American languages, thereby increasing pupils' access to
higher education and careers of their choice; and
(c)
(h) Whereas, The government and the public schools of
California have a moral obligation and a constitutional duty to
provide all of California's children, regardless of their ethnicity
or national origins, origin, with the
skills necessary to become productive members of our society, and of
these skills, literacy in the English language is among the most
important; and
(d) Whereas, The public schools of California currently do a poor
job of educating immigrant children, wasting financial resources on
costly experimental language programs whose failure over the past two
decades is demonstrated by the current high drop-out rates and low
English literacy levels of many immigrant children; and
(e) Whereas, Young immigrant children can easily acquire full
fluency in a new language, such as English, if they are heavily
exposed to that language in the classroom at an early age.
(i) Whereas, The California Legislature approved, and the Governor
signed, a historic school funding reform that restructured public
education funding in a more equitable manner, directs increased
resources to improve English language acquisition, and provides local
control to schools districts and schools on how to spend funding
through the local control funding formula and local control and
accountability plans; and
(j) Whereas, Parents now have the opportunity to participate in
building innovative new programs that will offer pupils greater
opportunities to acquire 21st century skills, such as
multilingualism; and
(k) Whereas, All parents will have a choice and voice to demand
the best education for their children, including access to language
programs that will improve their children's preparation for college
and careers, and allow them to be more competitive in a global
economy; and
(l) Whereas, Existing law places constraints on teachers and
schools, which have deprived many pupils of opportunities to develop
multilingual skills; and
(m) Whereas, A large body of research has demonstrated the
cognitive benefits and long-term academic benefits in language and in
dual- and tri-immersion language programs.
(f)
(n) Therefore, It is resolved that: amendments to,
and the repeal of, certain provisions of this chapter will advance
the goal of voters to ensure that all children in California
public schools shall be taught English as rapidly and
effectively as possible. receive the highest quality
education, including English language instruction and access to
high-quality, innovative, and research-based language programs that
provide the California Ed.G.E. (California Education for a Global
Economy).
SEC. 3. Section 305 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
305. Subject to the exceptions provided in Article 3 (commencing
with Section 310), all children in California public schools shall be
taught English by being taught in English. In particular, this shall
require that all children be placed in English language classrooms.
Children who are English learners shall be educated through sheltered
English immersion during a temporary transition period not normally
intended to exceed one year. Local schools shall be permitted to
place in the same classroom English learners of different ages but
whose degree of English proficiency is similar.
305. School districts and county offices of
education may determine the best language instruction methods and
language acquisition programs to implement by consulting experts in
the field, parents, and engaging local communities. Local
schools shall be encouraged to mix together in the same classroom
English learners from different native-language groups but with the
same degree of English fluency. Once English learners have
acquired a good working knowledge of English, they shall be
transferred to English language mainstream classrooms. As much as
possible, fluency for targeted language instruction.
Schools are also encouraged to provide opportunities for monolingual
English speaking pupils to be instructed in another language to a
degree sufficient to produce proficiency in that language. The
non-English language should be at the discretion of the parents,
community, and school, depending upon the linguistic resources of the
school community. In accordance with the local control
funding formula calculated pursuant to Section 42238.02, as
implemented by Section 42238.03, current supplemental funding
for English learners low-income pupils,
English learners, and foster children shall be maintained,
subject to possible modification under Article 8 (commencing with
Section 335) below.
SEC. 4. Section 306 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
306. The definitions of the terms used in this article and in
Article 3 1 (commencing with Section
310) 300) are as follows:
(a) "English learner" means a child who does not speak English or
whose native language is not English and who is not currently able to
perform ordinary classroom work in English, also known as a Limited
English Proficiency or LEP child.
(b) "English language classroom" means a classroom in which the
language of instruction used by the teaching personnel is
overwhelmingly the English language, and in which such teaching
personnel possess a good knowledge of the English language.
(c) "English language mainstream classroom" means a classroom in
which the pupils either are native English language speakers or
already have acquired reasonable fluency in English.
(d) "Sheltered English immersion" or "structured English immersion"
means an English language acquisition process for young children in
which nearly all classroom instruction is in English but with the
curriculum and presentation designed for children who are learning
the language.
(e) "Bilingual education/native language instruction" means a
language acquisition process for pupils in which much or all
instruction, textbooks, and teaching materials are in the child's
native language.
(b) "Dual- or tri-immersion program" means a program that teaches
a portion of the day in English and a portion of the day in another
language.
SEC. 5. Section 310 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
310. The requirements of Section 305 may be waived with the prior
written informed consent, to be provided annually, of the child's
parents or legal guardian under the circumstances specified below and
in Section 311. Such informed consent shall require that said
parents or legal guardian personally visit the school to apply for
the waiver and that they there be provided a full description of the
educational materials to be used in the different educational program
choices and all the educational opportunities available to the
child. Under such parental waiver conditions, children may be
transferred to classes where they are taught English and other
subjects through bilingual education techniques or other generally
recognized educational methodologies permitted by law. Individual
schools
310. Parents may choose the education model that
best suits their child. Schools in which 20 pupils or more of a
given grade level receive a waiver request a
specific language program shall be required to offer such a
class; otherwise, they must allow the pupils to transfer to a public
school in which such a class is offered.
SEC. 6. Section 311 of the Education
Code is repealed.
311. The circumstances in which a parental exception waiver may
be granted under Section 310 are as follows:
(a) Children who already know English: the child already
possesses good English language skills, as measured by standardized
tests of English vocabulary comprehension, reading, and writing, in
which the child scores at or above the state average for his or her
grade level or at or above the 5th grade average, whichever is lower;
or
(b) Older children: the child is age 10 years or older, and it is
the informed belief of the school principal and educational staff
that an alternate course of educational study would be better suited
to the child's rapid acquisition of basic English language skills; or
(c) Children with special needs: the child already has been
placed for a period of not less than thirty days during that school
year in an English language classroom and it is subsequently the
informed belief of the school principal and educational staff that
the child has such special physical, emotional, psychological, or
educational needs that an alternate course of educational study would
be better suited to the child's overall educational development. A
written description of these special needs must be provided and any
such decision is to be made subject to the examination and approval
of the local school superintendent, under guidelines established by
and subject to the review of the local Board of Education and
ultimately the State Board of Education. The existence of such
special needs shall not compel issuance of a waiver, and the parents
shall be fully informed of their right to refuse to agree to a
waiver.
SEC. 7. Section 320 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
320. As detailed in Section 5 of Article 9 of the California
Constitution, and Article 2 (commencing with Section 305) and
Article 3 (commencing with Section 310), respectively, all
California school children have the right to be provided with a
free public education and an English language public
education. If a California school child has been denied the
option of an English language instructional curriculum in public
school, the child's parent or legal guardian shall have legal
standing to sue for enforcement of the provisions of this statute,
and if successful shall be awarded normal and customary attorney's
fees and actual damages, but not punitive or consequential damages.
Any school board member or other elected official or public school
teacher or administrator who willfully and repeatedly refuses to
implement the terms of this statute by providing such an English
language educational option at an available public school to a
California school child may be held personally liable for fees and
actual damages by the child's parents or legal guardian.
SEC. 8. Section 335 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
335. The provisions of this act may be amended by a statute that
becomes effective upon approval by the electorate or by a statute
to further the act's purpose passed by a
two-thirds majority vote of each house of the
Legislature and signed by the Governor.
SEC. 2. Section 1
SEC. 9. Sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this
act repeals amend or repeal provisions of
Proposition 227, an initiative statute that was approved by the
voters at the June 2, 1998, statewide primary election, and shall
become effective only when submitted to, and approved by, the voters.
The Secretary of State shall submit Section 1
Sections 1 to 8, inclusive, of this act for approval by
the voters at a the November 2016
statewide general election in accordance with Section 9040
of the Elections Code.