BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 220 (Holden) - Pupil instruction: mathematics: algebra.
          
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          |Version: April 7, 2015          |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: June 22, 2015     |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill amends the existing high school mathematics  
          graduation requirement by authorizing the completion of a course  
          in Algebra I or integrated mathematics that is aligned to the  
          most recently adopted academic content standards by the State  
          Board of Education (Board).  


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           No fiscal impact is expected to result from this bill.  To the  
            extent local educational agencies modify algebra course  
            offerings as a result of this bill costs would likely not be  
            reimbursable as a state mandate.  


          Background:  Existing law requires students to take two courses in  
          mathematics before graduating from high school.  








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          Current law also requires that at least one course, or a  
          combination of the two courses, in mathematics required for  
          graduation meet or exceed the rigor of the content standards for  
          Algebra I adopted by the Board in 1997.  Content standards  
          describe what students should know and be able to do in each  
          subject in each grade.  

          Current law established the Academic Content Standards  
          Commission for the purpose of developing the California common  
          core standards in English language arts and mathematics.  In  
          August 2010, the Board adopted the standards as proposed, which  
          include the common core standards as well as additional  
          standards that the commission deemed necessary.  These new  
          standards, and the modifications made in 2013, supersede the  
          standards adopted by the Board in 1997.  Since 2010, a number of  
          states have adopted the same standards for English and  
          mathematics.  

          The California common core standards for higher mathematics are  
          organized in two ways: as model courses and in conceptual  
          categories.  The model courses provide guidance for developing  
          curriculum and instruction.  Model courses for higher  
          mathematics have two pathways: traditional and integrated.  The  
          traditional pathway consists of the higher mathematics standards  
          organized along more traditional lines into Algebra I, Geometry,  
          and Algebra II courses.  The integrated pathway consists of the  
          courses Mathematics I, II, and III.  This pathway presents  
          higher mathematics as a connected subject, in that each course  
          contains standards from all six of the conceptual categories.   
          The six conceptual categories include: number and quantity,  
          algebra, functions, modeling, geometry, and statistics and  
          probability.  


          Proposed Law:  
            This bill amends the existing high school mathematics  
          graduation requirement.  Specifically this bill:

             (1)  Authorizes students to fulfill the mathematics  
               graduation requirement by completing at least one course,  
               or a combination of the two mathematics courses required  
               for graduation, that meets or exceeds the rigor of Algebra  
               I or Mathematics I aligned to the common core standards.  









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             (2)  Requires that students who complete a course or courses  
               that meet or exceed the previous content standards adopted  
               by the Board are deemed to have satisfied the revised  
               graduation requirement (above).  This provision is  
               consistent with existing law.

             (3)  Provides that a student who, before entering ninth  
               grade, completed a course in Algebra I or Mathematics I, or  
               mathematics courses of equal rigor, is exempt from the  
               requirement to take an algebra course prior to graduating  
               from high school.  This does not exempt the student from  
               taking two mathematics courses while enrolled in grades 9  
               to 12.


          Related  
     Legislation:1.  AB 1599 (Education Committee, Ch. 327, Statutes of 2014), until  
          July 2, 2014 amendments, included a provision that was very  
          similar to this bill.


          Staff  
          Comments:  Currently, the algebra graduation requirement in  
          existing law is inconsistent with the state's adoption and  
          implementation of the common core standards.  According to  
          guidance provided by the State Department of Education, local  
          educational agencies determine what course or courses satisfy  
          the requirement that algebra courses meet or exceed the rigor of  
          the previous standards.  

          This bill modifies the Algebra I high school graduation  
          requirement to be consistent with the common core standards for  
          mathematics while also allowing algebra courses that meet or  
          exceed the previous content standards to satisfy the graduation  
          requirement.  Therefore, this bill does not require local  
          educational agencies to change the courses currently being  
          offered.  Instead, it provides clarification that courses that  
          meet or exceed Algebra I or Mathematics I aligned to the current  
          content standards meet the mathematics graduation requirement.

          To the extent local educational agencies modify algebra course  
          offerings as a result of this bill costs would likely not be  
          reimbursable as a state mandate.  
            








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