BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 458
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Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 458
(O'Donnell) - As Introduced February 23, 2015
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: instructional strategies
SUMMARY: Requests the California Subject Matters Project
(CSMP) housed within the University of California (UC) to
conduct a feasibility study to determine the appropriate grade
level and subject area and potential cost for a pilot program to
develop standards-aligned content and instructional software for
use on portable electronic devices.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the UC Regents, with the approval of an
intersegmental Concurrence Committee, to establish and
maintain the projects and specifies the composition of the
concurrence committee to be representatives of the various
segments of education. Requires the advisory board of each
subject matter project to use specified criteria in
recommending funding for local project sites (Education Code
Section 99200).
2)Provides for the establishment and maintenance of nine CSMPs
for the purpose of developing and enhancing teachers' subject
matter knowledge and pedagogical skills, as follows:
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a) The California Writing Project;
b) The California Reading and Literature Project;
c) The California Mathematics Project;
d) The California Science Project;
e) The California History-Social Science Project;
f) The World History and International Studies Project;
g) The California Physical Education-Health Project;
h) The California Arts Project; and,
i) The California World Language Project (EC Section
99201).
3)Authorizes UC to establish other subject matter projects and
specifies that no funds allocated in the annual Budget Act
shall be used for subject matter projects in subjects not
specifically authorized in statute (EC Section 99201.5).
4)Sunsets CSMP on June 30, 2017, and repeals the authorizing
statute on January 1, 2018, unless a later-enacted statute
deletes or extends those dates (EC Section 99206).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Purpose of the measure. According to the author, "As
California transitions to the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS), we need to invest in instructional materials that are
aligned to those new standards. At the same time, there is an
increased demand for portable electronic devices to provide
curriculum content. Although electronic materials are being
created by private publishers, they are developed for a national
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market and may not suit the unique needs of California's
students." The author contends that, "The state could realize
significant cost savings through the use of publicly-resourced
materials. The purpose of this bill is to explore the
feasibility and cost of developing such materials. The
California Subject Matters Project (CSMP) should do this study,
because it is the only interdisciplinary and intersegmental
public entity that works directly with teachers to improve
classroom instruction in specified content areas."
Background. As California transitions to the CCSS and as other
content standards are updated, school districts need new
instructional materials that are aligned to said standards. At
the same time, school districts are increasingly making use of
portable electronic devices in order to provide curriculum
content. Although private publishers are developing electronic
instructional software, those products can be costly and are
geared towards a national market. California's schools need a
source of high-quality, cost-effective materials that are
tailored to the many needs of our students.
California Subject Matters Project. CSMP is an intersegmental
effort of postsecondary education institutions that connects
K-12 educators with faculty in the various disciplines from UC,
California State University, and private higher education
colleges and universities to provide professional development
designed to enhance teachers' content knowledge and
instructional strategies to improve student learning and
academic performance as measured against the state's K-12
academic content standards. Additionally, the CSMP provide
teachers with instructional strategies for working with English
learners and help teachers use research and data to improve
student learning and achievement.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
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