BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 458 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 458 (O'Donnell) - As Introduced February 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Higher Education |Vote:|11 - 1 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requests the California Subject Matters Project (CSMP), 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 AB 458 Page 2 standards-aligned content and instructional software for use on portable electronic devices. FISCAL EFFECT: Minor one-time General Fund costs (under $50,000) to UC for the CSMP to conduct the feasibility study. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. 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 market and may not suit the unique needs of California's students." The author contends that the state could realize significant cost savings by using publicly-resourced materials. AB 458 is intended to examine the feasibility and cost of developing such materials. The author believes that the CSMP should do the study, as the only interdisciplinary and intersegmental public entity working directly with teachers to improve classroom instruction in specified content areas. 2)Background. 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 AB 458 Page 3 performance. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081