BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 524


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          Date of Hearing:  April 22, 2015 


                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION


                              Patrick O'Donnell, Chair


          AB 524  
          (Low) - As Amended March 26, 2015


          SUBJECT:  School curriculum:  social studies:  service-learning


          SUMMARY:  Requires, beginning with the high school class of  
          2020-21, that at least one of the social studies classes  
          required for graduation include a service-learning component.   
          Also requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to  
          develop curriculum standards for social studies courses that  
          incorporate a service-learning component.  Specifically, this  
          bill: 


          1)Requires the SPI to develop curriculum standards for social  
            studies courses that incorporate a service-learning component.



          2)Requires the SPI, when developing these standards, to consult  
            with leaders of community organizations, students, parents,  
            classroom teachers, school administrators, postsecondary  
            educators, representatives of business and industry, and other  
            persons with knowledge or experience the Superintendent deems  
            appropriate.  Requires that these people represent, as much as  
            feasible, the diverse regions and socioeconomic communities of  
            this state.









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          3)Requires the SPI to submit the proposed curriculum standards  
            to the State Board of Education (SBE) for review on or before  
            July 1, 2016. 



          4)Requires the SBE to adopt curriculum standards that  
            incorporate a service-learning component into social studies  
            courses on or before January 1, 2017. 



          5)Requires the standards to be implemented by school districts,  
            commencing in the 2017-18 school year, for the purpose of the  
            graduation requirement described below.



          6)Requires that, commencing with the high school class of  
            2020-21, at least one of the classes completed by a student to  
            satisfy the social studies course graduation requirement must  
            have a service-learning component.



          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Specifies requirements for graduation from high school,  
            including:  three courses in English; two courses in  
            mathematics; two courses in science; three courses in social  
            studies; one course in visual or performing arts, foreign  
            language, or career technical education; and two courses in  
            physical education.  


          2)Requires that, of the three courses in social studies, two  








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            must be year-long courses in United States history and  
            geography, and in world history, culture, and geography, and  
            that the remaining two are a one-semester courses in American  
            government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  The Office of Legislative Counsel has keyed this  
          bill as a state-mandated local program.  


          COMMENTS:  


          Need for the bill.  The author's office states,  
          "Service-learning is a powerful instructional strategy for  
          improving the educational performance of pupils, along with  
          contributing to the development of character, values,  
          self-esteem, civic responsibility, and knowledge of local  
          community issues and concerns. Like community service,  
          service-learning requires students to serve their communities.  
          Service-learning, however, takes community service one step  
          further by incorporating the service experiences of students  
          directly into their school work.

          While some school districts in California incorporate community  
          service or service-learning into the high school curriculum and  
          require it for graduation, there is a missed opportunity for  
          students in other districts that do not integrate  
          service-learning into their educational experience.

          According to a 1998 report from the National Assessment of  
          Educational Progress (NAEP), senior pupils who are engaged in  
          volunteer work, whether through school or on their own, are  
          likely to have significantly higher civic assessment scale  
          scores than pupils who did not participate in volunteer work.  
          The date of the study is significant in that it was the last  
          time NAEP tested students' progress in civics. 

          Recognizing the need for civic and service-learning in our  








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          state, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Superintendent of  
          Public Instruction Tom Torlakson formed the California Task  
          Force on K-12 Civic Learning in 2013 to assess civic education  
          in schools. It found that too often the emphasis in the  
          classroom is on memorization rather than participatory skills  
          and experimental learning. Many classes did not assess whether  
          students are prepared for their roles and responsibilities as  
          citizens or the degree to which schools provide students with  
          learning opportunities that achieve civic outcomes.

          Young people who recall their civic learning experiences are  
          more likely to vote, know general facts about the U.S. political  
          system, and continue to be engaged in their community. AB 524  
          will revitalize quality civic and service-learning experiences  
          in the classroom and shape our students to become active and  
          informed citizens of our state."

          Service-learning vs. community service/volunteering.   
          Service-learning is distinguished from volunteering or community  
          service in that it connects service with structured  
          opportunities to learn from the experience.  The federal Learn  
          and Serve program of the Corporation for National and Community  
          Service defined service-learning as "a teaching and learning  
          strategy that integrates meaningful community service with  
          instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience,  
          teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities" (see  
          comments below for the definition in federal law).

          Service-learning supports academic achievement, narrows  
          achievement gap.  A 2011 meta-analysis of 62 studies involving  
          11,837 students found that, compared to controls, students who  
          participated in service-learning programs demonstrated  
          significant gains in five outcome areas: attitudes toward self,  
          attitudes toward school and learning, civic engagement, social  
          skills, and academic performance. The analysis also found that  
          following certain recommended practices-such as linking to  
          curriculum, community involvement, and reflection-were  
          associated with better outcomes.  A 2005 analysis of 217,000  
          student surveys found that "service [service-learning was not  








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          measured] of only one hour per week among lower-income students  
          was related to significant reduction of the gap in  
          achievement-related assets between higher and lower-income  
          students."


          Nationally, community service increasing but service-learning  
          declining.  A 2008 national study published by the Corporation  
          for National and Community Service found that "while  
          school-based community service remains robust, the substantial  
          growth in service-learning documented by federally funded  
          studies conducted in 1979 and 1999 has not continued. In fact,  
          the 2008 survey reveals a reversal of that trend, with the  
          percentage of schools with service-learning declining from 32  
          percent in 1999 to 24 percent in 2008." The study attributed  
          that trend, in part, to the higher value placed on service as a  
          means to promote civic behaviors than academic engagement.  The  
          study concluded, "When faced with budget constraints and state  
          curriculum requirements, many schools are likely to place  
          service activities outside of the curriculum and use methods  
          other than service-learning in the classroom."

          CalServe program eliminated.  From 1990 to 2012, the CDE  
          operated the CalServe program, using federal funds from the  
          Learn and Serve program of the Corporation for National and  
          Community Service. CalServe provided funding to California's  
          county offices of education, districts, and schools to support  
          the statewide implementation of service-learning. Federal  
          funding for Learn and Serve America was eliminated from the  
          2011-12 budget, which eliminated CalServe's partnerships. Some  
          participating school districts have continued to use  
          service-learning as an instructional method.



          Some districts have a volunteer or service-learning graduation  
          requirement.  While the state does not collect data on  
          service-learning courses or community service graduation  
          requirements, many school districts have local service-learning  








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          or volunteer graduation requirements. These vary in terms of  
          time requirements and integration with coursework.  Some  
          districts with such requirements include:

                 Los Angeles Unified School District requires a  
               service-learning experience of all high school students,  
               measured by an approved project, not a number of hours  
               served.
                 Culver City Unified School District requires 60 hours of  
               service-learning in high school for graduation.



                 Paramount Unified School District requires 30 hours of  
               community service for graduation, starting with this year's  
               graduating class.


                 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District requires  
               40 hours of community service for graduation.


                 San Jose Unified School District requires certification  
               of a minimum of 40 hours of community service is required  
               for graduation.


          Other states.  According to the Education Commission of the  
          States (ECS), Maryland is the only state with a service-learning  
          graduation requirement.  The District of Columbia also has such  
          a requirement.  Maryland's service-learning requirement was  
          instituted in 1992, and requires students to either complete  
          seventy-five hours of student service that includes preparation,  
          action, and reflection components, or a locally-designed program  
          in student service that has been approved by the State  
          Superintendent of Schools.

          Twenty-two other states offer credit toward graduation for  
          service-learning or community service.  Some states have created  








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          service-learning elective courses, and others offer a half or  
          full credits for service that meets certain criteria.  A few  
          states encourage or explicitly permit districts to offer  
          service-learning as part of required coursework or as a  
          graduation requirement.  California law does not explicitly  
          permit either of these ways of earning credit toward state  
          graduation requirements through service-learning.


          


          Is service-learning on this scale feasible now?  In order to  
          create meaningful opportunities for students to serve and learn  
          from the experience, teachers must engage in thoughtful  
          curriculum and service placement design.  Doing this for the  
          400,000 annual graduates of California schools is a significant  
          task, especially at a time when schools are managing many  
          complex changes to curriculum, instruction, and school finance.   
          The Committee may wish to consider if school districts can  
          reasonably meet the requirements of this bill in the current  
          policy environment. 





          Arguments in opposition.  The California Council for the Social  
          Studies writes, "While the subject matter of your bill should be  
          part of every high-performing secondary school?the CCSS takes a  
          principled stand against legislative measures that statutorily  
          mandate micromanaged curriculum of Social Studies coursework.   
          The Education Code sections amended by your measure should  
          remain broadly defined, while the more detailed standards and  
          frameworks should be developed by subject-matter experts through  
          the normal, curriculum design process within the Department of  
          Education (Instructional Quality Commission) and eventually  
          adopted by the State Board of Education., For that reason, alone  
          -- and not for any opposition to the intent behind your measure  








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          vis-a-vis service learning, CCSS must respectfully oppose AB  
          524."


          Define service-learning.  Because service-learning is often  
          confused with volunteering or community service, and because the  
          intent of this bill is to promote the integration of service and  
          academic work, staff recommends that the bill be amended to  
          define service-learning, based on the definition used in the  
          National and Community Service Act of 1990 (reauthorized through  
          the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009), amended to  
          refer to secondary school and academic content standards, as  
          follows:  "For purposes of this act, the term service-learning  
          means 1) a method under which students or participants learn and  
          develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized  
          service that a. is conducted in and meets the needs of a  
          community; b. is coordinated with a secondary school and with  
          the community; and c. helps foster civic responsibility; and 2)  
          that a. is integrated into and enhances the standards-based  
          academic curriculum of the students; and b. provides structured  
          time for the students or participants to reflect on the service  
          experience."


          Allow service-learning to be integrated into any class required  
          for graduation.  This bill requires that students complete at  
          least one social studies course which has a service-learning  
          component.  But service-learning can be a powerful instructional  
          strategy in a range of subjects, and there are opportunities for  
          service-learning in nearly every discipline taught in high  
          school.  LAUSD students in physical education courses have, for  
          example, developed standards-based physical education lessons  
          and taught them to elementary school students.  Other LAUSD  
          students in a science course have partnered with a local  
          aquarium to test water quality and develop water quality action  
          plans.  Allowing service-learning to occur in any course  
          required for graduation would also lessen the burden on social  
          studies teachers, who would have sole responsibility for  
          implementing these projects under this bill. Staff recommends  








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          that the bill be amended to allow the service-learning  
          requirement to be met in any course required for graduation  
          either by the state or local governing boards.


          Adjust standards timelines.  The CDE advises that the shortest  
          possible timeline for the development of standards through the  
          Instructional Quality Commission is 14 months.  This bill  
          requires standards for service-learning in social studies  
          courses to be completed six months after the effective date of  
          the bill.  Staff recommends that the bill be amended to 1) make  
          the standards applicable to service-learning in any subject  
          required for high school graduation (consistent with the above  
          recommendation), 2) change the date by which the CDE must submit  
          standards to the SBE to March 1, 2017 and corresponding date by  
          which they must be adopted by the SBE, and 3) consistent with  
          other legislation approved by this Committee, require the SBE to  
          adopt or reject the standards, and if the standards are rejected  
          provide a written explanation to the Legislature and Governor.


          Previous legislation.  AB 1911 (Wesson and Hertzberg) of the  
          1999-2000 Session, as heard by this Committee, would have  
          required school districts offering grades 9 - 12 to offer  
          students the opportunity to enroll in courses that include  
          service-learning activities for credit toward graduation.  This  
          bill died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support




          None on file








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          Opposition


          California Council for the Social Studies




          Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087