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
AB 524
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Opposition
California Council for the Social Studies
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087