BILL NUMBER: AB 575 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members O'Donnell and Atkins
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section 33050 of, to amend and repeal
Section 44661.5 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 44660, 44661,
44662, and 44664 of, to add Sections 35161.5, 44662.1, 44662.5,
44662.6, 44662.7, and 44672 to, and to repeal and add Article 13
(commencing with Section 44670) of Chapter 3 of Part 25 of Division 3
of Title 2 of, the Education Code, and to amend, repeal, and add
Section 17581.6 of the Government Code, relating to teachers.
An act to amend Section 60200 of, and to add Section
60227 to, the Education Code, relating to instructional materials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 575, as amended, O'Donnell. Teachers: best practices
teacher evaluation system: school administrator evaluation.
Instructional materials: follow up adoptions.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt
instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8,
inclusive, and to adopt procedures for the submission of
instructional materials, and provides that instructional materials
may be submitted for adoption in specified subject areas every 8
years.
This bill would instead provide that instructional materials may
be submitted for adoption at least once but no more than twice every
8 years. The bill would require the State Department of Education,
before conducting a follow up adoption, as defined, in a given
subject area to post a notice on the department's Internet Web site
and notify all publishers or manufacturers known to produce basic
instructional materials in that subject area that each publisher and
manufacturer choosing to participate in the follow up adoption shall
be assessed a fee, as specified.
(1) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that
governing boards of school districts establish a uniform system of
evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated
personnel within each school district of the state. Existing law
requires the governing board of each school district to establish
standards of expected pupil achievement at each grade level in each
area of study and to evaluate and assess certificated employee
performance on a continuing basis as it reasonably relates to the
progress of pupils toward the established standards and, if
applicable, the state adopted academic content standards as measured
by state adopted criterion referenced assessments, the instructional
techniques and strategies used by the employee, the employee's
adherence to curricular objectives, and the establishment and
maintenance of a suitable learning environment, within the scope of
the employee's responsibilities.
This bill would provide that the provisions described above would
become inoperative on July 1, 2018. The bill would state findings and
declarations of the Legislature regarding the nature of effective
teachers and of the teaching profession. Commencing on July 1, 2018,
the bill would require the governing board of each school district
and each county board of education to adopt and implement a locally
negotiated best practices teacher evaluation system, described as one
in which each teacher is evaluated on a continuing basis on the
degree to which he or she accomplishes specific objectives and
multiple observations of instructional and other professional
practices that are conducted by trained evaluators. The bill would
authorize the State Board of Education, in consultation with the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and appropriate education
stakeholder groups, to adopt nonregulatory guidance to support the
implementation of a best practices teacher evaluation system by
school districts and county offices of education, as specified. The
bill would, on or before May 1, 2016, or May 1 of the year that
precedes the year in which an existing collective bargaining contract
will expire, whichever is later, require the governing board of each
school district and each county board of education, at a regularly
scheduled public hearing, to seek comment on the development and
implementation of the best practices teacher evaluation system, and,
on or before May 1 of each year before local negotiations required by
law, to seek comment on the best practices teacher evaluation
system. The bill would require if, by mutual agreement between the
school district or county office of education and the collective
bargaining unit, an intermediate mid-year agreement is reached
regarding a best practices teacher evaluation system, the negotiation
timeline to allow time for the governing board of the school
district or county board of education to hold a public hearing to
seek comment on the best practices teacher evaluation system. The
bill also would require the governing board of each school district
and each county board of education to disclose the provisions of the
best practices teacher evaluation system at a regularly scheduled
public hearing. The bill would also require the governing board of
each school district and each county board of education to establish
and define job responsibilities for certificated, noninstructional
employees whose responsibilities cannot be evaluated appropriately
under the best practices teacher evaluation system and to evaluate
and assess their performance in relation to the fulfillment of those
responsibilities. The bill would provide that these provisions do not
apply to certificated personnel who are employed on an hourly basis
in adult education classes. The bill would also provide that the
provisions of the best practices teacher evaluation system do not
supersede or invalidate a teacher evaluation system that is locally
negotiated and that is in effect at the time the best practices
teacher evaluation system becomes operative. By imposing additional
duties on school districts and county offices of education, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires that an evaluation and assessment of the
performance of a certificated employee be made on a continuing
basis, as provided, including at least every 5 years for personnel
with permanent status who have been employed at least 10 years with
the school district, are highly qualified, as specified, and whose
previous evaluation rated the employee as meeting or exceeding
standards, if the evaluator and certificated employee being evaluated
agree.
This bill, commencing July 1, 2018, would require the evaluation
and assessment of the above personnel at least every 3 years, except
as locally negotiated and provided in the best practices teacher
evaluation system. The bill would also require county offices of
education to comply with these provisions. By imposing additional
duties on school districts and county offices of education, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law authorizes a school district to evaluate a
principal annually for the principal's first and 2nd year of
employment as a new principal and authorizes additional evaluations,
as specified.
This bill would make those provisions inoperative on July 1, 2018,
and, commencing July 1, 2018, would instead require the governing
board of each school district and each county board of education to
establish a system of evaluation for school administrators to guide
their growth and performance with the purpose of supporting them as
instructional leaders in order to raise pupil achievement. The bill
would require the evaluation system to include certain attributes,
including, but not limited to, promoting the success of all pupils,
advocating and supporting a safe, nurturing school culture that
sustains a quality instructional program conducive to pupil learning
and staff professional growth, and ensuring the management,
organization, and operation of a safe and successful learning
environment as evidenced by the establishment of effective practices
for personnel and resource management, campus safety, and school
climate. The bill would require the governing board of the school
district and the county board of education to identify who will
conduct the evaluation of each school administrator. By imposing
additional duties on school districts and county offices of
education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school
district or a county board of education, as specified, after a public
hearing on the matter, to request the state board to waive all or
part of any section of the Education Code or any regulation adopted
by the state board that implements a provision of the Education Code
that may be waived, except for specified provisions.
This bill would add the above-mentioned provisions relating to
teacher and school administrator evaluation to the list of provisions
that may not be waived.
(5) This bill also would state the intent of the Legislature to
provide adequate resources to train evaluators, continue robust
beginning teacher induction programs, and support struggling
educators.
(6) Under the California Constitution, whenever the Legislature or
a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on
any local government, including a school district and a community
college district, the state is required to provide a subvention of
funds to reimburse the local government, with specified exceptions.
Existing law requires certain funds appropriated in the annual Budget
Act for reimbursement of the cost of a new program or increased
level of service of an existing program mandated by statute or
executive order to be available as a block grant to school districts,
county offices of education, and charter schools to support
specified state-mandated local programs and permits those entities to
elect to receive that block grant funding in lieu of claiming
mandated costs pursuant to the state claims process.
This bill would, as of July 1, 2018, add the best practices
teacher evaluation system and the school administrator evaluation
system to the state-mandated local programs supported by the block
grant funding.
(7) This bill would update cross-references and would make other
nonsubstantive changes.
(8) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60200 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
60200. The state board shall adopt basic instructional materials
for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for governing
boards, subject to the following provisions:
(a) The state board shall adopt at least five basic instructional
materials for all applicable grade levels in each of the following
subject areas:
(1) Language arts, including, but not limited to, spelling,
reading, and English language development. The state board may not
adopt basic instructional materials in this subject area or the
subject area specified by paragraph (2) in the year succeeding the
year in which the state board adopts basic instructional materials in
this subject area for the same grade level.
(2) Mathematics. The state board may not adopt basic instructional
materials in this subject area or the subject area specified by
paragraph (1) in the year succeeding the year in which the state
board adopts basic instructional materials in this subject area for
the same grade level.
(3) Science.
(4) Social science.
(5) Bilingual or bicultural subjects.
(6) Any other subject, discipline, or interdisciplinary areas for
which the state board determines the adoption of instructional
materials to be necessary or desirable.
(b) The state board shall adopt procedures for the submission of
basic instructional materials in order to comply with each of the
following:
(1) Instructional materials may be submitted for adoption in any
of the subject areas pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of
subdivision (a) at least once but not more than twice
every eight years. The state board shall ensure that curriculum
frameworks are reviewed and adopted in each subject area and that the
criteria for evaluating instructional materials developed pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 60204 are consistent with subdivision
(c). The state board may prescribe reasonable conditions to restrict
the resubmission of materials that have been previously rejected if
those resubmitted materials have no substantive changes.
(2) If a publisher or manufacturer submits revisions to currently
adopted instructional material for review after the timeframe
specified by the state board, the department shall assess a fee on
the submitting publisher or manufacturer in an amount that shall not
exceed the reasonable costs to the department to conduct a review of
the instructional material pursuant to this section.
(3) Submitted instructional materials shall be adopted or rejected
within six months of the submission date of the materials pursuant
to paragraph (1) unless the state board determines that a longer
period of time, not to exceed an additional three months, is
necessary due to the estimated volume or complexity of the materials
for that subject in that year, or due to other circumstances beyond
the reasonable control of the state board.
(4) The process for review of instructional materials shall
involve review committees, which shall include, but not be limited
to, volunteer content experts and instructional material reviewers,
and shall be composed of a majority of classroom teachers from a wide
variety of affected grade levels and subject areas.
(5) The rules and procedures for adoption of instructional
materials shall be transparent and consistently applicable regardless
of the format of the instructional materials, which may include, but
not be limited to, print, digital, and open-source instructional
materials.
(c) In reviewing and adopting or recommending for adoption
submitted basic instructional materials, the state board shall use
the following criteria, and ensure that, in its judgment, the
submitted basic instructional materials meet all of the following
criteria:
(1) Are consistent with the criteria and the standards of quality
prescribed in the state board's adopted curriculum framework. In
making this determination, the state board shall consider both the
framework and the submitted instructional materials as a whole.
(2) Comply with the requirements of Sections 60040, 60041, 60042,
60043, 60044, 60048, 60200.5, and 60200.6, and the state board's
guidelines for social content.
(3) Are factually accurate and incorporate principles of
instruction reflective of current and confirmed research.
(4) Are aligned to the content standards adopted by the state
board in the subject area and the grade level or levels for which
they are submitted.
(5) Do not contain materials, including illustrations, that
provide unnecessary exposure to a commercial brand name, product, or
corporate or company logo. Materials, including illustrations, that
contain a commercial brand name, product, or corporate or company
logo may not be used unless the state board determines that the use
of the commercial brand name, product, or corporate or company logo
is appropriate based on one of the following specific findings:
(A) If text, the use of the commercial brand name, product, or
corporate or company logo in the instructional materials is necessary
for an educational purpose, as defined in the guidelines or
frameworks adopted by the state board.
(B) If an illustration, the appearance of a commercial brand name,
product, or corporate or company logo in an illustration in
instructional materials is incidental to the general nature of the
illustration.
(6) Meet other criteria as are established by the state board as
being necessary to accomplish the intent of Section 7.5 of Article IX
of the California Constitution and of Section 1 of Chapter 1181 of
the Statutes of 1989, provided that the criteria are approved by
resolution at the time the resolution adopting the framework for the
current adoption is approved, or at least 12 months before the date
that the materials are to be approved for adoption.
(d) If basic instructional materials are rejected, the state board
shall provide a specific, written explanation of the reasons why the
submitted materials were not adopted, based on one or more of the
criteria established under subdivision (c). In providing this
explanation, the state board may use, in whole or in part, materials
written by the Superintendent or any other advisers to the state
board.
(e) The state board may adopt fewer than five basic instructional
materials in each subject area for each grade level if either of the
following occurs:
(1) Fewer than five basic instructional materials are submitted.
(2) The state board specifically finds that fewer than five basic
instructional materials meet the criteria prescribed by paragraphs
(1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (c), or the materials fail to
meet the state board's adopted curriculum framework. If the state
board adopts fewer than five basic instructional materials in any
subject for any grade level, the state board shall conduct a review
of the degree to which the criteria and procedures used to evaluate
the submitted materials for that adoption were consistent with the
state board's adopted curriculum framework.
(f) This section does not limit the authority of the state board
to adopt materials that are not basic instructional materials.
(g) Consistent with the quality criteria for the state board's
adopted curriculum framework, the state board shall prescribe
procedures to provide the most open and flexible materials submission
system and ensure that the adopted materials in each subject, taken
as a whole, provide for the educational needs of the diverse pupil
populations in the public schools, provide collections of
instructional materials that illustrate diverse points of view,
represent cultural pluralism, and provide a broad spectrum of
knowledge, information, and technology-based materials to meet the
goals of the program and the needs of pupils.
(h) Upon making an adoption, the state board shall make available
to listed publishers and manufacturers and all school interests a
listing of instructional materials, including the most current unit
cost of those materials as computed pursuant to existing law. Items
placed upon lists shall remain thereon, and be available for
procurement through the state's systems of financing, from the date
of the adoption of the item and until a date established by the state
board. The date established by the state board for continuing items
on that list shall be the date on which the state board adopts
instructional materials based on a new or revised curriculum
framework. Lists of adopted instructional materials shall be made
available by subject and grade level to school districts and posted
on the department's Internet Web site, and shall include information
from the reports of findings from the review committees pursuant to
paragraph (4) of subdivision (b). The lists shall terminate and shall
no longer be effective on the date prescribed by the state board
pursuant to this subdivision.
(i) The state board may approve multiple lists of instructional
materials, without designating a grade or subject, and the state
board may designate more than one grade or subject whenever it
determines that a single subject designation or a single grade
designation would not promote the maximum efficiency of pupil
learning. Any materials so designated may be placed on single grade
or single subject lists, or multigrade or interdisciplinary lists, or
may be placed on separate lists including other materials with
similar grade or subject designations.
(j) A composite listing in the format of an order form may be used
to meet the requirements of this section.
(k) The lists maintained pursuant to this section shall not be
deemed to control the use period by any school district.
( l ) The state board shall give publishers the
opportunity to modify instructional materials, in a manner provided
for in regulations adopted by the state board, if the state board
finds that the instructional materials do not comply with paragraph
(5) of subdivision (c).
(m) This section does not prohibit the publisher of instructional
materials from including whatever corporate name or logo on the
instructional materials that is necessary to provide basic
information about the publisher, to protect its copyright, or to
identify third-party sources of content.
(n) The state board may adopt regulations that provide for other
exceptions to this section, as determined by the state board.
(o) The Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall
adopt, guidelines to implement this section.
SEC. 2. Section 60227 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
60227. (a) For purposes of this section, a follow up adoption is
any adoption other than the primary adoption that occurs within the
eight-year cycle established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
60200.
(b) Before conducting a follow up adoption in a given subject
area, the department shall post an appropriate notice on the
department's Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (c) and notify
all publishers or manufacturers known to produce basic instructional
materials in that subject area.
(c) The notice shall specify that each publisher or manufacturer
choosing to participate in the follow up adoption shall be assessed a
fee based on the number of programs the publisher or manufacturer
indicates will be submitted for review and the number of grade levels
proposed to be covered by each program.
(d) The fee shall offset the cost of conducting the follow up
adoption process and shall reflect the department's best estimate of
the cost. The department shall take reasonable steps to limit costs
of the follow up adoption and to keep the fee modest, recognizing
that some of the work necessary for the primary adoption need not be
duplicated.
(e) The department, before incurring substantial costs for the
follow up adoption, shall require that a publisher or manufacturer
who wishes to participate in the follow up adoption first declare the
intent to submit one or more specific programs for the follow up
adoption and specify the specific grade levels to be covered by each
program. After a publisher or manufacturer has declared the intent to
submit one or more programs and the grade levels to be covered by
each program, the department shall assess a fee. The fee shall be
payable by the publisher or manufacturer even if the publisher or
manufacturer subsequently chooses to withdraw a program or reduce the
number of grade levels covered. A submission by a publisher or
manufacturer shall not be reviewed for purposes of adoption, either
in a follow up adoption or in any other primary or follow up adoption
conducted thereafter, until the fee assessed has been paid in full.
(f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the fee not be so
substantial that it prevents small publishers or manufacturers from
participating in a follow up adoption.
(2) Upon the request of a small publisher or manufacturer, the
state board may reduce the fee for participation in the follow up
adoption.
(3) For purposes of this section, "small publisher" and "small
manufacturer" mean an independently owned or operated publisher or
manufacturer who is not dominant in its field of operation, and who,
together with its affiliates, has 100 or fewer employees, and has
average annual gross receipts of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) or
less over the previous three years.
(g) Revenue derived from fees charged pursuant to subdivision (e)
shall be budgeted as reimbursements and subject to review through the
annual budget process and may be used to pay costs associated with
any adoption and any costs associated with the review of
instructional materials. All matter omitted in this version of
the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly, June 2,
2016. (JR11)