BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1012
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|Author: |Jones-Sawyer |
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|Version: |June 1, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: July 8, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupil instruction: course periods without educational
content
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a school district serving any of grades 7-12
from assigning students to any course without educational
content for more than one week in any semester, and prohibits
the assignment of any student to a course that the student has
previously completed and received a satisfactory grade, unless
specified conditions are met.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1)Requires each school district serving any of grades 7-12 to
offer to all otherwise qualified students a course of study
fulfilling the requirements and prerequisites for admission to
the California public institutions of postsecondary education
and provide a timely opportunity to each student to enroll
within a four-year period in each course necessary to fulfill
those requirements and prerequisites prior to graduation from
high school. Existing law also requires each school district
to offer a course of study that provides an opportunity for
students to attain entry-level employment skills in business
or industry upon graduation from high school, and encourages
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districts to provide all students with a rigorous academic
curriculum that integrates academic and career skills,
incorporates applied learning in all disciplines, and prepares
all students for high school graduation and career entry.
(Education Code § 51228)
2)Requires a student to pass both the English language arts and
mathematics portions of the California High School Exit Exam
and complete the following courses as a condition of
graduating from high school:
a) Three years of English.
b) Two years of mathematics.
c) Two years of science, including biological and physical
sciences.
d) Three years of social studies, including United States
history and geography; world history, culture, and
geography; one semester of American government and civics,
and one semester of economics.
e) One year of visual or performing arts, foreign language,
or until July 1, 2017, career technical education.
f) Two years of physical education. (Education Code §
60851 and § 51225.3)
3)Requires one of the two years of mathematics to meet or exceed
the rigor of the content standards for Algebra I. (EC §
51224.5)
4)Authorizes school districts to impose additional coursework
requirements as a condition of graduation from high school.
(EC § 51225.3)
5)Requires that only the attendance of students under the
immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee
is counted toward the computation of average daily attendance.
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(EC § 46300)
6)Establishes the minimum day for high schools as 240 minutes.
(EC § 46141)
7)Through regulation, requires local education agencies to adopt
uniform complaint procedures through which the public can
register complaints regarding educational programs and rights.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 4600 et
seq.)
The University of California and the California State University
established minimum coursework requirements for freshman
admission, known as the A-G requirements.
http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/
ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits a school district serving any of grades 7-12
from assigning students to any course without educational
content for more than one week in any semester, and prohibits
the assignment of any student to a course that the student has
previously completed and received a satisfactory grade, unless
specified conditions are met. Specifically, this bill:
Courses without educational content
1)Prohibits, beginning in the 2016-17 school year, a school
district maintaining any of grades 7-12 from assigning any
student to any course period without educational content for
more than one week in any semester, unless all of the
following conditions are met:
a) For a student who has not fulfilled the prerequisites
for admission to the University of California and
California State University or the coursework requirements
for high school graduation:
i) The principal or an assistant principal certifies in
a document to be placed in the student's cumulative
record that:
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A) The student will benefit from the course, and
provides an individualized explanation in the written
certification for that conclusion. The certification
may include an individualized determination that the
student will benefit from mentorship that will be
provided by the certificated or certified employee
supervising the student during the course period.
B) Providing a course period with educational
content is not likely to benefit the student to the
same extent as providing the course period without
educational content, and provides an explanation in
the certification for that conclusion.
C) The student is not being assigned to the
course because there are no other courses with
curricular content for the student to take during the
relevant period in the designated schoolday.
D) The students and the parent, legal guardian,
or educational rights holder have consented to the
student's enrollment in the course period without
educational content and that the school has obtained a
consent form, signed by the student and the parent,
legal guardian or educational rights holder.
ii) The student is assigned to no more than one
course period without educational content during a single
semester.
a) For a student who has fulfilled both the prerequisites
for admission to the University of California and
California State University and the coursework requirements
for high school graduation:
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i) The principal or an assistant principal certifies in
a document to be placed in the student's cumulative
record that:
A) The student will benefit from the course, and
provides an individualized explanation in the written
certification for that conclusion. The certification
may include an individualized determination that the
student will benefit from mentorship that will be
provided by the certificated or certified employee
supervising the student during the course period, or
identification of the educational or employment
opportunity that assigning the course period will
allow the student to pursue and reason for concluding
the student will, in fact, pursue that opportunity.
B) The student is not being assigned to the
course because there are no other courses with
curricular content for the student to take during the
relevant period in the designated schoolday.
C) The students and the parent, legal guardian,
or educational rights holder have consented to the
student's enrollment in the course period without
educational content and that the school has obtained a
consent form, signed by the student and the parent,
legal guardian or educational rights holder.
1)Defines "course period without educational content" as one
course period during which any of the following occurs:
a) The student is sent home or released from campus before
the conclusion of the designated schoolday.
b) The student is assigned to service, instructional work
experience, or to a course that has a different name, but
involves the student providing assistance to a certificated
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employee in a situation in which the ratio of student to
employee exceed one-to-one.
c) The student is not assigned to any course for the
relevant course period.
Assignment to previously completed courses
Prohibits a school district maintaining any of grades 7-12 from
assigning any student to a course that the student has
previously completed and received a grade determined by the
district to be sufficient to satisfy the requirements and
prerequisites for admission to the University of California and
California State University and the coursework requirements for
high school graduation, unless the student is assigned to
improve a lesser grade or because the course has been designed
to be taken more than once, or unless the principal or an
assistant principal certifies in a document to be placed in the
student's cumulative record that:
1)The course is designed to be repeated because students are
exposed to a new curriculum year-to-year and are therefore
expected to derive educational value from taking the course
again.
2)The student is not being assigned to the course because there are
no other courses with curricular content for the student to
take during the relevant period in the designated schoolday.
3)The student has consented to the student's enrollment in the
course.
Complaints
1)Authorizes a complaint of non-compliance with the prohibition on
assigning students to course periods without educational
content or to courses that the student has previously
completed and received a satisfactory grade to be filed with
the local educational agency (LEA) under the Uniform Complaint
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Procedures (UCP).
2)Authorizes a complainant who is not satisfied with the decisions
of a LEA to appeal the decision to the California Department
of Education (CDE) through the existing UCP appeal process,
and requires that the complainant receive a decision regarding
the appeal within 60 days of the CDEs receipt of the appeal.
3)Requires the LEA to provide a remedy to the affected student if
the LEA or the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
finds merit in a complaint.
4)Requires the SPI to prepare an annual report detailing actions
taken regarding related complaints, and requires the SPI, by
January 1 of each fiscal year, to submit the report to the
appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.
5)Specifies that the SPI has all power and authority necessary to
effectuate the requirements regarding complaints.
Miscellaneous
1)Prohibits, under any circumstances, a school district from
assigning any student to a course period without educational
content, or to a course that the student has previously
completed and received a satisfactory grade, because there are
not sufficient curricular course offerings for the student to
take during that period of the schoolday.
2)Provides that this bill does not limit or otherwise affect the
authority of a school district to establish evening high
school classes, independent study, courses of work-based
learning or work experience, distance learning, military
science, community service classes, driver's training and
similar courses or instruction if the program otherwise meets
all of the requirements of law governing that program.
3)Exempts from this bill students who are enrolled in an
alternative school, a community day school, a continuation
high school or an opportunity school.
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4)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
adopt regulations to establish procedures required by this
bill, including the form for the certifications regarding the
assignment to course periods without educational content and
assignment to previously completed courses.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, "Thousands of high
school students across California are tracked into so-called
'classes,' where they are given meaningless 'credits' for
sitting at home, doing nothing while sitting in the office, or
taking a course they've already passed. School districts have
given these courses different names ('home,' 'service,' or
'work experience'), but they all have a common trait: they rob
students of learning time and the opportunity for a real
education. And many of the affected students need real,
academic classes to fulfill graduation or college access
requirements. The schools where this occurs serve almost
exclusively low-income students of color. Although this is
not the norm across California, it is all-too common in
communities where students can least afford to lose learning
time."
2)Author's amendments. The author wishes to amend this bill to
significantly streamline the process that schools must follow:
a) Delete references to meeting the A-G or high school
graduation requirements, making individualized
determinations, and including written certification in each
student's cumulative file, and instead prohibits the
assignment of a student to a course period without
educational content unless all of the following conditions
are met:
i) The student, or if the student is a minor, the
parent, legal guardian or educational rights holder has
consented to assignment to a course period without
educational content.
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ii) A school official has determined that the student
will benefit from being assigned to a course period
without educational content.
iii) The principal or an assistant principal has
stated in a written document to be maintained at the
school that, for the relevant academic year, no students
are assigned to course periods without educational
content unless the school has met the conditions
described above.
a) Delete the distinction between students who have or have
not met A-G or high school graduation requirements relative
to the processes that schoolsite administrators must
follow, thereby establishing only one process for the
assignment of students to courses without educational
content.
b) Limit the scope of the bill to grades 9-12.
c) Modify the definition of "course period without educational
content" to include that the student is not expected to
complete curricular assignments.
d) Clarify the process for meeting criteria for the assignment
of a student to a course that the student previously
completed with a satisfactory grade.
1)Related lawsuit. This bill is related to Cruz v. State of
California, a class action lawsuit filed May 29th, 2014, in
Alameda County Superior Court against the State on behalf of
students in seven schools.
The plaintiffs allege that the state has violated the rights of the
plaintiffs provided by the Equal Protection clauses of the
state constitution "by failing to provide them with basic
educational opportunities equal to those that other students
elsewhere in the State receive" with regard to meaningful
learning time. The complaint requests that the court address
the state's monitoring system and its intervention to prevent
and remedy the causes of lost learning time. The plaintiffs
allege that this lack of instructional time is due to several
factors, including:
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a) Assignment of students to administrative tasks or free
periods instead of assignment to classroom periods of
instruction because of insufficient curricular offerings
and a lack of available qualified teachers.
b) Violence or security disruptions, which result in
cessation of instruction and traumatic after-effects, and
insufficient access to mental health professionals to
assist students and faculty in coping with these
disruptions.
c) Late changes to the master course schedule requiring
course and teacher changes well into the semester.
d) Unstable, transient teaching faculties and
administrative teams (including principals, assistant
principals, and counselors), resulting from under-resourced
and stressful campuses not conducive to professional
development and growth.
e) Unaddressed student absenteeism, resulting in whole or
part from campus conditions.
http://www.publiccounsel.org/tools/assets/files/0511.pdf
On February 5, 2015, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a
preliminary injunction. On April 24, 2015, the court denied
this motion, stating that, "If, at this stage, Plaintiffs
cannot supply reliable evidence regarding the actual practices
of most California high schools with regard to the use of
contentless classes and the timely implementation of
appropriate master schedules, the court lacks a fair standard
against which to measure the performance of Plaintiff's own
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high schools and cannot determine, even preliminarily, whether
Plaintiffs have some possibility of prevailing on their
claims."
1)Course periods without educational content. This bill, as
proposed to be amended, defines "course period without
educational content" to include "a service, instructional work
experience, or otherwise named course where the pupil is
assigned to assist a certificated employee but not expected to
complete curricular assignments in a course the certificated
employee is teaching that period, and where the ratio of
certificated employees to students so assigned is less than
one to one." This definition appears to many, but not all, to
allow for the assignment to courses such as AVID, ROTC, study
hall, student government, student journalism, and similar
courses. Is this definition sufficient to clearly allow for
the assignment to such courses?
2)Technical amendments. Staff recommends amendments as follows:
a) This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to prepare an annual report detailing actions taken
regarding related complaints, and requires the SPI, by
January 1 of each fiscal year, to submit the report to the
appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the
Legislature. Staff recommends deleting reference to fiscal
year (strike "fiscal").
b) This bill requires the SPI to adopt regulations to
establish procedures required by this bill, including the
form for the certifications regarding the assignment to
course periods without educational content and assignment
to previously completed courses. Staff recommends to
instead require the SPI to develop, and the State Board of
Education to adopt, the regulations.
c) The author's proposed amendments prohibit the assignment of
a student to a course period without educational content
unless, among other things, the student or parent (if the
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student is a minor) has consented to the assignment. Staff
recommends that amendments specify consent is to be in
writing.
3)Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown, likely minor, Proposition 98/General Fund
state mandated costs related to the expansion of the Uniform
Complaint Procedures (UCP), and unknown administrative costs
to the California Department of Education to process UCP
appeals, likely not to exceed $300,000.
4)Related legislation. AB 379 (Gordon, 2015) expands the UCP to
include complaints of non-compliance with certain rights and
responsibilities regarding the education of students who are
in foster care or who are homeless, including school placement
decisions, responsibilities of foster youth liaisons,
provisions regarding school transfers, exemption from
locally-imposed graduation requirements, and the awarding of
partial credit for completed coursework. AB 379 is pending in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1391 (Gomez, 2015) an urgency measure, expands the Uniform
Complaint Procedures (UCP) to include complaints of
non-compliance with the required minimum instructional minutes
for physical education. AB 1391 is pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 412 (Chavez, 2015) authorizes complaints of non-compliance with
the required minimum instructional minutes for physical
education to be filed with a local complaint process or
through the UCP. AB 412 was never heard.
AB 302 (Cristina Garcia, 2015) requires local educational agencies
to provide reasonable accommodations to a lactating pupil on a
school campus to express breast milk, breast-feed an infant
child, or address other needs related to breast-feeding, and
expands the UCP to include complaints of non-compliance with
this requirement. AB 302 is scheduled to be heard by this
Committee on July 8.
SB 81 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Ch. 22, 2015) among
other things, expands the UCP to include complaints regarding
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an alleged violation by a local agency of federal or state law
or regulations governing adult education programs or regional
occupational centers and programs.
SB 425 (Hernandez, 2015) among other things, expands the UCP to
include complaints regarding an alleged violation by a local
agency of federal or state law or regulations governing adult
education programs or regional occupational centers and
programs, including allegations of unlawful discrimination,
harassment, intimidation, or bullying. SB 425 is pending in
the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
AB 907 (Burke, 2015) is nearly identical to SB 425. AB 907 is
pending in this Committee.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union
Californians for Justice
California State Conference of the National Association of the
Advancement of Colored
People
Education Trust-West
EdVoice
Families in Schools
Public Advocates
Public Counsel
OPPOSITION
California School Boards Association
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