BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1258
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1258 (Chau)
As Amended May 6, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Education |6-0 |O'Donnell, Kim, | |
| | |McCarty, Santiago, | |
| | |Thurmond, Weber | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |13-1 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Establishes a Computer Science Start-Up Courses Grant
Pilot program and a Computer Science Educator Training Grant Pilot
program, for the purpose of providing grants to school districts
to establish and maintain computer science courses and provide
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professional development for educators to teach computer science.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
establish a public-private computer science education grant
program through which an eligible school district may receive
funding to establish and maintain computer science courses and
provide professional development for educators to teach computer
science, either as a stand-alone course or integrated into other
courses.
2)Establishes the program as consisting of two parts: the
Computer Science Start-Up Courses Grant Pilot program and the
Computer Science Educator Training Grant Pilot program. Permits
school districts to apply for participation in either or both of
those two programs.
3)Requires the SPI to provide notice of this program to all school
districts and encourage them to apply for participation in this
program.
4)Requires the SPI to award one-year grants to school districts to
applicants deemed to be eligible, and allows a school district
that receives a grant to apply for a grant in a subsequent year,
but requires that grants not be automatically renewed.
5)States that in order to be deemed eligible for the program, a
school district must meet all of the following criteria:
a) Demonstrate engaged and committed leadership in support of
introducing students to computer science who would not
otherwise have such opportunities.
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b) Demonstrate a plan to engage these students with the
subject matter of computer science.
c) Demonstrate that school district staff are appropriately
trained to carry out the plan.
d) Demonstrate capacity to maximize the use of grant
resources by addressing the availability of appropriate
physical space and technology, projected enrollment, and
other specific requirements set forth by the SPI.
e) Demonstrate a history of successful partnerships within
the community and partner support for computer science.
Partnership support may include, supplying materials or
technology, instruction support, internships, mentorships,
and apprenticeships.
f) Demonstrate the capacity to continue in the school years
following the initial grant year.
1)States that the SPI may convene an advisory group of computer
science experts to discuss and refine the eligibility criteria,
and allows the SPI to use the same group of computer science
experts selected to produce state standards in computer science.
2)Requires the SPI to give priority in making grants for both
programs to school districts with higher percentages of low
income, English learner, and foster youth, and award grants to
school districts that reflect the socioeconomic and geographic
diversity of the state.
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3)Requires an applicant to submit a specific plan, developed in
consultation with teachers employed by the applicant school
district, for an introductory course in computer science
designed to be of maximum value in meeting the particular needs
of students in that district, including pupils from groups
historically underrepresented in the field of computer science.
4)States that grant funds awarded under this section may be used
for one-time purposes associated with the costs of establishing
or expanding computer science courses, including teacher
recruitment, professional development, instructional materials,
laboratory supplies and equipment, and facilities remodeling.
5)Requires that the grant application for both programs shall be
on a form developed by the SPI and shall include, at a minimum,
an itemized budget for the one-time use of the grant funds, an
identification of local matching resources constituting an
amount equaling the amount that would be allocated to the school
district, and an agreement by the grant recipient to provide the
Superintendent the data needed to complete the report required
by the act.
6)States that the Computer Science Educator Training Grant program
is intended to support professional development for educators to
acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to teach computer
science, either as a stand-alone course or integrated into other
courses.
7)Requires the SPI to award training grants, on a competitive
basis, to eligible educators employed by applicant school
districts. Requires a grant recipient to submit a specific plan
for professional development for educators to acquire the
knowledge and skills necessary to teach computer science, either
as a stand-alone course or integrated into other courses.
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8)States that grant funds shall be allocated to fund professional
development and training for educators on computer science
education.
9)Establishes the Computer Science Education Grant Matching
Account in the State Treasury, to provide matching funds for the
Computer Science Start-Up Courses Grant Pilot Program and the
Computer Science Educator Training Grant Pilot Program. Requires
that a school district that receives a grant under this chapter
shall provide a 50% local match, which may include in-kind
donations.
10)Requires that grants and related administrative costs to be
funded by a combination of funds from the account and matching
funds provided by a participating school district.
11)Authorizes the State Treasury to receive, and deposit into the
account, any gifts, grants, or donations received for purposes
of this chapter from the federal government or private persons
or entities. States the intent of the Legislature that no funds
from the state General Fund be used to support the grant program
established by this bill.
12)Requires that the funds deposited in the Computer Science
Education Grant Matching Account be subject to Budget Act or
other appropriation, for purposes of funding the grants
established under this chapter and covering related
administrative costs, which must be limited to 5% of the
allocations made in any fiscal year.
13)Authorizes the SPI to refund to donors all or a portion of any
gift, grant, or donation made to the account by that donor if
the funds have not been encumbered due to surplus funding or the
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section has not become operative because there are insufficient
funds for this purpose.
14)Requires that the program not become operative unless and until
the SPI certifies, in writing, to the Director of Finance that
there are sufficient funds, defined as enough to support at
least two grants in one of the programs established by this
bill, to implement these programs.
15)Requires the SPI report annually to the Governor and the
Legislature on the programs by January 10, 2018, and annually on
that date until January 10, 2021. Requires the report to
include all of the following data:
a) The number of applicants.
b) The number of participants.
c) Increase in the number of courses offered and teachers
trained in computer science as a result of the grants made
under this chapter.
d) For the Computer Science Start-up Courses Grant Pilot
Program, the increase in the number of students, including
unduplicated students, and students from groups historically
underrepresented in the field of computer science, who have
taken a computer science course, and to the extent available,
any increase in the number of pupils who enroll or intend to
enroll in computer science programs at postsecondary
educational institutions.
e) For the Computer Science Educator Training Grant Pilot
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Program, the increase in the number of pupils, including
unduplicated pupils and pupils from groups historically
underrepresented in the field of computer science, who have
taken a course with an educator trained as a result of this
program.
f) The amount of grant funds awarded each fiscal year,
classified by school district.
1)Sunsets the programs on January 1, 2022.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider
developing and recommending to the State Board of Education, on
or before July 31, 2019, computer science content standards for
kindergarten and grades one to 12 pursuant to recommendations
developed by a group of computer science experts.
2)Requires that, if the governing board of a school district
requires more than two courses in mathematics for graduation
from high school, the governing board of the school district may
award a pupil up to one mathematics course credit for
successfully completing a "category C" approved computer science
course.
3)Requires that, on or before July 31, 2019, the IQC consider
developing and recommending to the state board computer science
content standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of
computer science experts.
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4)Requires the Trustees of the California State University, and
requests the Regents of the University of California, to
establish a uniform set of academic standards, and create
guidelines for high school computer science courses, to satisfy
the "A-G" subject requirements for the area of mathematics for
purposes of recognition for undergraduate admission.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) Unknown administrative costs to CDE, likely in excess of
$300,000. Costs to administer these new grants will depend on the
size and scope of the grants. For example, a grant program that
awards $1 million dollars to 15 school districts will necessitate
a different staffing level than a program that provides $10
million dollars to 150 school districts. Staff will be needed to
monitor account funds, develop requests for applications, review
and score applications, notify grant recipients and collect data
to comply with annual reporting requirements. Further, CDE
indicates they do not currently have staff or resources available
to promote or advocate for donations and/or grants from non-state
sources.
2) This bill does not provide a specific grant amount and
specifies that the funding shall be contingent upon "sufficient
funds" in the newly created fund and subject to an appropriation
by the Legislature. The source of revenue for the fund will be
gifts, grants or donations.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author's office states, "California
policymakers, business leaders, and educators understand the value
of computer science education, as evidenced by the numerous bills
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signed into law in 2013 to 2014. As we continue to move towards
integrating computer science into all K-12 classrooms, we must
also improve the future participation and success of
underrepresented populations in this field of study. When we look
at the number of students that took the Advanced Placement
Computer Science exam in California in 2013, out of the 4,964
students, 74 were African American, 392 were Hispanic, and 1,074
were females. Consequently, there is a need to incentivize school
districts to support innovative ways to introduce and engage
students from historically underrepresented groups to computer
science. At the same time, it is critical to encourage school
districts to offer professional development to their teachers on
this emerging subject matter."
Teacher certification in computer science. In a 2013 report
titled Bugs in the System: Computer Science Teacher Certification
in the U.S., the Computer Science Teachers Association writes
that, nationally, teacher certification programs in this subject
are confused, disparate and sometimes "absurd," and that the
process is "typified by confounding processes and illogical
procedures-bugs in the system that keep it from functioning as
intended." They recommend, among other changes, the establishment
of pathways for people transitioning from industry to teaching,
the development of a Praxis Computer Science examination, and
requirements for teacher preparation institutions to include
programs to prepare computer science teachers.
California has three Single Subject Teaching Credentials
(Mathematics, Business, and Industrial and Technology Education)
and a supplementary authorization (Computer Concepts and
Applications) that authorize a teacher to provide instruction in
computer science. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing is
currently modifying their Computer Concepts and Applications
authorization to reflect a change in focus from teaching basic
computer use, keyboarding, and software application to broader
preparation in computer science education. Changes to the
authorization are expected later this year.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0000716