BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2072 (Chang) - High school diplomas: State Seal of STEM
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: June 22, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 6 - 0 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill establishes the State Seal of STEM to
recognize high school graduates who have attained proficiency in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Fiscal
Impact:
Costs to the California Department of Education of about
$98,000 General Fund to administer the program until it
becomes inoperative July 31, 2024. This estimate includes
costs of a one year supply of STEM seals and staff time to
coordinate and distribute the seals.
Costs incurred at the local level, such as maintaining
applicable records, awarding the state seal, or to the extent
necessary, increasing mathematics and science courses so that
students may have access to the state seal awards, would not
be reimbursable at the state level as this program is
voluntary.
AB 2072 (Chang) Page 1 of
?
Background: The state has established two state seals, the Golden State
Seal Merit Diploma and the State Seal of Biliteracy. The Golden
State Seal Merit Diploma was established in 1997 to provide
recognition to public high school graduates who have
demonstrated mastery of the high school curriculum in six
subject areas, four of which are English, history, mathematics
and science, with the remaining two selected by the student. In
2015, a total of 51,253 graduating seniors from 1,018 schools
were awarded the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma.
The State Seal of Biliteracy was established in 2011 with the
goal of encouraging students to acquire other languages, which
in turn would grant students a competitive edge in postsecondary
education and employment. In its first year, more than 10,000
graduating high school students across California earned
recognition for achieving proficiency in multiple languages. In
2015, a total of 31,816 graduating seniors from 266 schools were
awarded the State Seal of Biliteracy.
The State Seal of Biliteracy requires students to satisfy
similar criteria to be awarded. The student must have an
overall grade point average of 2.0 in English language arts
classes, pass the state assessment in English language arts at
the proficient level or above, and demonstrate proficiency in
one or more languages other than English. Proficiency in
another language is demonstrated by either passing a foreign
language Advanced Placement (AP) examination (or another test,
as specified, if the AP does not exist at the school district)
with a score of at least 3 or an International Baccalaureate
examination with a score of at least a 4; successful completion
of four years in a foreign language while attaining a grade
point average of at least 3.0; or passing the SAT II foreign
language examination with a score of at least 600.
Proposed Law:
This bill establishes the State Seal of STEM to recognize high
school graduates who have attained proficiency in STEM. It
requires the Superintendent to prepare and deliver an insignia
to be affixed to the diploma or transcript of the student in a
participating school district indicating that the student has
been awarded a State Seal of STEM and provide other information
AB 2072 (Chang) Page 2 of
?
necessary for school districts to successfully participate in
the program. A participating school district is required to
maintain appropriate records in order to identify students who
have earned a State Seal of STEM.
This bill provides that the State Seal of STEM certifies that a
graduating high school student has attained proficiency in STEM
and meets all of the following criteria:
Attained a 3.0 grade point average for STEM courses
taken in high school;
Successfully completed four year-long courses in
mathematics and science; and
Has one of the following in science and mathematics: a
score of at least 3 on an advanced placement examination, a
score of at least 600 on an SAT subject test, a score of at
least 4 on an international baccalaureate examination, a
grade of at least a B in a college-level course taken
through concurrent enrollment, or a score indicating that
the student has met or exceeded standards on a state
assessment.
This bill is operative after data from the statewide
administration of the state science assessments are available
and becomes inoperative July 31, 2024.
Related
Legislation: AB 2237 (Olsen, 2016), would have established STEM
Partnership Academies to provide grants to school districts to
establish up to 100 academies in STEM occupations. AB 2237 was
held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2329 (Bonilla, 2016), establishes a process to develop a K-12
computer science strategic implementation plan for the purpose
of expanding access to computer science course in schools. AB
2329 is pending in this committee.
AB 2072 (Chang) Page 3 of
?
Staff
Comments: This bill specifies that it is not operative until
after data from the statewide administration of the state
science assessments are available. The assessment is expected
to be fully administered in the 2018-19 school year. Data from
these assessments would likely not be available until the
2019-20 school year. This bill becomes inoperative July 31,
2024.
-- END --