BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2329
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2329
(Bonilla) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: Computer science strategic implementation plan
SUMMARY: Establishes a computer science strategic
implementation advisory board to develop a K-12 computer science
strategic implementation plan. Specifically, this bill:
1)States findings and declarations relative to the importance of
access to computer science education in California.
2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
establish a computer science strategic implementation advisory
board (advisory board) on or before March 1, 2017 to develop
recommendations for a computer science strategic
implementation plan (plan).
3)Requires the advisory board to be made up of the following:
a) one representative, appointed by the Governor, to serve
as chair of the advisory board
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b) one representative appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules
c) one representative appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly
d) one representative of the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI)
e) one representative of the State Board of Education (SBE)
f) one representative of the CDE
g) one representative of a K - 12 teacher faculty
association, appointed by the Governor
h) one representative of the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC)
i) one representative of the Computer Science Teachers
Association
j) one representative of a large urban school district,
appointed by the Governor
aa) one representative of a rural school district,
appointed by the Governor
bb) one representative of the private sector
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technology industry, appointed by the Governor
cc) one representative of the University of
California (UC)
dd) one representative of the California State
University (CSU)
ee) one representative of the California Community
Colleges
ff) one representative of the Instructional Quality
Commission (IQC)
gg) one representative of a nonprofit student/school
advocacy organization, appointed by the Governor
hh) one representative of parent organization,
appointed by the Governor
ii) one representative of school administrators and
superintendents, appointed by the Governor
4)Requires the advisory board to submit to the CDE and SBE, on
or before March 1, 2018, recommendations on all of the
following:
a) broadening the pool of teachers to teach computer
science. These recommendations may provide for the
following:
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i) providing training and professional development for
education in computer science
ii) creating a teacher certification pathway in computer
science
iii) expanding scholarship eligibility and loan
forgiveness programs for computer science teachers in
low-income and underserved school districts and rural and
urban school districts
a) developing computer science content standards. These
recommendations may provide for the following:
i) defining computer science education principles that
meet the needs of all K - 12 students
ii) building on the successful integration of computer
science into the California science standards
iii) adapting computer science education standards being
developed in other states to address the needs of
California pupils
iv) building on K - 12 computer science frameworks
developed by nationally recognized computer science
organizations and experts
v) ensuring that all students have access to quality
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computer science courses, which may include scaling up
computer science education coursework so that all high
schools offer at least one computer science course.
vi) procuring a pathway for computer science to count
toward high school graduation and college admission
requirements
vii) providing access to computer science in both college
and career pathways
viii) ensuring that school districts have adequate
broadband connectivity and infrastructure and access to
hardware and software
5)Requires the Governor to appoint a statewide computer science
liaison to serve the advisory board by coordinating the
efforts of the advisory board and ensuring that the advisory
board's recommendations are implemented to achieve the goals
of the computer science strategic implementation plan.
6)Requires the advisory board to report any necessary
legislative changes related to computer science education to
the SBE and CDE on or before January 1, 2018.
7)Requires the SBE and CDE to consider the recommendations
submitted by both the advisory board and the IQC, develop and
adopt a computer science strategic implementation plan, and
submit the plan to the Legislature on or before January 1,
2019.
8)Sunsets the requirements of the bill on January 1, 2021.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the IQC to consider developing and recommending to
the SBE, on or before July 31, 2019, computer science content
standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12 pursuant to
recommendations developed by a group of computer science
experts.
2)Requires students in grades 9 - 12, inclusive, to take 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. Also
authorizes school districts to implement additional graduation
requirements.
3)States that, if a school district requires more than two
courses in mathematics for graduation from high school, the
district may award a pupil up to one mathematics course credit
for successfully completing a "category c" approved computer
science course.
4)Authorizes a school district to award mathematics credit for
completion of a CSU and UC approved "category c" computer
science course, if the district requires more than two years
of mathematics courses for graduation.
5)Requires the Trustees of the CSU, and requests the Regents of
the UC, 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
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mathematics for purposes of recognition for undergraduate
admission at their respective institutions.
6)Requires CSU and requests UC to establish a model uniform set
of academic standards for computer science high school courses
for the purposes of recognition for admission, and to develop
and implement a speedy process whereby high schools may obtain
approval of their courses to satisfy specified admissions
requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "Computer
science drives job creation and innovation throughout
California's economy. Currently, there are 86,436 computing jobs
available in the state and by 2018, 51% of all science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs in the United
States will be in computer science-related fields. However,
California only had 3,525 students graduate with a computer
science degree in 2015. We need to increase access to computer
science courses in K - 12 education, especially for
underrepresented groups. For example, in 2014, only 15% of the
computer science graduates were women. Almost 9,000 students
took the AP Computer Science exam in California in 2015. Less
than 150 were African American and less than 400 were Hispanic.
We must bridge this gap and ensure all students have the choice
and encouragement to study computer science. Computer science
builds students' computational and critical thinking skills
which will enable them to create, not just use, the next
generation of technology innovations."
National and state focus on computer science: Computer science
is an active and applied field of STEM learning that allows
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students to engage in hands-on, real-world interaction with key
math, science, and engineering principles. The author notes that
these skills are quickly becoming necessary for all students to
be successful in college, career, and life. According to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is predicted that by the
year 2020, 4.6 million jobs will be in computing or information
technology, which is more than all other science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields combined. In light of
this demand, California policymakers, business leaders, and
educators have made a conscious effort to expand computer
science education, as evidenced by the numerous bills signed
into law in the 2013-14 Session.
At the federal level, President Obama has proposed a "Computer
Science for All Initiative." The proposal, subject to
appropriation, would provide $4 billion over three years to
states to increase access to computer science in all classrooms.
States would be required to submit comprehensive five-year
"Computer Science for All" plans, and every state with a
well-designed strategy would receive funds. In addition to
state-level grants, the President's proposed budget would
dedicate $100 million in competitive grants specifically for
leading districts to execute "ambitious computer science
expansion efforts" for all students, including traditionally
underrepresented students. This author argues that the plan
proposed by this bill is aligned with the President's plan, and
is intended to help better position California to leverage
future federal funds for computer science education.
From using technology to creating it. Coursework offered in
Computer Science education in California public schools had
evolved rapidly over the last decade. Instruction which once
focused on basic computer use, such as keyboarding, is now
focused on teaching students how to create - not simply use -
new technologies.
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According to the International Society for Technology in
Education's report, ISTE Standards for Computer Science
Education, modern computer science involves more than just
programming. Students must also learn about computers and
algorithmic processes, hardware and software designs, their
applications, their impacts on society, among many other
important habits of mind. The report notes that the field of
computer science will continue to rapidly evolve in sometimes
unpredictable ways, and as such, plans for teaching computer
science will also need the flexibility to continuously adapt.
Access to computer science education. According to a May 2015
report issued by the Level Playing Field Institute titled, Path
Not Found: Disparities in Access to Computer Science Courses in
California High Schools, access to computer science courses
varies considerably. The report found that in California public
high schools:
Of the more than half a million high school students in
the largest 20 districts, just 1% are enrolled in any
computer science course.
Nearly 75% of schools with the highest percentage of
underrepresented students of color offer no computer
sciences courses.
African-American and Latino students make up 59% of
California high school public school students but were just
11% of the 2014 AP Computer Science test takers.
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Only 4% of schools with the highest percentage of
low-income students offer AP Computer Science courses.
Only 8% of schools with the highest percentage of
English Learners offered AP Computer Science courses.
According to the author, of the high school students who
took the AP computer science exam in 2015, only 26 percent
were female, 973 were Latino, and 148 were African
American.
Given this evidence, and consistent with the author's intent to
increase access to computer science education for students in
underrepresented communities, staff recommends that the advisory
board be specifically tasked with making recommendations for
increasing the participation from students traditionally
underrepresented in computer science education and professions.
Barriers to computer science education: Approximately 10% of
schools nationwide offer computer science classes, and few
large, urban school districts provide comprehensive computer
science education to their students from pre-K to 12. According
to the Computer Science Teachers Association, "Roughly
two-thirds of the fifty states do not have computer science
standards for secondary school education. Even when they exist,
computer science standards at the K-8 level often confuse
computer science and the use of applications." These gaps could
pose barriers to the scaling up of computer science education.
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According to the Computer Science Teachers Association, a
significant barrier is the shortage of adults who can teach
computer science at a rich and rigorous level. In a 2013 survey
of computer science teachers, the Association found that 40% of
those said the greatest challenge in teaching computer science
is a lack of support or interest from school staff. Another 35%
said a lack of student interest or enrollment was the greatest
challenge. Rapidly changing technology and a lack of curriculum
resources were cited as the greatest challenge by 31% and 24% of
teachers, respectively.
Schools are sometimes discouraged from scheduling computer
science courses for financial and logistical reasons.
Challenges include finding time in packed school day and packed
student schedules, and making sure school districts have the
wiring, hardware and software needed to teach a computer science
course. Because computer science courses are often designed for
smaller class sizes - about 20 students as opposed to 35
students - schools might view them as expensive to offer.
Status of California computer science standards. Current law
requires the IQC to consider developing and recommending
computer science content standards to the SBE, pursuant to
recommendations developed by a group of computer science
experts. The enabling legislation (AB 1539, Hagman, Statutes of
2014) was intended to encourage the IQC and SBE to review the
standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers
Association. In 2013, the national Computer Science Teachers
Association created K - 12 standards with the intention that
state and local governing bodies, such as California's SBE,
would use these standards to create their own state and local
academic standards.
This bill requires the CDE and SBE to develop and adopt a
computer science strategic implementation plan, pursuant to
recommendations by both this bill's advisory board, and the IQC.
The requirements of this bill seem duplicative of existing law,
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yet the author argues that current requirements are permissive
and the IQC has not yet received funding to assist in the
development of computer science standards to present the SBE.
Teacher certification in computer science. 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.
In a 2013 report titled Bugs in the System: Computer Science
Teacher Certification in the U.S., the Computer Science Teachers
Association wrote 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 to transition
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.
The CTC recently modified 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. The CTC approved the proposed modifications,
including changing the name of the authorization to "Computer
Science," earlier this year. As of this month, teachers can
apply for the modified supplementary authorization.
Computer science in college admissions. Current state law
requires the CSU, and requests the UC, to establish a uniform
set of academic standards and to create guidelines for high
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school computer science courses which satisfy the "A-G" math
requirements.
According to the CSU, if a computer science course if
fundamentally grounded in math, then the CSU considers placing
it in the "C" category. However, because there are vast
differences in the types of computer sciences courses offered,
the CSU currently evaluates each high school computer science
course on a program-by-program basis. Additionally, they have
found that the computer science courses offered that do satisfy
"category c" requirements are few-and-far between.
Computer science as a high school graduation requirement. In
what may soon be a trend in the state, the San Francisco Unified
School District (SFUSD) announced plans in June 2015 to phase-in
teaching computer science to all students, at all schools, from
preschool to 12th grade. While the curriculum for SFUSD's plan
is still under development, the district plans to have major
concepts taught at each grade level. Even in preschool, students
will use blocks to build robots in order to introduce the
concepts of procedural thinking, cause and effect, decomposition
of complex tasks, and pattern recognition, as well as the
ability to notice similarities or common differences,
abstraction and algorithm design and the ability to develop a
step-by-step strategy for solving a problem.
This year, 13 middle schools will be offering a course, reaching
approximately 30 percent of middle school age students with 45
hours of computer science instruction, up from one percent of
middle school students who participated in a computer science
course in the 2014-2015 school year. SFUSD predicts it will
take several years before every student at every grade is
learning computer science. Funding for the computer science
expansion will come from the district, industry partnerships,
and a $5 million grant from a private foundation.
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Chicago Public Schools (which is the nation's third largest
school district) are also in the process of establishing a K-12
computer science program. According to press reports, in the
next three years every high school will offer a foundational
computer science course, and in the next five years, at least
half will also offer an Advanced Placement computer science
course. Starting with next school year's freshman high school
class, students will be required to complete computer science
coursework prior to graduation.
Arguments in support: TechNet, the sponsor of the bill, writes,
"Providing recommendations for the computer science
implementation plan will move California schools forward in a
coordinated fashion to expose more children to computer science
at a younger age and will prepare them for technology jobs that
California has to offer. This bill will help better position
California with the necessary research and development to
leverage future federal funds for computer science education.
Ultimately, this plan will help the state reach the goal of
having computer science curriculum in every school."
Recommended amendments: Staff recommends the following
amendments:
1)The bill requires CDE it establish a computer science
strategic implementation board by March 1, 2017. If this bill
enacted it will likely require an appropriation, which would
not be available until July 1, 2017. Staff recommends delaying
the board's establishment until July 1, 2017.
2)This bill requires that both the SPI and the CDE serve on the
board. Since the SPI and the CDE are essentially the same
entity, staff recommends that the representative of the CDE be
deleted.
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3)Staff recommends adding a student representative to the
advisory board, appointed by the SPI.
4)Redraft subdivision (b) of Section 53311 to create a new
subdivision for topics listed that are not related to computer
science content standards.
5)To allow for the broadest possible look at barriers to
computer science education, authorize the advisory board to
report on any other barriers local education agencies face
regarding computer science education, in addition to the
topics specifically cited by the bill.
6)As noted above, require the advisory board to make
recommendations on increasing the participation from students
traditionally and currently underrepresented in computer
science education and professions.
Related legislation: AB 2237 (Olsen) of this Session would
establish the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Partnership Academies program, for the purposes of providing
grants to school districts to establish up to 100 partnership
academies dedicated to training students in STEM occupations.
This bill currently pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 2275 (Dababneh) of this Session would authorize a person who
holds a single subject credential in business, industrial and
technology education, mathematics or science to teach courses in
computer science. This bill is currently pending in the Assembly
Education Committee.
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AB 1258 (Chau) of this Session would have established a Computer
Science Start-Up Courses Grant Pilot Program and a Computer
Science Educator Training Grant Pilot program, for the purposes
of providing grants to school districts to establish and
maintain computer science courses and provide professional
development for educators to teach computer science. This bill
was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 252 (Holden) of this Session would have established a grant
program tow award funds to cover the costs associated with a
high school establishing or expanding its advanced placement
STEM curriculum. This bill was held in Senate Appropriations
Committee.
Prior legislation: AB 1539 (Hagman), Chapter 876, Statutes of
2014, required the IQC to consider developing and recommending
to the SBE, on or before July 31, 2019, computer science content
standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12 pursuant to
recommendations developed by a group of computer science
experts.
AB 1530 (Chau) of the 2013-14 Session would have required the
SPI to consider identifying existing model curricula for
kindergarten to grade 6 on computer science. The bill also would
have required the SPI to consider the revision of existing, or
the development of new, model curricula on computer science, and
to consider submitting any model curricula revised or developed
as a result of this bill to the SBE for adoption. This bill was
held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1540 (Hagman) of the 2013-14 Session would have expanded
opportunities for high school pupils to concurrently enroll in a
community college to undertake one or more courses in computer
science. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations
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Committee.
AB 2110 (Ting) of the 2013-14 Session would have required the
IQC to consider incorporating computer science curriculum
content into the mathematics, science, history-social science,
and English language arts/English language development
curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised.
This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1764 (Olsen), Chapter 888, Statutes of 2014, authorized the
governing board of a school district that requires two or more
courses in mathematics for graduation to award a student up to
one mathematics course credit for successfully completing an
approved computer science course.
SB 1200 (Padilla), Chapter 158, Statutes of 2014, required the
Trustees of the CSU, and requested the Regents of the UC, to
establish a uniform set of academic standards and to 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 at their
respective institutions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
TechNet (Sponsor)
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Alliance for California Computing Education for Students and
Schools
California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Children Now
Code.org
Los Angeles Unified School District
Microsoft
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by:Christine Aurre and Tanya Lieberman / ED. /
(916) 319-2087
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