BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2329
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(Without Reference to File)
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2329 (Bonilla)
As Amended June 29, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(June 1, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to convene a computer science strategic implementation
advisory panel (panel) to develop recommendations for a computer
science strategic implementation plan (plan).
The Senate amendments:
1)Increase the number of teachers to be appointed to the panel,
and require that they be currently teaching.
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2)Require that the representatives of postsecondary institutions
be faculty members, and that the representatives of the
Instructional Quality Commission and the Computer Science
Teachers Association be credentialed teachers.
3)Require that the computer science education organization
represented on the panel be an equity-focused organization.
4)State that administrators from the University of California,
the California State University, and the California Community
Colleges may serve as advisors to the panel.
5)State that the statewide computer science liaison within the
California Department of Education (CDE) is responsible for
ensuring that the panel's recommendations are implemented, and
that the liaison shall serve for a limited time after the
State Board of Education (SBE) adopts standards and a
curriculum framework in computer science in order to provide
technical assistance to local educational agencies.
6)Specify that the CDE is to develop, and the SBE is to adopt
the computer science strategic implementation plan on or
before January 1, 2019.
7)State that any grants or donations received from public or
private sources may be used to ensure that the plan is
implemented.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time cost of $237,000 to support the 23 member panel and
to appoint a statewide computer science liaison to serve the
panel. These costs include travel, materials, and recording
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contracts for the panel public meetings as well as costs to
support the liaison. Ongoing costs to the CDE are unknown,
but funding of about $150,000 is likely needed to continue to
support the liaison for a period of time after the adoption of
the computer science content standards and the associated
curriculum framework. See staff comments. (General Fund)
2)Unknown cost pressure, likely in the millions to implement
suggested recommendations included in this bill. Costs will
depend on the actual recommendations of the panel.
(Proposition 98)
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 [Advanced Placement] 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."
Barriers to computer science education. According to a 2015
report issued by the Level Playing Field Institute, of the more
than half a million high school students in the largest 20
districts in the state, just 1% are enrolled in any computer
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science course, and that nearly 75% of schools with the highest
percentage of underrepresented students of color offer no
computer sciences courses.
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 national Computer Science
Teachers Association, a significant barrier is the shortage of
adults who can teach computer science at a rich and rigorous
level. Schools are also sometimes discouraged from scheduling
computer science courses for financial and logistical reasons.
Challenges include finding time in the school day and student
schedules, and making sure school districts have the
infrastructure needed to offer a computer science course.
Computer science standards. Current law requires the
Instructional Quality Commission (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),
Chapter 876, 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 Computer Science
Teachers Association created K - 12 standards with the intention
that these standards would be adopted by states.
Analysis Prepared by:
Tanya Lieberman, Christine Aurre / ED. / (916)
319-2087 FN:
0005024
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