BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2353


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2353 (McCarty)


          As Amended  April 27, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Education       |7-0  |O'Donnell, Olsen,     |                    |
          |                |     |Kim, McCarty,         |                    |
          |                |     |Santiago, Thurmond,   |                    |
          |                |     |Weber                 |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Obernolte,     |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Wagner, Weber, Wood   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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                                                                    AB 2353


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          SUMMARY:  Enacts provisions to promote professional development  
          in culturally responsive instruction.  Specifically, this bill:


          1)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to  
            identify professional development programs in culturally  
            responsive instruction.


          2)Authorizes local education agencies (LEAs) to include this  
            professional development as a local measure of school climate  
            under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).


          3)Authorizes LEAs to use $490 million provided in the 2015-16  
            Budget Act to provide cultural responsive professional  
            development.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, "the CDE estimates one-time General Fund costs of  
          approximately $150,000 for the department to identify and review  
          existing professional development programs in culturally  
          responsive instruction and to post online.  These costs could be  
          ongoing to the extent CDE is expected to review and update the  
          list on a regular basis." 




          COMMENTS:  


          1)Purpose. Classroom instruction that connects the diverse  
            backgrounds of students with curriculum and instruction is an  
            approach sometimes referred to as "culturally responsive  
            instruction."  Culturally responsive instruction has been  
            shown to be positively correlated with higher levels of  








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            academic achievement.  Having staff trained in culturally  
            responsive instruction can also lead to improvements in  
            overall school climate.  The American Civil Liberties Union  
            (ACLU) of California supports this bill stating teachers in  
            California have a responsibility to respect and value the  
            cultural heritage of all of their students and teach their  
            students to respect the cultures of others.  This bill would  
            assist teachers in understanding and appreciating the cultural  
            differences of their students and how to incorporate these  
            characteristics into their pedagogy. 
          2)Educator Effectiveness Funding.  The 2015-16 Budget Act  
            appropriated $490 million to county offices of education,  
            school districts, charter schools and state special schools  
            based on full-time equivalent (FTE) certificated staff  
            reported for the 2014-15 fiscal year.  The Educator  
            Effectiveness funds are authorized to be spent for  
            professional development, coaching, and support services.  The  
            first apportionment reflecting approximately 80% of each LEA's  
            entitlement as released in December of 2015.  Remaining funds  
            were released in March of 2016.  The 2015-16 calculated  
            funding rate is approximately $1,466 per FTE.  Districts can  
            spend these funds over three years.  They are required to  
            develop and adopt a plan for expenditure of these funds, and  
            are required to provide a detailed report of expenditures by  
            July 1, 2018.


            Since LEAs have just received these funds and they have three  
            years to spend the funds, the number of districts that have  
            already expended or committed their total allocation is  
            unknown.  This bill adds professional development in  
            culturally responsive instruction as another authorized use,  
            but does not require schools to spend this funding for this  
            purpose. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             








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          Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087  FN: 0003176