BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2862
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2862
(O'Donnell) - As Amended April 12, 2016
SUBJECT: Standards: visual and performing arts
SUMMARY: Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to recommend to the State Board of Education (SBE)
revisions to the content standards in visual and performing arts
(VAPA), and authorizes the SBE to adopt, reject, or modify the
revised standards by January 1, 2019. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the SPI to recommend to the SBE revisions to the
visual and performing arts standards.
2)Requires that, on or before January 1, 2019, the SBE adopt,
reject, or modify any modifications proposed by the SPI.
3)Requires that if the SBE modifies these revised standards, it
explain, in writing, to the Governor and the Legislature the
reasons for modifying the standards.
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4)Requires the SPI, in consultation with the SBE to select a
group of experts in VAPA for purposes of assisting the SPI in
developing recommendations on modifications to the standards.
5)Requires the SPI to hold a minimum of two public hearings in
order for the public to provide input on the modifications,
prior to action by the SBE.
6)Requires the public meetings to be held pursuant to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
7)Requires that, if the VAPA standards are modified, during the
next revision of the VAPA curriculum framework and evaluation
criteria, the IQC ensure that the modifications are
incorporated into that curriculum framework and evaluation
criteria for purposes of adopting instructional materials.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, no later than June 1, 2001, the SBE to adopt content
standards, pursuant to recommendations developed by the SPI,
in the curriculum area of VAPA.
2)States that these standards are intended to provide a
framework for programs that a school may offer in the
instruction of VAPA, and that this authorization shall not be
construed to require a school to follow the content standards
or mandating an assessment of students in VAPA.
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3)Requires that students take a course in either VAPA, foreign
language, or career technical education in order to graduate
from high school.
4)Requires the SBE to adopt or reject content standards in
language arts and mathematics and requires that at least 85%
of those standards to be those developed by the Common Core
State Standards Initiative consortium.
5)Establishes, through policy of the University of California
(UC) and the California State University (CSU), A-G
requirements for admission to the UC and CSU, which include
one year of VAPA.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
Need for the bill. According to the author's office,
"Extensive research demonstrates the connection between visual
and performing arts education and student engagement. Arts
education contributes to higher test scores and reduces truancy
and dropout rates.
Adopted in 2001, California's visual and performing arts
standards are one of the oldest sets of state standards that
have not been revised, and are in urgent need of an update to
allow students to benefit from current curriculum, instruction,
and instructional materials. Since 2001 major changes have
occurred in teaching and learning.
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Arts education provides key opportunities for critical thinking
and inquiry - hallmarks of the state's Common Core State
Standards - but our current arts curriculum is out of alignment
with these standards. This represents a tremendous missed
opportunity for students and teachers.
The state's visual and performing arts standards are also not
aligned with current career technical education instruction -
curriculum necessary for career readiness in the arts. 10% of
California's jobs are in the creative industry, and 8% of the
state's productivity is related to the arts. It is in the
economic interest of students and the state to provide students
the most current and relevant instruction in the visual and
performing arts."
Similar bill introduced last year. SB 725 (Hancock) of this
Session would have required that the VAPA standards be updated
if a schedule for the regular updating of standards were adopted
by the SBE. That bill was approved by this Committee but was
subsequently amended to address a different education issue.
Should VAPA be next? Apart from History-Social Science (for
which a new framework is under development), the VAPA standards
adopted in 2001 are the oldest set of state standards. The most
recent adoption (original or last update) of content standards
in each subject area is shown below:
1998: History-Social Science
2001: Visual and Performing Arts
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2005: Physical Education
2008: Health Education
2009: World Languages
2010: English Language Arts
2010: Mathematics
2012: English Language Development
2013: Career Technical Education
2013: Science
2015: English Language Development (aligned to new
Mathematics, Science standards)
2019: Computer Science (first standards)
According to the author, California's 2001 standards are not
reflective of many changes in the field of VAPA, and create a
mixed message for educators in the field. The College Board, in
a report cited below, notes that while "arts educators commonly
report expectations in their districts that arts teaching and
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learning practices will be aligned with the goals and objectives
of the Common Core," California's standards are not aligned with
the Common Core state standards. The author states that
teaching credential candidates being trained in preparation
programs are being trained with the new National Core Arts
Standards because they are aligned to the Common Core state
standards, but when hired to teach in the public schools are
expected to teach - and are evaluated on the basis of - the
state's outdated standards. The Committee may also wish to
consider that the VAPA curriculum framework is due to be revised
in 2020, and an update to content standards is needed prior to
the framework revision, or the new framework will reflect
outdated standards.
VAPA instructional materials highly out of date. The state's
current VAPA standards date to 2001. Instructional materials
were also adopted that year. The VAPA framework was
subsequently adopted in 2004, but there was no instructional
materials adoption. As a result, the state-adopted
instructional materials in this content area are 15 years old,
and are viewed as highly out-of-date.
Unpredictable state curriculum updating process disadvantages
students and burdens teachers; comprehensive approach is needed.
During the standards movement in the 1990's, when the state
began adopting content standards in a number of subject areas,
no process was established in state law to allow for regular
revisions to these standards. In contrast, curriculum
frameworks - which are built on those standards - are updated on
an eight year cycle.
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But as curriculum and instruction have continued to evolve, it
has become clear that the regular updating of standards is a
necessary part of the state's curriculum-setting function. As
the list of bills below (under the comment "Related
legislation") illustrates, many legislative attempts at revising
content standards in different areas have failed, resulting in
an unpredictable system of curriculum revision for teachers and
students.
This problem has broad and deep consequences for teaching and
learning. It means that students' access to updated content
necessary for college and career readiness is limited; that
students are taught with instructional materials which are not
aligned to the assessments they must take; that teachers are
expected to teach with outdated instructional materials and must
use their own time and money to create and purchase appropriate
materials; and that teacher preparation programs must instruct
new teachers in outdated content and methods.
A bill pending in the Senate, AB 740 (Weber), would establish a
process for the regular updating of content standards. Such a
comprehensive approach would create a predictable and rational
system of curriculum for local school districts.
Process similar to SB 1200 for revising math and science
standards. The process proposed by this bill for the updating
of VAPA standards is very similar to the one required by SB 1200
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(Hancock), Chapter 654, Statutes of 2012, for the revising of
standards in mathematics and science. In both of those content
areas, state standards were updated to align with national
standards (Common Core State Standards in mathematics, and the
Next Generation Science Standards). That bill authorized the
SPI to consult with a group of experts and to recommend revised
standards to the SBE. The SBE was authorized to adopt, reject,
or modify the standards, and was required to provide a written
explanation for any modifications.
National Core Arts Standards. Unlike SB 725 (Hancock) of this
Session, this bill does not reference the National Core Arts
standards as the basis for the revision of VAPA standards.
However, it is likely that the process of updating the VAPA
standards would begin with a review of the National Core Arts
Standards.
In 2014 the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards produced
the National Core Arts Standards. The Coalition membership
included eight organizations representing the breadth of arts
education, including representatives of state agencies. The
standards cover five areas of arts instruction (dance, visual
arts, theater, music, and media arts), with four "process"
categories common to all arts instruction: creating,
performing/presenting/producing, responding, and connecting.
For each of these processes there are several "anchor standards"
(eleven in total) which cut across the different forms of the
arts.
The primary way in which the NCAS differ from the California's
current VAPA standards is in the alignment of the standards with
the Common Core state standards. Consistent with the Common
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Core standards, the NCAS place greater emphasis on critical
thinking and deeper inquiry. For example, according to a report
by EdSource, in the area of music the NCAS encourage students to
arrange, compose and improvise, instead of relying solely on
teachers' instructions, and some content, such as how to read a
music score, is taught earlier. The new standards also reflect
changes in technology, encouraging students to take advantage of
new means of composing, producing, and performing music.
Overall, the NCAS are viewed as more rigorous than California's
current standards.
To measure the extent to which the NCAS are aligned to the
Common Core state standards, the National Coalition for Core
Arts Standards engaged the College Board to perform a comparison
between the NCAS anchor standards and the Common Core's anchor
standards, as well as the Common Core Standards for Mathematical
Practice. This review concluded that "meaningful connections to
the Common Core are found throughout all of NCAS Anchor
Standards, including those associated with creating as well as
those concerned with performing or presenting, in addition to
responding and connecting. The arts standards connect to all
segments of the Common Core, extending beyond the standards for
reading to include writing, speaking and listening, and the
Standards for Mathematical Practice."
California's VAPA standards cover four areas: dance, visual
art, music, and theater. The NCAS cover a fifth area - media
arts. California's current Career Technical Education
standards, adopted in 2013, also covers media arts in its Arts,
Media, and Entertainment section, in the Design, Visual, and
Media Arts Pathway, though in a very different manner than the
National Core Arts Standards. This bill limits the work of the
advisory committee to the four areas currently covered by the
state's VAPA standards.
Related legislation this session. SB 725 (Hancock), Chapter
225, Statutes of 2015, as approved by this Committee, required
the SBE to adopt revised state content standards in VAPA, if the
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SBE also adopts a schedule for the regular update of content
standards. This bill was later amended to address another topic.
AB 2290 (Santiago) of this Session authorizes the SPI to SBE
modifications to the content standards in world languages, and
authorizes the SBE to adopt, reject, or modify the modified
standards by July 30, 2018. AB 2290 is pending in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
AB 740 (Weber) of this Session would require the SPI, by January
1, 2017, to recommend to the SBE a schedule for the regular
update of academic content standards. This bill grants the SBE
the authority to convene academic content standards advisory
committees to update the standards, and requires that the SBE
adopt or reject them. AB 740 is pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 711 (Santiago) would have required the SBE to adopt national
content standards by June 1, 2017, which are in accordance with
the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, pursuant
to the recommendations of the SPI. This bill was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Prior legislation. SB 1057 (Corbett) of the 2013-14 Session
would have created a process to update the history-social
science content standards. This bill was vetoed by the Governor,
who expressed a concern that the Instructional Quality
Commission did not have a role in the proposed revision process,
among other issues.
AB 1033 (Feuer) of the 2011-12 Session would have established a
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content standards review commission, if the SPI and the SBE
jointly found a need to revise or modify the academic content
standards. The SBE could adopt or reject the recommendations.
This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 124 (Fuentes), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011, requires the
SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to convene a group of experts
in English language instruction, curriculum, and assessment to
align the English language development standards to English
language arts content standards. The SBE could adopt, reject, or
modify the recommendations.
SB 300 (Hancock), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2011, requires the
SPI to convene a group of science experts to recommend science
content standards which the SBE could adopt, reject, or modify.
AB 97 (Torlakson) of the 2009-10 Session would have established
the Academic Content Standards Commission for Science and
History-Social Science consisting of 21 appointed members to
review and update the standards, and required the SBE to adopt
or reject the recommendations of the commission. This bill was
vetoed.
SB 1 X5 (Steinberg) Chapter 2, Statutes of 2010, requires the
SBE to adopt or reject content standards in language arts and
mathematics and requires that at least 85% of those standards to
be those developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative
consortium.
AB 1454 (Richardson) of the 2007-08 Session would have required
the SPI to convene content standards review panels in English
language arts and mathematics and required the SBE to adopt or
reject the recommendations of the review panel. This bill was
held in the Senate Education Committee.
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AB 1100 (Mullin) of the 2005-06 Session would have authorized
the SPI to appoint a content standards review panel in each
subject area two years prior to the curriculum framework
adoption for each subject area, and specifying that the panel
review and revise the content standards. This bill was held in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2744 (Goldberg) of the 2003-04 Session would have established
a process for the updating of academic content standards by
requiring the SPI to convene content standards review panels in
each subject area and requiring the SBE to adopt or reject the
recommendations of each panel. This bill was vetoed.
AB 642 (Mullin) of the 2003-04 Session would have required the
SPI to periodically review and update academic content standards
for the SBE to adopt or reject. This bill was vetoed.
SB 1367 (Karnette) of the 2001-02 Session would have required
the SBE to periodically review and update core curriculum
content standards. This bill was vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Art Education Association (sponsor)
California Music Educators Association (sponsor)
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California Alliance for Arts Education
California Dance Education Association
California Educational Theatre Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087