BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 2862 (O'Donnell) - Pupil instruction:  visual and performing  
          arts:  revision of content standards
          
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          |Version: August 1, 2016         |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 1, 2016    |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.




          


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill authorizes the Superintendent of Public  
          Instruction (Superintendent), in consultation with the  
          Instructional Quality Commission (Commission), to recommend to  
          the State Board of Education (Board) revisions to the visual and  
          performing arts standards and requires the Board to adopt,  
          reject, or modify any revisions by January 1, 2019.  


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Costs to the California Department of Education (CDE) of  
            approximately $660,000 General Fund if the Superintendent  
            chooses to recommend to the Board revisions to the standards.   







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            These costs are attributable to selecting and consulting with  
            a group of subject matter experts in developing the standards  
            and for expert writer contracts.

           Cost pressure in the millions General Fund/Proposition 98 to  
            make corresponding revisions to the visual and performing arts  
            curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for instructional  
            materials.  Cost pressure also related to the implementation  
            of instructional materials and providing professional  
            development to implement the revised content standards.


          Background:  Academic content standards define the knowledge, concepts, and  
          skills that students should acquire at each grade level.   
          Curricular frameworks are the blueprint for implementing the  
          standards, and include criteria by which instructional materials  
          are evaluated.  The Commission advises the Board on curriculum  
          and instruction matters.
          The visual and performing arts content standards were last  
          updated in 2001.  The history-social science standards are the  
          only other standards that are older as they were adopted in  
          1998.  There is no statutory authority for the review or  
          updating of standards.  Specific authority, and one-time  
          funding, has historically been provided to develop new standards  
          in specific subjects.   

          A schedule once existed for the review and update of frameworks  
          and instructional materials in many subject areas, but those  
          processes were suspended in 2009, due to budget constraints,  
          through the 2015-16 fiscal year.  During the suspension special  
          authority and one-time funding has been provided to develop  
          certain curriculum frameworks and adopt instructional materials.


          Proposed Law:  
            This bill authorizes the Superintendent, in consultation with  
          the Commission, to recommend to the Board revisions to the  
          visual and performing arts standards in the subjects of dance,  
          theater, music, and visual arts.  
          The Superintendent and the Commission are required, in  
          consultation with the Board, to select a group of subject matter  
          experts, mostly teachers, to assist in the development of  
          recommendations.  The Superintendent, in consultation with the  
          Commission, is also required to hold a minimum of two public  








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          hearings to obtain public input.  


          This bill requires the National Core Arts Standards in the  
          subjects of dance, theater, music, and visual arts to serve as  
          the basis for deliberations for the revisions to the visual and  
          performing arts content standards.


          By November 30, 2018, the Superintendent is required to present  
          to the Board the revised standards.  By January 31, 2019, the  
          Board is required to adopt, reject, or modify any revisions to  
          the standards.  If the Board makes modifications, the Board is  
          required to explain, in writing, to the Governor and the  
          Legislature the reasons for those changes and wait to adopt the  
          revised standards in a subsequent meeting but before March 31,  
          2019.  If the Board rejects the standards, it is required to  
          notify the Governor and the Legislature the reasons for the  
          rejection.




          Related  
          Legislation:  AB 2290 (Santiago, 2016) authorizes the  
          Superintendent to recommend to the Board revisions to the world  
          language content standards by January 31, 2019.  AB 2290 is  
          pending in this committee.
          AB 1539 (Hagman, Chapter 876, Statutes of 2014) requires the  
          Instructional Quality Commission and the Board to consider  
          developing computer science content standards by July 31, 2019.   





          Staff  
          Comments:  Revising academic content standards triggers the need  
          to update the corresponding the curriculum frameworks and  
          evaluation criteria for the instructional materials adoption so  
          that they are all in alignment.  Similarly, there would be a  
          state and local cost pressure to provide and purchase  
          instructional materials and to provide professional development  
          to implement the new content standards.  








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