BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:   June 15, 2015


                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES


                                Richard Gordon, Chair


          SCR  
          41 (Hancock) - As Introduced April 13, 2015


          SENATE VOTE:  37-0


          SUBJECT:  California's Chess Month.


          SUMMARY:  Designates October as California's Chess Month and  
          encourages the people of California to observe Chess Month with  
          appropriate programs and activities, and encourages schools to  
          include chess as an educational tool in their classrooms.   
          Specifically, this resolution makes the following legislative  
          findings:


          1)Chess is a powerful cognitive learning tool that can be used  
            to successfully enhance reading and math concept, and chess  
            engages students of all learning styles and strengths and  
            promotes problem solving and higher level thinking skills.


          2)Designating October as California's Chess Month would enhance  
            awareness and encourage students and adults to engage in a  
            game known to enhance critical thinking, determination,  
            self-esteem, problem solving skills, and serves as a gateway  
            to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics  
            education.








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          3)There are 9,294 members of the United States Chess Federation  
            in the State of California, more than one-half of California's  
            members are scholastic members, and many of the scholastic  
            members join by the age of eight.  There are more than 80,000  
            members of the United States Chess Federation, and more than  
            2,000 affiliated chess clubs and organizations today.   


          4)Independent studies conducted by the Kensington Research Group  
            in partnership with the Berkeley Chess School for the 1022-12  
            school year in two of Oakland's Title One schools have linked  
            chess programs to the improvement of student scores in the San  
            Francisco Bay Area in reading and math.


          5)A 2013 independent study conducted by the Department of  
            Psychology and Cognitive Development of the Graduate School of  
            Education at the University of California, Berkeley,  
            highlighting chess skill acquistion and development, showed  
            dramatic increase in students' fluid reasoning, as well as  
            enhancing students' ability to better handle stressful  
            situations, which positively influence decision making.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          None on file









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          Opposition


          None on file




          Analysis Prepared by:Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916)  
          319-2800