BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 725
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|Author: |Hancock |
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|Version: |February 27, 2015 Hearing Date: |
| | April 22, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupil instruction and services: visual and performing
arts content standards
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt content
standards in visual and performing arts by June 30, 2017.
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.
Standards in several subject areas were adopted by the State
Board of Education (SBE) beginning in the late 1990s; standards
in visual and performing arts were adopted in January 2001.
There is no statutory authority for the review or updating of
standards. A schedule once existed for the review and update of
frameworks and instructional materials in many subject areas,
but those processes were suspended on July 28, 2009 due to
budget constraints. Specific authority has since been provided
to develop new standards in specific subjects (statutory
authority was also provided to develop frameworks and
instructional materials in some of these subjects):
The State Board of Education has adopted, or is scheduled to
adopt, the following standards:
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1. The California Common Core Standards in English language
arts and mathematics were adopted on August 2, 2010.
(Education Code § 60605.8)
2. English language development standards that are aligned
with the common core standards in English language arts in
November 7, 2012.
(Former EC § 60811.3)
3. A modification of the previously adopted common core
standards in mathematics in January 2013. (EC § 60605.11)
4. Revised Career Technical Education Model Curriculum
Standards on January 16, 2013. (EC § 51226)
5. The Next Generation Science Standards on September 4,
2013.
(Former EC § 60605.85)
6. English language development standards that are aligned
with the common core standards in mathematics and science.
Current law requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to submit recommendations to the State
Board of Education (SBE) by January 2015, and requires the
SBE to adopt updated standards by August 1, 2015. However,
according to the California Department of Education's
website, the panel of experts has just recently been
convened, and it is anticipated that the SPI will provide
recommendations to the SBE in July 2015; it is unclear if
adoption by the SBE expected later than the statutory
deadline of August 1, 2015. (EC § 60811.4)
7. The Instructional Quality Commission is required to
consider developing and recommending to the SBE standards
in computer science by July 31, 2019.
(EC § 60605.4)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt
content standards in visual and performing arts by June 30,
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2017. Specifically, this bill:
1. Requires the SBE to adopt visual and performing arts
content standards pursuant to the following requirements:
A. Requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), in consultation with the SBE, to
convene a panel of visual and performing arts experts.
B. Requires the SPI to ensure that members
of the expert panel represent the breadth of the
visual and performing arts and include, but is not
limited to, elementary and secondary visual and
performing arts teachers, school principals, school
district or county office of education administrators,
and university professors.
C. Requires the majority of the expert
panel to be made up of credentialed visual and
performing arts teachers.
D. Requires the SPI and expert panel to
recommend visual and performing arts content standards
for adoption to the SBE and use the National Core Arts
Standards developed by the National Coalition for Core
Arts Standards as the basis for their deliberations.
E. Requires the SPI to hold at least two
public meetings in order for the public to provide
input on the visual and performing arts content
standards.
2. Requires the SPI to submit the recommended visual and
performing arts standards to the SBE by January 30, 2017.
3. Requires the SBE, by June 30, 2017, to adopt, reject, or
modify the visual and performing arts standards submitted
by the SPI.
4. Requires the State Board of Education (SBE), if it modifies
the visual and performing arts standards, to provide
written reasons for its modifications in a public meeting,
and requires the SBE to adopt its modifications to the
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standards at a subsequent public meeting by June 30, 2017.
5. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and
SBE to present to the Governor and appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and
implementation plan for integrating the visual and
performing arts content standards into the state
educational system.
6. States that nothing in this bill is to be construed as
mandating an assessment of students in visual or performing
arts.
7. States Legislative findings and declarations relative to
the value of arts education.
8. Sunsets the provisions of this bill on July 1, 2017.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, "Extensive
research demonstrates the connection between visual and
performing arts education and student engagement. Arts
education contributes to higher test scores and reduced
truancy and dropout rates. It has been fourteen years
since California last adopted content standards for Visual
and Performing Arts (VAPA). The National Coalition for
Core Arts Standards has developed performance based VAPA
standards more closely aligned to the core curriculum and
integrated into 21st century career skills. Students
should not be asked to wait any longer for an updated VAPA
curriculum."
2. Arts before computer science? Recently enacted legislation
requires the consideration of the development of content
standards in computer science, by July 31, 2019. This bill
requires the development and adoption of standards in
visual and performing arts by June 30, 2017. High school
graduation requirements include one course in visual or
performing arts, foreign language, or career technical
education. Standards for visual and performing arts are
outdated. Computer science is a newly-added subject area,
relative to academic content standards, and is not a
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stand-along state required course required for high school
graduation. Should updated standards in visual and
performing arts be adopted prior to the adoption of
standards in computer science?
3. Capacity of the California Department of Education. The
California Department of Education, Instructional Quality
Commission, or State Board of Education are currently
tasked, by statute, with the following activities related
to standards and frameworks:
A. Authority is provided to the California
Department of Education (CDE) to resume the revision
of the History-Social Science framework that was
suspended in July 2009. The Instructional Quality
Commission is in the process of completing this work,
but has encountered difficulty in finalizing this
framework and has requested funding in the Budget for
an independent review of their work.
B. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is
required to recommend English language development
standards that are aligned with the common core
standards in mathematics and science for adoption by
the State Board of Education (SBE). Adoption of these
standards is expected in or after July 2015.
C. Requires the SBE to consider, by January 31,
2016, the adoption of a revised framework in science,
based on the recently-adopted Next Generation Science
Standards. Current legislation seeks to delay this
adoption by one year.
D. Requires the Instructional Quality Commission to
consider, by July 31, 2019, developing and
recommending the adoption of standards in computer
science.
There are several activities currently underway that have
successive timelines for adoption by the SBE. The
California Department of Education (CDE) has requested
funding for an independent review of the proposed revision
of the framework in history-social science, and current
legislation seeks to delay by one year the consideration of
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the adoption of a revised framework in science. Is it
reasonable to expect that the SPI can recommend visual and
performing arts standards by January 30, 2017, and the SBE
to adopt the standards by June 30, 2017?
4. Another approach. Current legislation (AB 740, Weber)
requires the SPI, by January 1, 2017, to recommend to the
SBE a schedule for the regular update of academic content
standards in all subjects for which standards have been
adopted by the SBE. AB 740 requires the schedule to be
aligned to the eight-year cycle of curriculum framework
updates and instructional materials adoptions that had been
used by the CDE and SBE and remains in statute. If both
this bill and AB 740 process, the author may wish to
consider approaching the adoption of updated standards more
broadly.
5. Technical amendment needed. This bill requires the SBE, if
it modifies the visual and performing arts standards, to
provide written reasons for its modifications in a public
meeting, and requires the SBE to adopt its modifications to
the standards at a subsequent public meeting by June 30,
2017. However, that is the same date that the SBE is
required to initially act on the standards. Adoption of
modified standards should be adopted at a public meeting
subsequent to June 30. The full schedule of 2017 meeting
dates for the SBE is
not posted, and therefore, staff recommends an amendment to
change this date to "no sooner than the next regularly
scheduled public meeting of the State Board of Education."
6. Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's analysis of similar prior legislation, this
bill could impose a cost of between $850,000 and $1
million.
7. Related and prior legislation.
RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 740 (Weber, 2015) requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), by January 1, 2017, to recommend to the
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State Board of Education (SBE) a schedule for the regular
update of academic content standards in all subjects for
which standards have been adopted by the SBE. AB 740 is
pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 711 (Santiago, 2015) requires the SBE to adopt World
Languages content standards that are in accordance with the
World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages by June 1,
2017. AB 711 is pending in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
SB 652 (Allen, 2015) delays by one year, until January 31, 2017,
the date by which the SBE is required to consider the
adoption of a revised framework for science. SB 652 is
scheduled to be heard by this Committee on April 29.
PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 1057 (Corbett) requires the SPI to recommended history-social
science content standards to the SBE on or before March 30,
2018, and requires the SBE to adopt, reject, or modify the
history-social science content standards by July 30, 2018.
SUPPORT
American Choral Directors Association
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Alliance for Jazz
California Arts Education Association
California Band Directors Association
California Chapter of the American String Teachers Association
California Chapter of the Educational Theatre Association
California Dance Education Association
California Educational Theatre Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Music Educators Association
California Orchestra Directors Association
California State University, Channel Islands, School of
Education
California Teachers Association
College Park High School Choir Program
El Cerrito High School, Visual Art Department Chair
Livermore High School Theatre
Luna Dance Institute
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Music Association of California Community Colleges
National Association for Music Merchants
Performing Arts Workshop
Quincy Jones Productions
Rancho Bernardo High School Instrumental Music Program
San Diego Music Studio
San Jose City College, Division of Humanities and Social
Science, Director of Dance
San Jose City College, Theatre Arts Department
Southern California Vocal Association
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Numerous individuals
OPPOSITION
None received.
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