BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 725
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
725 (Hancock) - As Amended July 7, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Pupil instruction and services: visual and performing
arts content standards.
SUMMARY: Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt
revised state content standards in visual and performing arts
(VAPA), if the SBE also adopts a schedule for the regular update
of content standards. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to the importance of
instruction in VAPA.
2)Requires the SBE to adopt visual and performing arts standards
only if the SBE adopts a schedule recommended by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) for the regular
update of academic content standards, pursuant to other
legislation.
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3)Requires that the SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to
convene an academic standards advisory committee for the
purpose of updating standards in the areas of dance, visual
arts, theater, and music.
4)Requires that the committee, in its deliberations, use as the
basis the National Core Arts Standards developed by the
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards.
5)Requires that the advisory committee consist of 21 members,
appointed as follows:
a) Ten members appointed by the Governor
b) Four members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules
c) Four members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
d) Three members appointed by the SPI
1)States that members of an academic content standards advisory
committee serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
2) Requires that not less than one-half of the members appointed
by each of the appointing authorities be current public school
elementary or secondary classroom teachers who have a
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professional credential under state law, and meet the
definition of "highly qualified" under federal law.
3)States the intent of the Legislature that:
a) The Committee include representation from teachers of
different grade level spans, including elementary, middle,
and high school grades.
b) Members of the committee possess a thorough knowledge of
the academic content standards in the content area and
grade level span in which they are appointed.
c) The committee membership reflect the diversity of the
various ethnic groups, types of school districts, and
regions in California.
1)Requires the committee to review the content standards
established in its particular subject matter and prepare
updates to the standards as it deems necessary.
2)Requires that, when making its recommendation, the committee
consider both of the following criteria:
a) The extent to which its proposed updates reflect current
and confirmed research in the subject area under
consideration.
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b) The impact that the proposed updates will have upon
school districts and existing curricula and assessments.
1)Requires the committee to conduct at least two, and no more
than six, in-person meetings that are open to the public and
include opportunities for public input. States that the
committee may convene additional meetings by teleconference or
the Internet.
2)Requires that, upon completing this review, the terms of the
members of the committee cease.
3)Requires that members of an academic content standards
advisory committee serve without compensation, except for
actual and necessary travel expenses and substitute teacher
costs.
4)Requires the committee to recommend the standards to the SBE
by January 31, 2018, which must either adopt the proposed
updates or reject them by July 31, 2018.
5)Requires that, if the SBE rejects the standards it provide a
specific written explanation to the Superintendent, the
Governor, and the Legislature of the reasons why the proposed
standards were rejected.
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6)Requires that, before final action, the California Department
of Education (CDE) post on its website the updates proposed by
the committee for a minimum of 60 days, and requires the CDE
to include a link by which members of the public may submit
comments on the proposed updates.
7)Makes the convening of an advisory committee and the
requirement that the SBE to act on VAPA standards contingent
upon the Legislature appropriating funds for that purpose in
the annual Budget Act.
8)States that nothing in this section shall be construed as
mandating an assessment of pupils in visual or performing
arts.
9)States that this section shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a
later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019,
deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW:
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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 visual and performing arts.
2)States that these standards are intended to provide a
framework for programs that a school may offer in the
instruction of visual or performing arts, 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.
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: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, to the extent the SBE adopts a schedule to regularly
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update content standards, this bill creates costs to the
California Department of Education (CDE) of $1.2 million General
Fund over two years. This estimate includes costs for the
advisory committee as specified in this bill, and for additional
staff (5.7 positions) to support committees and draft the
standards. Updating visual and performing arts content
standards could create a cost pressure in future years to update
corresponding curriculum frameworks, instructional materials,
professional development, and assessments.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author's office,
"California's current visual and performing arts standards were
approved in 2001, and in the past 14 years education has seen a
major shift to problem solving, creativity, critical thinking
and visual learning. Teachers need standards that reflect 21st
Century learning skills. California has creative industries that
represent more than $270 billion in our economy. These design,
entertainment, media, and technology sectors require employees
with present-day visual arts skills and knowledge. SB 725 will
update VAPA standards that are well overdue for modernizing so
that they are connected with both the Common Core State
Standards and the skills needed for the careers of the future."
Should VAPA be next? This bill would have the effect of making
the VAPA standards be the next set of standards to be updated
(if a schedule for the regular updating of standards is adopted
by the SBE).
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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, with future standards shown in italics:
1998: History-Social Science
2001: Visual and Performing Arts
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
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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 "arts educators commonly report
expectations in their districts that arts teaching and learning
practices will be aligned with the goals and objectives of the
Common Core," but 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 standards. The state must also adopt instructional
materials aligned to the 2001 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, or the new framework will reflect outdated standards.
Need for a predictable schedule for school districts and
educators. Unlike state curriculum frameworks, the SBE has no
statutory authority for the updating of content standards. As
demonstrated below, legislation proposing standards updates has
been introduced and has failed in various subjects numerous
times. The result for the field is an unpredictable system of
updating curriculum, which has implications for nearly every
part of the instructional system, including pre-service
preparation, instruction, instructional materials, professional
development, assessment, and evaluation. AB 740 (Weber) of this
Session would require the SBE to adopt a schedule for revising
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the content standards which would provide some consistency and
predictability for the field. The Committee may wish to
consider that this bill has been amended to be consistent with
AB 740, and its implementation is contingent upon a process
which is required by AB 740.
National Core Arts Standards. This bill requires that the
advisory committee, when making recommendations on updates to
the VAPA standards, use the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS)
as the basis for its deliberations.
The NCAS were developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts
Standards and finalized in 2014. 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. According to press reports, three states have adopted
these standards and another ten are considering them for
adoption.
What's different? 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 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
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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."
Media arts. 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.
Trend from state-developed to adoption of
independently-developed standards. When California began
adopting content standards in the 1990's, standards were
developed by individual states. The result was significant
variation among states in what was expected of students.
Beginning with the Common Core State Standards, states have
shifted to the adoption of standards which were developed by
national organizations with input from experts and practitioners
from around the country. This was the case with English
Language Arts and Mathematics (Common Core State Standards,
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developed by the National Governors Association and the Council
of Chief State School Officers), Science (Next Generation
Science Standards, developed by the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Science Teachers Association, and other
organizations), and has been proposed this year for World
Languages (World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages,
developed by a coalition of numerous organizations) and Visual
and Performing Arts (National Core Arts Standards, developed by
the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards). For English
Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, California adopted the
independently-developed standards with minor modifications.
Related legislation this session. 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.
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
content standards review commission, if the SPI and the SBE
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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 Dance Education Association (sponsor)
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California Educational Theatre Association (sponsor)
California Music Educators Association (sponsor)
Drama Teachers Association of Southern California (sponsor)
Association of California School Administrators
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Federation of Teachers
California Orchestra Directors Association
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
California Thespians
Common Sense Kids Action
National Association for Music Merchants
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Quincy Jones Productions
Southern California Vocal Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916)
319-2087