BILL NUMBER: AB 572 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 912
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 1997
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 12, 1997
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 1997
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 26, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Caldera
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Campbell and Sweeney)
FEBRUARY 25, 1997
An act to amend Section 33126 of the Education Code, relating to
schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 572, Caldera. School Accountability Report Card.
(1) Under the Classroom Instructional Improvement and
Accountability Act (Proposition 98), in order to promote a model
statewide standard of instructional accountability and conditions for
teaching and learning, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is
required by March 1, 1989, to develop and present to the State Board
of Education for adoption a statewide model school accountability
report card that includes an assessment of specified school
conditions. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to
consult with a Task Force on Instructional Improvement in developing
the statewide model school accountability report card. Under the
act, the governing board of each school district is required to
implement a school accountability report card for each school in the
district that includes the conditions covered in the statewide model
report card.
This bill would eliminate the obsolete requirement that the
Superintendent of Public Instruction develop by March 1, 1989, in
consultation with a Task Force on Instructional Improvement, a
statewide model school accountability report card. The bill would
provide that the school accountability report card shall provide data
by which parents can make meaningful comparisons between public
schools.
The bill would require that the school accountability report card
also include, but not be limited to, the results by grade level from
the assessment tool used by the school district and after it is
developed, the statewide assessment, average verbal and math
Scholastic Assessment Test scores, the one-year dropout rate, the
percentage of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive,
participating in the Class Size Reduction Program, the total number
of the school's credentialed teachers, the annual number of
schooldays dedicated to staff development, and the suspension and
expulsion rates for the most recent 3-year period. The bill, by
adding conditions to the school accountability report card, would
require school districts to modify their school accountability report
cards, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill
would also express the Legislature's intent that schools make a
concerted effort to ensure that parents receive a copy of the
accountability report card, that the accountability report cards are
easy to read and understandable, and that administrators and teachers
are available to answer any questions regarding the report card.
(2) The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability
Act, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend
the act to further the act's purposes with a 2/3 vote of each house.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33126 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33126. (a) The school accountability report card shall provide
data by which parents can make meaningful comparisons between public
schools enabling them to make informed decisions on which school to
enroll their children.
(b) The school accountability report card shall include, but is
not limited to, assessment of the following school conditions:
(1) Pupil achievement in and progress toward meeting reading,
writing, arithmetic, and other academic goals, including results by
grade level from the assessment tool used by the school district
using percentiles when available for the most recent three-year
period. After the state develops a statewide assessment system
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) and Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 60800) of Part 33, the school accountability
report card shall include pupil achievement by grade level, as
measured by the results of the statewide assessment. Secondary
schools with high school seniors shall list both the average verbal
and math Scholastic Assessment Test scores to the extent provided to
the school and the percentage of seniors taking that exam for the
most recent three-year period.
(2) Progress toward reducing dropout rates, including the one-year
dropout rate listed in California Basic Education Data System for
the schoolsite over the most recent three-year period.
(3) Estimated expenditures per pupil and types of services funded.
(4) Progress toward reducing class sizes and teaching loads,
including the distribution of class sizes at the schoolsite by grade
level, the average class size, and the percentage of pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, participating in the Class
Size Reduction Program established pursuant to Chapter 6.10
(commencing with Section 52120) of Part 28, using California Basic
Education Data System information for the most recent three-year
period.
(5) The total number of the school's credentialed teachers, the
number of teachers relying upon emergency credentials, the number of
teachers working without credentials, and any assignment of teachers
outside their subject areas of competence for the most recent
three-year period.
(6) Quality and currency of textbooks and other instructional
materials.
(7) The availability of qualified personnel to provide counseling
and other pupil support services.
(8) Availability of qualified substitute teachers.
(9) Safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities.
(10) Adequacy of teacher evaluations and opportunities for
professional improvement, including the annual number of schooldays
dedicated to staff development for the most recent three-year period.
(11) Classroom discipline and climate for learning, including
suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent three-year period.
(12) Teacher and staff training, and curriculum improvement
programs.
(13) Quality of school instruction and leadership.
(14) The degree to which pupils are prepared to enter the work
force.
(15) The total number of instructional minutes offered in the
school year, separately stated for each grade level, as compared to
the total number of the instructional minutes per school year
required by state law, separately stated for each grade level.
(16) The total number of minimum days, as specified in Sections
46112, 46113, 46117, and 46141, in the school year.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools make a
concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the school
accountability report cards, as described in this section, and ensure
that all parents receive a copy of the report card; to ensure that
the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents; and
to ensure that administrators and teachers are available to answer
any questions regarding the report cards.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers
the purposes of the Classroom Instructional Improvement and
Accountability Act.
SEC. 3. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.