BILL NUMBER: AB 1086 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 286
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 18, 1997
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 18, 1997
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 1997
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 7, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 21, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 8, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 5, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Mazzoni, Baldwin, and Pacheco
(Coauthor: Senator Hughes)
FEBRUARY 27, 1997
An act to amend Sections 44755 and 44757 of, to amend the heading
of Chapter 3.45 (commencing with Section 44755) of Part 25 of, to add
Sections 44757.1, 44757.2, 44757.3, 44757.4, and 44757.5 to, to add
and repeal Chapter 3.46 (commencing with Section 44758) of Part 25
of, and to repeal Section 44756 of, the Education Code, relating to
education, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1086, Mazzoni. Reading instruction.
Existing law establishes a program to provide each certificated
teacher of pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3,
inclusive, with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively
teach pupils to read. The State Department of Education is required
to allocate funds appropriated for that program to each school
district on the basis of an equal amount per pupil in enrollment
statewide in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, as of October
1996. As a condition to receiving funds for that program, each
school district must certify, among other things, that not less than
90% of its certificated employees who provide direct instructional
services to pupils enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3,
inclusive, have received specified in-service training and that funds
will be spent by the school district only for the purposes of
providing in-service training in reading instruction in the 1996-97
school year.
This bill would repeal most of the existing conditions to receive
funding and replace those conditions with new conditions that would
include, that funds received pursuant to the program shall be
expended only for the purposes of providing programs of in-service
training in reading instruction that consist of, and are limited to,
specified subjects, as defined, that all teachers of pupils in those
grades have received or will receive the training to the extent
feasible, as specified, and that funds received for these purposes
shall be spent only for programs of in-service training that do not
cause a reduction in pupil instructional time and that do not include
teacher release time. The bill would delete the limitation of
expenditure of funds to the 1996-97 school year.
This bill would also establish a teacher reading instruction
development program for grades 4 to 8, inclusive. The bill would
require that funds received pursuant to the program shall be expended
only for the purposes of providing programs of in-service training
in reading instruction that consist of, and are limited to, specified
subjects, as defined, that all teachers of pupils in those grades
have received or will receive the training to the extent feasible, as
specified, and that funds received for these purposes be spent only
for programs of in-service training that do not cause a reduction in
pupil instructional time and that do not include teacher release
time.
The bill would require the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, to develop
a list of approved contract providers of in-service training in
reading instruction and would require the State Department of
Education to provide staff support to the board in carrying out these
responsibilities. The bill would require that any person or entity
that seeks to appear on the list of providers of in-service training
in reading instruction to submit an application, as specified. The
bill would require the board to establish criteria for the approval
of providers of in-service training in reading instruction. The bill
would authorize a school district to provide in-service training in
reading instruction to its employees using its own current or former
employees as instructors if certain conditions are met. The bill
would require each school district that receives funding pursuant to
these provisions and provides instruction in departmentalized classes
for pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, to designate those teachers
in each school and at each grade level who are responsible for
teaching reading to pupils who have reading deficiencies, or who
provide direct instructional services to pupils in reading.
The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
administer the grant application process and would provide that the
minimum grant awarded shall be for no less than $1,000 and the
maximum grant awarded to a school district shall not exceed twice the
total amount of funding provided for the purposes of this program in
any fiscal year divided by the number of pupils enrolled statewide
in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, in that fiscal year, multiplied by the
number of pupils enrolled in the school district in those grades.
The bill would provide that the provisions relating to the teacher
reading instruction development program for grades 4 to 8,
inclusive, would become inoperative on June 30, 2005, and, as of
January 1, 2006, would be repealed.
The bill would provide that up to $150,000 of the Goals 2000 funds
allocated in the Budget Act of 1997 to the State Department of
Education for state operations may be encumbered by the State
Department of Education to administer the bill, thereby making an
appropriation.
The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 3.45 (commencing with Section
44755) of Part 25 of the Education Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER 3.45. TEACHER READING INSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
KINDERGARTEN AND GRADES 1 TO 3, INCLUSIVE
SEC. 2. Section 44755 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44755. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that at least 90
percent of the certificated teachers of pupils enrolled in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, possess the knowledge and
skills to effectively teach pupils to read.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
(2) "School district" means school districts and county offices of
education.
SEC. 3. Section 44756 of the Education Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 44757 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44757. A school district shall certify to the State Department of
Education all of the following, as a condition to receiving funding
pursuant to this chapter:
(a) That funds received pursuant to this chapter shall be spent by
school districts only for the purpose of providing in-service
training in reading instruction to certificated employees who provide
direct instructional services to pupils enrolled in kindergarten or
any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, and to schoolsite administrators.
(b) That funds received pursuant to this chapter for teachers of
pupils enrolled in kindergarten and any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive,
shall be expended only for the purpose of providing programs of
in-service training in reading instruction that consist of, and are
not limited to, all of the following subjects:
(1) Phoneme awareness instruction.
(2) Systematic explicit phonics instruction.
(3) Decoding instruction and the diagnosis of a pupil's ability to
decode.
(4) Word-attack skills instruction.
(5) Spelling and vocabulary instruction.
(6) Explicit instruction of comprehension skills.
(7) Research on how reading skills are acquired.
(8) Effective integration of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing.
(9) Effective classroom and schoolwide interventions for
low-performing readers.
(10) Ways to promote extensive, self-selected independent reading.
(11) Effective reading instruction for English language learners.
(12) Planning and delivery of appropriate reading instruction
based on assessment and evaluation.
(c) To the extent feasible with available funds, that all teachers
of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, have
received or will receive the training provided pursuant to this
chapter.
(d) That funds received by school districts for the purposes of
this chapter that are expended for contract providers of training
shall be spent only for providers of in-service training that have
been approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
44757.1.
(e) That a school district using its own employees to provide the
training described in subdivision (b) to its own employees meets the
requirements of Section 44757.2.
(f) That funds received for the purposes of this chapter shall be
spent only for programs of in-service training that do not cause a
reduction in pupil instructional time.
SEC. 5. Section 44757.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44757.1. (a) The State Board of Education, in consultation with
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall develop a list of
contract providers of in-service training in reading instruction that
have been approved by the board pursuant to this section. The State
Department of Education shall provide staff support to the board in
carrying out its responsibilities pursuant to this section.
(b) Any person, or public, private, or private nonprofit entity,
that seeks to appear on the list of providers of in-service training
in reading instruction that may be hired by a school district
pursuant to this chapter, shall submit an application to the board
that includes the curricula of the program to provide the training
described in all components of subdivision (b) of Section 44757, in
the time and manner required by the board. The board shall approve
or disapprove all applications within 45 working days of receipt of
the application. The board shall state the reasons for disapproving
any application received pursuant to this paragraph and any decision
of the board shall be based exclusively upon the criteria published
pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c) The board shall establish criteria for the approval of
providers of in-service training in reading instruction that meet the
requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 44757.
(d) The board shall maintain, update regularly, and make available
to school districts through print and electronic media a list of
providers of in-service training in reading instruction that have
been approved by the board pursuant to this section.
(e) The board may audit and study the effectiveness of any program
of in-service training provided pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 6. Section 44757.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44757.2. A school district may provide in-service training in
reading instruction to its employees using its own current employees
or former employees, or both, as instructors pursuant to this chapter
provided that both of the following conditions are met:
(a) The program of in-service training meets the requirements of
all components of subdivision (b) of Section 44757 and the district
has incorporated into its program the appropriate and relevant
materials developed pursuant to Chapter 15 (commencing with Section
53000) of Part 28.
(b) The program of in-service training meets the requirements of
subdivisions (a), (c), (e), and (f) of Section 44757.
SEC. 7. Section 44757.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44757.3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
administer the grant application process. School district
applications shall include the following:
(a) Certification by the governing board that the requirements of
Section 44757 or 44757.2, or both, as appropriate, shall be met.
(b) Certification by the governing board of the school district
that the district is implementing a balanced, comprehensive reading
instruction program.
(c) A description of how the school district shall address the
following:
(1) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of staff development days authorized
pursuant to Section 44670.6.
(2) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of funds available from other state and
federal sources.
(3) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of training provided by publishers that
address the subjects contained in subdivision (b) of Section 44757.
(4) Involvement of the parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in
the school district.
(5) Ensuring that teachers are provided time to collaborate,
discuss, and reflect on, and to the degree possible, be coached on
classroom implementation of what has been provided in staff
development sessions.
(6) Ensuring that implementation of training and pupil results
relative to grade-level standards in reading are monitored to ensure
a positive impact of the training.
SEC. 8. Section 44757.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44757.4. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall award
grants to school districts only for the highest quality proposals
that demonstrate a clear understanding of a balanced, comprehensive
reading instruction program based on current and confirmed research.
(b) A school district shall propose a project budget to carry out
the proposed reading staff development. The minimum grant awarded
shall be for no less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and the
maximum grant awarded to a school district shall not exceed twice the
product of the following:
(1) The total amount of funding provided in the annual Budget Act
or in any other act for the purposes of this chapter in any fiscal
year divided by the number of pupils enrolled statewide in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, in that fiscal year.
(2) The number of pupils enrolled in the school district in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.
(c) For purposes of this section, enrollment shall be the
enrollment determined in October of the fiscal year for which the
funds are appropriated.
SEC. 9. Section 44757.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44757.5. For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions apply:
(a) "Phoneme awareness instruction" means teaching awareness of
words, syllables, and phonemes along a developmental progression, and
includes rhyming, recognition and production, blending and matching
of phonemes, and segmentation, and substitution.
(b) "Systematic explicit phonics instruction" means an organized,
sequential program in which letter-sound correspondence for letters
and letter clusters are directly taught and blended, practiced in
words, word lists, and word families, and practiced in "decodable
text." "Decodable text" means reading material in which a high
percentage of words are linked to phonics lessons. Systematic
explicit phonics instruction builds from basic elements to complex
patterns and teachers provide prompt and explicit feedback.
Systematic explicit phonics instruction does not mean "embedded
phonics instruction" which is ad hoc instruction in phonics based on
a random selection of sound and word elements.
(c) "Decoding instruction" means teaching how to read printed
words fluently and automatically, from simple letter combinations to
more complex, multisyllabic combinations through the use of connected
or practice text.
(d) "Diagnosis of a pupil's ability to decode" means regularly
assessing the pupil's mastery of word recognition, fluency and
automaticity, and word analysis in order to plan future instructional
activities.
(e) "Explicit instruction" means systematic teaching of skills.
(f) "Spelling instruction" means teaching a logical scope and
sequence of word knowledge, orthographic patterns, and frequently
used words connected to the phonics sequence used in reading and
writing instruction.
(g) "Word-attack skills instruction" means direct instruction of
decoding skills and of structural elements, including prefixes,
suffixes, and roots.
(h) "Vocabulary instruction" means teaching word meanings.
(i) "Instruction of comprehension skills" means systematic
teaching of vocabulary development, text organization, and syntactic
patterns, including, but not limited to, strategies for
interpretation, summarization, prediction, clarification, and
question generation.
(j) "Research on how reading skills are acquired" means research
that is current and confirmed with generalizable and replicable
results. "Current" research is research that has been conducted and
is reported in a manner consistent with contemporary standards of
scientific investigation. "Confirmed" research is research that has
been replicated and the results duplicated. "Replicable" research is
research with a structure and design that can be reproduced.
"Generalizable" research is research in which samples have been used
so that the results can be said to be true for the population from
which the sample was drawn.
SEC. 10. Chapter 3.46 (commencing with Section 44758) is added to
Part 25 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 3.46. TEACHER READING INSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
GRADES 4 TO 8, INCLUSIVE
44758. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that at least 90
percent of the certificated employees who provide direct
instructional services to pupils enrolled in grades 4 to 8,
inclusive, in reading or English-language arts possess the knowledge
and skills necessary to effectively teach pupils to read.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
(2) "School districts" means school districts and county offices
of education.
44759. As a condition to receiving funds pursuant to this
chapter, a school district shall certify to the State Department of
Education all of the following:
(a) That funds received pursuant to this chapter are expended only
for the purpose of providing in-service training in reading
instruction to certificated employees who provide direct
instructional services in reading or English-language arts to pupils
enrolled in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, and to schoolsite
administrators.
(b) To the extent feasible with available funds, that all teachers
of pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, who teach in self-contained
classes, and the teachers designated pursuant to Section 44759.3,
have received or will receive the training provided pursuant to this
chapter.
(c) That funds received by school districts for the purposes of
this chapter that are expended for contract providers of training
shall be spent only for providers of in-service training that have
been approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
44759.1.
(d) That a school district using its own current or former
employees, or both, to provide the training described in subdivision
(e) to its own employees meets the requirements of Section 44759.2.
(e) That funds received pursuant to this chapter for in-service
training of certificated employees who provide direct instructional
services in reading English-language arts to pupils enrolled in any
of grades 4 to 8, inclusive, shall be expended only for the purpose
of providing programs of in-service training in reading instruction
that consist of, and are not limited to, all of the following
subjects:
(1) Word-attack skills instruction.
(2) Spelling and vocabulary instruction.
(3) Explicit instruction of comprehension skills.
(4) Research on how reading skills are acquired.
(5) Text-handling and strategic reading strategies for text use
across the curriculum for a variety of purposes.
(6) Ways to promote extensive, independent self-selected reading
of a variety of genres for a variety of purposes, including both
fiction and nonfiction texts.
(7) The effective integration of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing.
(8) Effective classroom and schoolwide interventions for
low-performing readers.
(9) Effective reading instruction for English-language learners.
(10) Planning and delivery of appropriate reading instruction
based on assessment and evaluation.
(f) That funds received for the purposes of this chapter shall be
spent only for programs of in-service training that do not cause a
reduction in pupil instructional time.
44759.1. (a) The State Board of Education, in consultation with
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, shall develop a list of
contract providers of in-service training in reading instruction that
have been approved by the board pursuant to this section. The State
Department of Education shall provide staff support to the board in
carrying out its responsibilities pursuant to this section.
(b) Any person, or public, private, or private nonprofit entity,
that seeks to appear on the list of providers of in-service training
in reading instruction that may be hired by a school district
pursuant to this chapter, shall submit an application to the board
that includes the curricula of the program to provide the training
described in all components of subdivision (e) of Section 44759, in
the time and manner required by the board. The board shall approve
or disapprove all applications within 45 working days of receipt of
the application. The board shall state the reasons for disapproving
any application received pursuant to this paragraph and any decision
of the board shall be based exclusively upon the criteria published
pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c) The board shall establish criteria for the approval of
providers of in-service training in reading instruction that meet the
requirements of subdivision (e) of Section 44759.
(d) The board shall maintain, update regularly, and make available
to school districts through print and electronic media a list of
providers of in-service training in reading instruction that have
been approved by the board pursuant to this section.
(e) The board may audit and study the effectiveness of any program
of in-service training provided pursuant to this chapter.
44759.2. A school district may provide in-service training in
reading instruction to its employees using its own employees as
instructors pursuant to this chapter provided that both of the
following conditions are met:
(a) The program of in-service training meets the requirements of
all components of subdivision (e) of Section 44759 and the district
has incorporated into its program the appropriate and relevant
materials developed pursuant to Chapter 15 (commencing with Section
53000) of Part 28.
(b) The program of in-service training meets the requirements of
subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (f) of Section 44759.
44759.3. Each school district that receives funds pursuant to
this chapter and provides instruction in departmentalized classes for
pupils in any of grades 4 to 8, inclusive, shall designate those
teachers in each school and at each grade level who are responsible
for teaching reading to pupils who have reading deficiencies, or who
provide direct instructional services to pupils in reading.
44759.4. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
administer the grant application process. School district
applications shall include the following:
(a) Certification by the governing board of the school district
that the requirements of Section 44759 or 44759.2, or both as
appropriate, and Section 44759.3 shall be met.
(b) A description of how the school district shall address the
following:
(1) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of staff development days authorized
pursuant to Section 44670.6.
(2) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of funds available from other state and
federal sources.
(3) Augmentation of resources for reading instruction staff
development through the use of training provided by publishers that
address the subjects contained in subdivision (e) of Section 44759.
(4) Involvement of the parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in
the school district.
(5) Ensuring that teachers are provided time to collaborate,
discuss, and reflect on, and to the degree possible, be coached on
the classroom implementation of what has been provided in staff
development sessions.
(6) Ensuring that implementation of training and pupil results
relative to grade-level standards in reading are monitored to ensure
a positive impact of the training.
44759.5. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall award
grants to school districts only for the highest quality proposals
that demonstrate a clear understanding of a balanced, comprehensive
reading instruction program based on current and confirmed research.
(b) A school district shall propose a project budget to carry out
the proposed reading staff development. The minimum grant awarded
shall be for no less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and the
maximum grant awarded to a school district shall not exceed twice the
product of the following:
(1) The total funding provided in the annual Budget Act or in any
other act for the purposes of this chapter in any fiscal year divided
by the number of pupils enrolled statewide in grades 4 to 8,
inclusive, in that fiscal year.
(2) The number of pupils enrolled in the school district in grades
4 to 8, inclusive.
(c) For purposes of this section, enrollment shall be the
enrollment determined in October of the fiscal year for which the
funds are appropriated.
44759.6. For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Word-attack skills instruction" means direct instruction of
decoding skills and of structural elements, including prefixes,
suffixes, and roots.
(b) "Explicit instruction" means systematic teaching skills.
(c) "Spelling instruction" means teaching a logical scope and
sequence of word knowledge, orthographic patterns, and frequently
used words connected to the phonics sequence used in reading and
writing instruction.
(d) "Vocabulary instruction" means teaching word meanings.
(e) "Instruction of comprehension skills" means systematic
teaching of vocabulary development, text organization, and syntactic
patterns, including, but not limited to, strategies for
interpretation, summarization, prediction, clarification, and
question generation.
(f) "Research on how reading skills are acquired" means research
that is current and confirmed with generalizable and replicable
results. "Current" research is research that has been conducted and
is reported in a manner consistent with contemporary standards of
scientific investigation. "Confirmed" research is research that has
been replicated and the results duplicated. "Replicable" research is
research with a structure and design that can be reproduced.
"Generalizable" research is research in which samples have been used
so that the results can be said to be true for the population from
which the sample was drawn.
44759.7. This chapter shall become inoperative on June 30, 2005,
and, as of January 1, 2006, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2006, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.
SEC. 11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, up to one
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) of the Goals 2000 funds
allocated in the Budget Act of 1997 to the State Department of
Education for state operations may be encumbered by the State
Department of Education to administer this act.
SEC. 12. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide training for teachers of reading so that
pupils may attain maximum achievement during the 1997-98 school year,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.