BILL ANALYSIS
SB 232
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Date of Hearing: July 11, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gene Mullin, Chair
SB 232 (Ducheny) - As Amended: June 4, 2007
SENATE VOTE : 24-11
SUBJECT : California Subject Matter Projects
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset on the California Subject Matter
Projects (CSMP) from June 30, 2007 to June 30, 2014.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the establishment and maintenance of Subject
Matter Projects for the purpose of developing and enhancing
teachers' subject matter knowledge in the following six
specified areas: writing, reading and literature, mathematics,
science, history-social science, and world history and
international studies.
2)Requires the Regents of the University of California (UC) with
the approval of an intersegmental Concurrence Committee to
establish and maintain the projects with funds appropriated in
the Budget Act.
3)Authorizes the UC to establish other subject matter projects
and prohibits funds allocated in the Budget Act from being
used for subject matter projects not specified in law.
4)Specifies that the CSMPs become inoperative on June 30, 2007
and are repealed on January 1, 2008.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the Governor's Budget for 2007-08 proposes to
continue funding for the program with $5 million in General Fund
and $4.35 million in federal Title II funds. By extending the
sunset date, this bill creates pressure to continue the existing
funding stream.
COMMENTS : Background . Established by SB 1882 (Morgan/Hart) in
1988 and then reauthorized by AB 1734 (Mazzoni), Chapter 333,
Statutes of 1998, the California Subject Matter Projects are
administered by the UC Regents to provide professional
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development consistent with the state's Academic Content
Standards. The CSMP serves over 800 School districts in close to
100 sites statewide on campuses of the UC, California State
University, and independent colleges and universities.
According to the UC, the projects annually provide training to
over 40,000 teachers, administrators, and university faculty.
Current law authorizes six subject matter projects and this bill
simply extends the authorization for those six projects. The UC
maintains three additional subject matter projects that are not
currently authorized in statute: physical education/health,
foreign languages and the arts. AB 1734 (Mazzoni) made
significant governance and programmatic changes and eliminated
these three projects. AB 1734 also authorized the UC to
establish other CSMPs, with the condition that the new projects
would not receive funding in the annual Budget Act.
Prior related legislation . SB 1073 (Simitian) of 2006,
authorized three additional CSMPs: arts, foreign language, and
physical education/health. This bill was held in Assembly
Appropriations.
SB 611 (Ducheny), Chapter 857, Statutes of 2003, expressed
legislative intent that maintenance-level funding be provided
for projects in academic fields for which there are State Board
of Education (SBE) adopted content standards or in fields that
are seeking standards approval from the SBE.
AB 108 (Mazzoni) of 2000 authorized three additional CSMPs:
arts, foreign language, and physical education/health. Governor
Davis vetoed this bill with the following message:
The UC currently provides support for the arts, foreign
language, and physical education projects. I believe that
highest priority for the use of state funds should be to
support the existing subject matter projects aimed at
improving student academic performance in English,
mathematics, science, and the social sciences.
Arguments in support. According to the California Teachers
Association, "CTA believes meaningful professional development
is essential to help educators more ably address the learning
needs of every student and to help develop, refine and expand
pedagogical repertoire, content knowledge and the skill to
integrate both. Effective staff development is closely tied to
current instructional assignments as well as new state programs
and mandates. The subject matter projects support these goals
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because the trainings offer access to new content knowledge and
instructional techniques, strategies for the implementation of
frameworks, programs or instructional materials and teaching
methods which reflect the latest research."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
California Association of Teachers of English
California Language Teachers Association
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California State University
California Teachers Association
University of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Feusahrens / ED. / (916) 319-2087