BILL ANALYSIS
AB 272
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 272 (Solorio) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
SUBJECT : Teachers: professional development.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Leadership for English Learner Success
Program for administrators and counselors to participate in
professional development related to teaching English learners.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the Leadership for English Learner Success
Program; and, specifies an institution of higher education, a
nonprofit organization specializing in English learner
research or professional development, or a county office of
education with demonstrated success in establishing and
implementing English learner professional development programs
may offer a Leadership for English Learner Success Program for
school administrators or counselors, or both, under contract
or other cooperative arrangement with a school district.
2)Specifies an English Learner Success Program shall not
duplicate but build upon the English learner components of the
Administrator Training Program.
3)Requires the English Learner Success Program to include, but
not be limited to, strategies to enable administrators and
counselors who participate in the program to accomplish all of
the following:
a) Create designated roles and structures for staff with
specific responsibility for the education of English
learners while infusing responsibility for English learners
across roles and structures that are not specific to
English learners.
b) Obtain and maintain active engagement of parents.
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c) Gauge the implications of current planning efforts for
English learners and steps for revision.
4)Requires the English Learner Success Program to provide
administrators and counselors who participate in the program
the knowledge and understanding of all of the following:
a) The following skills that are needed by teachers to
serve English learners:
i) Stages of second language development and the
implications for instruction.
ii) The different types of English learners and the
implications for instruction.
iii) Program options available to English learners.
iv) Strategies to build cultural competencies for all
pupils.
v) Strategies of specially designed academic
instruction in English that provide English learners with
access to grade level curriculum.
vi) Content-specific academic English and strategies for
developing academic English among English learners.
b) Funding resources for English learners and the processes
to obtain funding.
c) Parent rights, parent notifications, program options and
placement, and parent choice.
5)Requires the English Learner Success Program to give
administrators and counselors who participate in the program
approaches for creating mechanisms that ensure good
coordination, consistent focus, and communication across all
departments and aspects of the school; and, requires the
English Learner Success Program to identify and provide tools
designed to gauge gaps in the services and supports provided
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by the district, and in the relationship between district and
sites, that if addressed, would strengthen programs for
English learners.
6)Requires the English Learner Success Program to provide
administrators and counselors tools and support that address,
at least, all of the following:
a) The ability to diagnose barriers to change and identify
opportunities for strengthening English learner
responsiveness in the school.
b) Ways to support improvements in practice and program
design.
c) Ways of inspiring and motivating school personnel for
the purpose of increased responsiveness to the needs of
English learners.
7)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to offer a
Leadership for English Learner Success Program and requires
those districts to provide the following information to
prospective participants:
a) The objectives of the school district in establishing
the project.
b) The process and criteria to be used to select the
program participants.
c) The duration of the program and the number of hours per
week each program participant would be in the program.
d) The courses to be made available to program participants
through the school district and in collaboration with its
contractor.
e) A description of the criteria and manner in which the
program participants will be evaluated upon completion of
the program.
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f) A description of the criteria and manner in which the
program will be evaluated.
g) The proposed expenditures and an outline of proposed
federal, state, or local fund matching requirements.
8)Requires necessary facilities and equipment to be provided by
the school district and the necessary instructional materials
to be provided by the contractor.
9)Requires the program to be implemented with funds from the
School Improvement Grants component of the federal American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act; and, specifies a school
district may use any other appropriate federal or state funds
for this program.
10)Specifies the program shall become inoperative on July 1,
2015; and, shall be repealed as of January 1, 2016.
11)Makes findings and declarations regarding English learners;
specifies good instruction, a comprehensive program, and an
accountable school community must all be in place for English
learner success; and, specifies effective schools are able to
put these ingredients into place because they have
knowledgeable, focused, and strong leadership at the site and
district level and these leaders have built the systems and
supports necessary to create and sustain the services and
programs that pupils need.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Administrator Training Program to provide
training for principals and vice principals at K-12 public
schools which requires incentive grants not to exceed $3,000
per schoolsite administrator; requires the SPI to report to
the Legislature; and, establishes a sunset date of July 1,
2012. (Education Code 44510)
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2)Establishes the Chief Business Officer Training Program to
provide training for chief business or financial officers at
school districts or county offices of education (COE), or
people nominated by school districts or COE's, which requires
incentive grants not to exceed $3,000 per candidate; requires
the SPI to report to the Legislature; and, establishes a
sunset date of July 1, 2009. (Education Code 44518)
3)Establishes the Math and Reading Professional Development
Program to provide teachers, instructional aides and
paraprofessionals who directly assist with classroom
instruction in mathematics and reading with instruction and
training in the areas of mathematics and reading, and includes
training specific to teaching English learners. This program
will sunset on July 1, 2012. (Education Code 99230)
4)Establishes the Professional Development and Program
Improvement Act and declares Legislative intent that
professional development and program improvement centers be
established throughout the state to offer comprehensive
in-service training programs to strengthen the instructional
techniques of classroom teachers in kindergarten and grades 1
through 12 as well as principals and other school
administrators; and specifies, Legislative intent that the
professional development and program improvement centers may
provide staff development activities pursuant to a systematic
assessment of pupil and personnel needs, including needs of
pupils who have not mastered basic reading, writing, and
mathematic skills, improve the teacher's skills in diagnosing
learning disabilities of pupils, and develop corrective
programs of instruction. (Education Code 44631)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill creates the English Learner Success Program
for administrators and counselors to participate in professional
development related to teaching English learners. Currently,
there is not a statewide training program for administrators and
counselors to address the unique learning needs of English
learners. The bill specifies that the program shall be
implemented with funds from the School Improvement Grants
component of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA). The bill further specifies that school districts may
use any other appropriate federal or state funds for this
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program. At this time, it is unclear what restrictions will be
placed on the federal Stimulus funding; whether these federal
funds are an appropriate funding source for this program; or,
what discretion the Legislature will take to utilize those funds
for other programs. The committee should consider whether it is
appropriate to specify the use of federal stimulus funding for
this program.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . According to the US
Department of Education, a $3 billion appropriation will be made
available beginning fall 2009 for Title I School Improvement
grants. Though little guidance has been given to describe the
intended uses for these funds, it does state that "ARRA funds
should be used to improve student achievement and help close the
achievement gap. In addition, the State Fiscal Stabilization
Funds (SFSF) program requires progress on four reforms
authorized under the bipartisan Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 and the America Competes Act of 2007:
a) Making progress toward rigorous college- and
career-ready standards and high-quality assessments that
are valid and reliable for all students, including English
language learners and students with disabilities;
b) Establishing pre-K-to-college-and-career data systems
that track progress and foster continuous improvement;
c) Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and in the
equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all
students, particularly students who are most in need; and,
d) Providing intensive support and effective interventions
for the lowest-performing schools."
It is unclear if the program proposed by this measure will fit
into the defined uses for the federal ARRA funds for school
improvement grants.
Existing Training for Administrators . The bill specifically
states that the training proposed by the measure shall not
duplicate the training provided in the Administrator Training
Program. The existing Administrator Training Program (ATP)
addresses some of the important components in this measure.
According to California Department of Education, the ATP
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provides training in "mastering the use of assessment data from
the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, including
analyzing achievement of specific subgroups including English
language learners and individuals with exceptional needs, and
school management technology to improve pupil performance." The
ATP also provides leadership training to improve the academic
achievement of pupils and training on instructional strategies,
to teach essential content in ways that address the varied
learning needs of pupils, with special emphasis on English
language learners and individuals with exceptional needs.
As a result of the most recent Budget Act, the Administrator
Training Program and the Chief Business Officer (CBO) Training
Program were placed in Tier 3, which means the program funding
was reduced by 19.8%. The total program funding for the
Administrator Training Program for the 2009-10 Budget year was
$3.639 million. In addition to the reduction in funding, these
programs are open to categorical flexibility, which means school
districts can use the funds for any purpose. This means that
districts are not required to offer administrator training or
CBO training and instead can transfer those funds to other
programs. In light of this, is it appropriate to establish a
new categorical training program? Would this new program be
treated differently than the existing training programs that are
given full funding flexibility at the local level, because it
specifies that federal funds are to be used?
According to the author, California's public schools are
annually receiving millions of school-aged immigrants from
abroad, creating mosaic of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural
identification. Many of these students come from households
where English is not the primary language. As such, educators
must assure that these students achieve the standards set for
all students in California, while learning English
simultaneously. Many schools' programs for English learners are
not research-based nor have the adequate resources to help their
students overcome language barriers. The current preparation
and professional development required by law of school
administrators may not provide sufficient exposure to the range
of new and innovative strategies and techniques necessary to
strengthen their ability to effectively and efficiently lead an
organization and build the capacity of staff to enhance the
academic performance of English learners.
According to an EdSource Research Brief titled, Similar English
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Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do
Better?, "Principal leadership in the context of
accountability-driven reform is being redefined to focus on
effective management of the school improvement process. In
general, English learner (EL) Academic Performance Index (API)
scores were higher in schools with principals whose responses
indicate that they act as managers of school improvement,
driving the reform process, cultivating the school vision, and
using student assessment data to focus on school improvement,
including evaluation of teacher practice and assistance to
struggling students. They also report implementing
instructional programs to address the needs of EL students."
According to The Education Trust, "Counselors who serve their
students as advocates and change agents ensure educational
equity for all their students. They can do this by practicing
in collaborative ways with other professionals in the school
building to influence system-wide changes. These changes impact
whole schools as well as individual students and can have a
profound impact on student achievement if school counselors:
1)Influence attitudes and beliefs regarding all groups of
students' abilities to achieve high standards;
2)Improve access and success in rigorous academic courses for
underrepresented students;
3)Provide attention to equity, access, instructional programs
and support services;
4)Manage resources designed to improve the learning success for
students experiencing difficulty with rigorous academic
programs;
5)Develop high aspirations in students rather than just
attending to aspirations as they emerge; and,
6)Influence systemic change so that practices and procedures
support student achievement for all groups of students."
Committee Amendments : This bill creates a new professional
development program and proposes a sunset date of July 1, 2015,
but does not propose an evaluation of the program. Generally,
pilot programs that include a sunset date also include an
evaluation component so that the Legislature will have the
information needed to access whether or not to extend the sunset
date in the future. Staff recommends the bill be amended to
include an evaluation of the program due to the Legislature by
November 1, 2013.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
California Language Teachers Association (Previous Version)
Californians Together
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087