BILL ANALYSIS
AB 482
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 482 (Mendoza) - As Amended: April 22, 2009
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:8-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Board of Education (SBE), by
December 31, 2013, to revise the reading/language arts (RLA)
curriculum framework to include a basic comprehensive English
language literacy program for English learners (ELs) that shall
be referred to as the English Language Literacy Program for ELs
(ELLP). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the ELLP to be a stand-alone program that
simultaneously develops listening, speaking, reading, and
writing skills in the English language and academic content
standards. This measure further requires the program to be
aligned to both the English/language arts (ELA) content
standards and the English Language Development (ELD)
Standards.
2)Requires the program criteria to be included in the revised
RLA framework and include the ELLP. This measure further
establishes timelines for evaluation criteria and instructions
for publishers as part of the revised RLA framework.
3)Requires the instructional materials (IM) adopted by the SBE
and based on the revised RLA curriculum framework to be placed
on the list of basic RLA IM, as specified.
4)Requires the SBE, beginning with the 2010 follow-up adoption
of RLA/ELD IM and each adoption thereafter, to assure and
document that the panels for the instructional materials and
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content review has a membership in which 50% of the members
have: (a) expertise and experience teaching ELD; (b) training
on validating the alignment of the ELA and ELD standards with
IM; and (c) training on research- based attributes of
high-quality ELD instruction.
5)Requires 75% of the panel that reviews and evaluates reading
intervention materials written specifically for EL pupils to
be individuals who meet the following criteria: (a) possess
expertise and have experience working with EL pupils in grades
4-8 and (b) have been trained on research based attributes of
reading intervention instruction for EL pupils.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor absorbable GF administrative costs to the SBE to revise
the RLA Curriculum Framework during the next revision cycle.
The SBE, in conjunction with the State Department of Education
(SDE) and the Curriculum Commission, can conduct this work
within its normal course of developing the framework.
2)Potential increased GF cost pressure, likely in excess of
$150,000, if the SBE determines that the number of individuals
serving on the panels that review and evaluate RLA IM must
increase in order to maintain past years' make-up of
individuals with specified expertise, as specified.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Current law requires the SBE to adopt basic
instructional materials (IM) in ELA every six years for use in
grades K-8. It is also required to adopt statewide
academically rigorous content standards in the core curriculum
areas, including RLA. These content standards are implemented
through the curriculum frameworks, as adopted by SBE. The
adopted IM must be consistent with the criteria and standards
of quality prescribed in the adopted curriculum frameworks.
Also, the governing board of each school district maintaining
one or more high schools is authorized to adopt IM for use in
the high schools (grades 9-12) under its control.
Many individuals contend that California's current adoption
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process for IM does not provide enough options to school
districts, particularly for EL pupils. Likewise, they argue
that the process for developing the RLA curriculum framework,
which includes the review panels, does not possess expertise
or practical experience in teaching EL pupils. The author
argues that these issues lead to sub par IM adopted to meet
the needs of EL pupils. The author further argues that the
SBE has failed to adopt a basic program that simultaneously
accounts for the needs of students learning a second language
at the same time they are learning academic content.
In 2006, several legislators submitted comments and
suggestions about the frameworks and criteria first to the
Curriculum Commission and then to the SBE for their
consideration. Over the course of three months, several
legislators and their staffs held a series of meetings with
the SBE, the SDE, and education advocates to work on
modifications to the proposed 2007 RLA framework and criteria,
including using a program similar to the ELLP as a basic
program option. This bill requires the SBE to revise the RLA
curriculum framework to include a basic instructional literacy
program for EL pupils that enables them to learn English and
academic content at the same time, as specified. It also
requires the IM review panels to include a minimum number of
individuals with expertise in educating EL pupils, as
specified.
2)The RLA Curriculum Framework , adopted by the SBE in July 2006,
is the blueprint for implementing the RLA academic standards.
It is the primary document publishers utilize to develop RLA
IM. According to the SBE, this framework is significantly
different with respect to teaching ELL pupils from the one
used for the 2002 RLA adoption. For example, the current
framework provides criteria for the development of a basic IM
program for grades K-8 that requires 60 minutes of ELD
instruction embedded in the basic RLA program. In contrast,
the 2002 framework provided for the development of a
supplemental ELD program that was to be used by teachers after
instruction in the basic RLA program.
The SBE recently adopted IM for RLA that will be used in
schools until 2015, including a basic IM program with ELD.
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Even with these improvements, supporters of this measure argue
that these modifications do not provide for the simultaneous
instruction of language acquisition and academic content. This
bill would require the RLA Curriculum Framework to provide a
basic program that accomplishes this goal. The next primary
adoption of RLA IM is 2015 with the framework scheduled for
completion in 2013.
3)EL pupils in California . According to the SDE, there were 1.6
million EL pupils (25%) enrolled public schools in 2007-08.
Of these children, 1.3 million (85%) speak Spanish and 34,712
(2.2%) speak Vietnamese. Also, 204,020 (66%) teachers
provided services to EL pupils during this time.
4)Previous legislation . AB 2135 (Mendoza), which is similar to
this measure, was vetoed in September 2008, with the following
message:
"I vetoed similar legislation in 2006 and am concerned that
this bill circumvents the decision by the State Board of
Education on this issue. The State Board thoroughly vetted the
issue in its deliberations and this measure contradicts that
decision."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081