BILL NUMBER: AB 2434 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hernandez
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 52240 of , and to add Section 52245
to, the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2434, as amended, Hernandez. Advanced placement program.
Existing
(1) Existing law contains
legislative findings and declarations stating that advanced placement
courses, among other things, help to improve the overall curriculum
at schools where they are provided and provide a cost-effective means
for high school pupils to obtain college-level coursework
experience. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to
provide financial assistance to economically disadvantaged pupils for
the payment of advanced placement examination fees.
This bill would require school districts maintaining any of
grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to offer advanced placement courses in
science and mathematics at each high school that did not offer any
advanced placement courses during the 2011-12 school year, thereby
imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would state the
intent of the Legislature that, if an advanced placement teacher is
not available or if fewer than 10 pupils would be enrolled in any
given advanced placement course, a school district consider
alternative means of providing advanced placement courses. The bill
would authorize these alternative means to include high-quality
online advanced placement courses that meet specified requirements.
The bill also would make technical, nonsubstantive changes in
the provision of legislative intent described
above.
(2)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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52240 of the Education Code is amended to read:
52240. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Advanced placement courses, for which school credit is
awarded, provide rigorous academic coursework opportunities for high
school pupils and help to improve the overall curriculum at schools
where those courses are provided.
(2) The successful completion of advanced placement courses and
the subsequent advanced placement examinations, which are conducted
by the College Entrance Examination Board and for which college
credit is awarded, provide a cost-effective means for high school
pupils to obtain college-level coursework experience.
(3) To the extent that economically disadvantaged pupils are
provided financial assistance to take advanced placement
examinations, they will be provided with successful college-level
experience and be encouraged to pursue postsecondary education
opportunities.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, that certain
state funding that currently is provided to school districts be made
available to provide financial assistance to economically
disadvantaged pupils for the payment of advanced placement
examination fees. It is further the intent of the Legislature that a
competitive grant program also be established for the purpose of
awarding grants to economically disadvantaged pupils to cover the
costs of advanced placement examination fees, thereby creating a
second source of financial assistance for economically disadvantaged
pupils taking advanced placement examinations.
SEC. 2. Section 52245 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
52245. (a) Commencing with the 2012-13 school year, a school
district maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall offer
advanced placement courses in each of the following areas of study at
each high school in the district that did not offer any advanced
placement courses during the 2011-12 school year:
(1) Mathematics.
(2) Science.
(b) If an advanced placement teacher is not available or if fewer
than 10 pupils would be enrolled in any given advanced placement
course, it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts
consider alternative means of providing advanced placement courses.
Alternative means may include, but are not limited to, high-quality
online advanced placement courses.
(c) For purposes of this section, a high-quality online advanced
placement course means a course that meets all of the following
requirements:
(1) The course is approved by the governing board of the school
district, and is certified through board resolution, to meet the
requirements of this section.
(2) The course contains identical subject matter to, and has the
same test schedule as, the classroom-based course.
(3) The course is offered by a high school. A school district
offering an online course may contract with another school district
to provide the online course also to pupils of the other school
district. Contract terms shall be determined by mutual agreement of
the school districts. A school district that provides online advanced
placement courses pursuant to the contract shall contract directly
with the other school district and shall not enter into direct
contracts with the pupils of the other school district.
(4) The course is taught by an instructor who meets the following
requirements:
(A) The instructor is accessible to the pupil on a daily basis to
respond to pupil queries, assign tasks, and dispense information,
though the instructor's interaction with the pupil may be
asynchronous in nature.
(B) The instructor holds the appropriate subject matter
credential.
(C) The instructor concurrently teaches the same course to pupils
in a classroom-based setting in the school district, or did so at any
time within the immediately preceding two-year period.
(d) For purposes of online advanced placement courses offered
pursuant to subdivision (b), all of the following shall apply:
(1) For each participating school, the ratio of full-time
equivalent certificated teachers to pupils shall be substantially
equivalent for online advanced placement courses and classroom-based
advanced placement courses.
(2) Statewide testing results for online advanced placement pupils
shall be reported to the school district in which the pupil is
enrolled for classroom-based courses.
(3) The school district of a schoolsite that offers online
advanced placement courses pursuant to this section shall verify that
pupils take examinations by proctor or that other reliable methods
are used to ensure test integrity.
(4) The school district of a schoolsite that offers online
advanced placement courses pursuant to this section shall ensure that
the same methods of documentation and assessment used to record
pupil work for classroom-based courses are used for online courses.
(5) The school district of a schoolsite that offers online
advanced placement courses pursuant to this section shall maintain
records to verify the time that pupils and instructors spend online
and involved in course-related activities.
(6) A pupil shall not be assigned to an online course advanced
placement pursuant to this section unless he or she voluntarily
elects to participate. Prior to participation, the pupil's parent or
guardian shall provide written consent.
SEC. 3. 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.