BILL NUMBER: SB 247 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alquist
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Section 60119 60422
of the Education Code, relating to electronic instructional
materials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 247, as amended, Alquist. Electronic instructional materials.
Pursuant to existing law, the Pupil Textbook and Instructional
Materials Incentive Program Act, county offices of education may be
eligible to use specified funds, if it is determined that there are
insufficient textbooks or instructional materials for pupils in each
school in the district, to take any action to ensure that each pupil
has sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, within
two months of the beginning of the school year in which the
determination is made. For purposes of these provisions, existing law
defines "sufficient textbooks or instructional materials" to mean
that each pupil has a standards-aligned textbook or instructional
materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.
Existing law, the Instructional Materials Funding
Realignment Program, provides for funds to be apportioned to school
districts based upon enrollment to ensure that each pupil is provided
with a standards-aligned textbook or basic instructional materials,
as adopted by the State Board of Education subsequent to the adoption
of content standards, or as adopted by the local governing board,
for grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
This bill would provide that a local governing board may use
funding received pursuant to these provisions to purchase state-
adopted instructional materials may be
provided to pupils in an electronic
form if sufficient textbooks or instructional materials have been
made available to each pupil, as required format if it
provides each pupil with the state-adopted instructional materials
in an electronic format to use in class and to take home, and if the
materials are accessible in their entirety at all times .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60422 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
60422. (a) A local governing board shall use funding received
pursuant to this chapter to ensure that each pupil is provided with a
standards-aligned textbook or basic instructional materials, as
adopted by the State Board of Education subsequent to the adoption of
content standards pursuant to Section 60605 for kindergarten and
grades 1 to 8, inclusive, or as adopted by the local governing board
pursuant to Sections 60400 and 60411, for grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
Pupils shall be provided with standards-aligned textbooks or basic
instructional materials by the beginning of the first school term
that commences no later than 24 months after those materials were
adopted by the State Board of Education.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local governing
board may use funding received pursuant to this chapter to purchase
state-adopted instructional materials in an electronic format, if it
provides each pupil with the state-adopted instructional materials in
an electronic format to use in class and at home, and if the
state-adopted instructional materials in an electronic format are
accessible in their entirety at all times.
(b)
(c) Once a governing board certifies compliance with
subdivision (a) with regard to standards-aligned instructional
materials in the core curriculum areas of reading/language arts,
mathematics, science, and history/social sciences, and if the
governing board of a school district has met the eligibility
requirements of Section 60119, the remaining funds may only be used
consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 60242 and pursuant to
Section 60242.5.
(c)
(d) The State Board of Education may grant the school
district additional time to meet the purchasing requirements of
subdivision (a) if the governing board of the school district
demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the state board, that all of the
following criteria apply to the district:
(1) The school district has implemented a well-designed,
standards-aligned basic instructional materials program.
(2) The school district, at the time of its request for additional
time pursuant to this subdivision, has sufficient textbooks or basic
instructional materials for use by each pupil.
(3) The school district has adopted a plan for the purchase of
standards-aligned instructional materials in accordance with
subdivision (a) but that plan indicated an alternative date for
compliance that is declared in the request for additional time.
(d)
(e) The funds provided for the purchase of
instructional materials in Schedules 1 and 2 of Item 6110-189-0001
and paragraph 6 of Item 6110-485 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2002 shall be used for the purposes of, and allocated consistent
with, this chapter.
SECTION 1. Section 60119 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
60119. (a) In order to be eligible to receive funds available for
the purposes of this article, the governing board of a school
district shall take the following actions:
(1) (A) The governing board shall hold a public hearing or
hearings at which the governing board shall encourage participation
by parents, teachers, members of the community interested in the
affairs of the school district, and bargaining unit leaders, and
shall make a determination, through a resolution, as to whether each
pupil in each school in the district has sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials, or both, that are aligned to the content
standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605 in each of the following
subjects, as appropriate, that are consistent with the content and
cycles of the curriculum framework adopted by the state board:
(i) Mathematics.
(ii) Science.
(iii) History-social science.
(iv) English/language arts, including the English language
development component of an adopted program.
(B) The public hearing shall take place on or before the end of
the eighth week from the first day pupils attend school for that
year. A school district that operates schools on a multitrack,
year-round calendar shall hold the hearing on or before the end of
the eighth week from the first day pupils attend school for that year
on any tracks that begin a school year in August or September. For
purposes of the 2004-05 fiscal year only, the governing board of a
school district shall make a diligent effort to hold a public hearing
pursuant to this section on or before December 1, 2004.
(C) As part of the hearing required pursuant to this section, the
governing board shall also make a written determination as to whether
each pupil enrolled in a foreign language or health course has
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials that are consistent
with the content and cycles of the curriculum frameworks adopted by
the state board for those subjects. The governing board shall also
determine the availability of laboratory science equipment as
applicable to science laboratory courses offered in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive. The provision of the textbooks, instructional materials,
or science equipment specified in this subparagraph is not a
condition of receipt of funds provided by this subdivision.
(2) (A) If the governing board determines that there are
insufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, the
governing board shall provide information to classroom teachers and
to the public setting forth, in the resolution, for each school in
which an insufficiency exists, the percentage of pupils who lack
sufficient standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials in
each subject area and the reasons that each pupil does not have
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, and take
any action, except an action that would require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates, to ensure that each pupil has
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, within two
months of the beginning of the school year in which the determination
is made.
(B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the governing board may use
money in any of the following funds:
(i) Any funds available for textbooks or instructional materials,
or both, from categorical programs, including any funds allocated to
school districts that have been appropriated in the annual Budget
Act.
(ii) Any funds of the school district that are in excess of the
amount available for each pupil during the prior fiscal year to
purchase textbooks or instructional materials, or both.
(iii) Any other funds available to the school district for
textbooks or instructional materials, or both.
(b) The governing board shall provide 10 days' notice of the
public hearing or hearings set forth in subdivision (a). The notice
shall contain the time, place, and purpose of the hearing and shall
be posted in three public places in the school district. The hearing
shall be held at a time that will encourage the attendance of
teachers and parents and guardians of pupils who attend the schools
in the district and shall not take place during or immediately
following school hours.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, "sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials" means that each pupil, including English
learners, has a standards-aligned textbook or instructional
materials, or both, to use in class and to take home. This paragraph
does not require two sets of textbooks or instructional materials for
each pupil.
(2) Sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as defined in
paragraph (1), does not include photocopied sheets from only a
portion of a textbook or instructional materials copied to address a
shortage.
(3) Instructional materials may be provided to pupils in
electronic form, including, but not limited to, compact disks, if
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, as defined in
paragraph (1), have been made available to each pupil, as required.
(d) Except for purposes of Section 60252, governing boards of
school districts that receive funds for instructional materials from
any state source, are subject to the requirements of this section
only in a fiscal year in which the Superintendent determines that the
base revenue limit for each school district will increase by at
least 1 percent per unit of average daily attendance from the prior
fiscal year.