BILL NUMBER: SB 253 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wyland
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Section 60642.5 of the Education Code,
relating to pupil assessment. An act to add Section
52377.5 to the Education Code, relating to career technical
education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 253, as amended, Wyland. Pupil assessment: STAR
testing. Career technical education: recognition
certificates.
Existing law authorizes a school district to issue diplomas or
certificates evidencing the completion of a prescribed course of
study following a pupil's satisfactory completion of that course of
study.
This bill would authorize a school district or county office of
education to offer a pupil a career technical education certificate
if the pupil meets specified requirements, including completion of 4
technical education courses, a structured work-based learning
experience, and a related culminating project. The bill would
prohibit the award of a career technical education certificate
awarded under the bill from being construed as equivalent to the
award of a high school diploma or as a change to the statutory
curriculum or compulsory education requirements.
The Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to design and
implement a statewide pupil assessment program, known as the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.
This bill would require that any reading selection that is used as
part of the assessment instruments administered under the STAR
Program relate to American history.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 52377.5 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
52377.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school
district or county office of education may award a pupil a career
technical education certificate if all of the following requirements
are met:
(1) The pupil has satisfactorily completed four career technical
education courses.
(2) The pupil has satisfactorily participated in a structured
work-based learning experience related to the career technical
education courses.
(3) The pupil has satisfactorily completed a culminating project
related to the career technical education courses.
(b) The award of a career technical education certificate under
this section shall in no way be construed as equivalent to the award
of a high school diploma or as a change to the requirements of
Section 48200 or 51228.
SECTION 1. Section 60642.5 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
60642.5. (a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall provide for the development of an assessment instrument,
to be called the California Standards Tests, that measures the
degree to which pupils are achieving the academically rigorous
content standards and performance standards, to the extent standards
have been adopted by the state board.
(b) These standards-based achievement tests shall contain the
subject areas specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 60603 for grades 2 to 8, inclusive, and shall include an
assessment in history/social science in at least one elementary or
middle school grade level selected by the state board and science in
at least one elementary or middle school grade level selected by the
state board, and the core curriculum areas specified in paragraph (5)
of subdivision (a) of Section 60603 for grades 9 to 11, inclusive,
except that history-social science shall not be included in the grade
9 assessment unless the state board adopts academic content
standards for a grade 9 history-social science course, and shall
include, at a minimum, a direct writing assessment once in elementary
school and once in middle or junior high school and other items of
applied academic skill if deemed valid and reliable and if resources
are made available for their use.
(3) Any reading selections that are used as part of an
administration of the assessment instruments under this section shall
relate to American history.
(b) In approving a contract for the development or administration
of the California Standards Tests, the state board shall consider
each of the following criteria:
(1) The ability of the contractor to produce valid, reliable
individual pupil scores.
(2) The ability of the contractor to report results pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 60643 by August 8.
(3) The ability of the contractor to ensure alignment between the
standards-based achievement test and the academically rigorous
content and performance standards as those standards are adopted by
the state board. This criterion shall include the ability of the
contractor to implement a process to establish and maintain alignment
between the test items and the standards.
(4) The per pupil cost estimates of developing and, if
appropriate, administering the proposed assessment with a system to
facilitate the determination of future per pupil cost determinations.
(5) The procedures of the contractor to ensure the security and
integrity of test questions and materials.
(6) The experience of the contractor in successfully conducting
testing programs adopted and administered by other states. For
experience to be considered, the number of grades and pupils tested
shall be provided.
(c) The standards-based achievement tests may use items from other
tests.