BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: August 15, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
HR 34 (Hill) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
SUBJECT : Science, technology, engineering, and mathematical
jobs
SUMMARY : Resolves that the Assembly urges the development of
summer camps, workshops, and after school programs, and the
extension of current grant and fellowship programs on the state
and local levels, to further the advancement of female students
and workers in the science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) fields and to encourage women to get involved
in the STEM fields. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes various declarations relative to the STEM workforce such
as, stating that STEM jobs are expected to continue to grow at
a faster rate than others in the coming decade.
2)Declares that the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)
created a STEM task force to engage students in scientific and
technical fields and that the task force will explore the
status of STEM education in California's curriculum,
instructional practices, professional development for
teachers, student testing, existing infrastructure, and
partnerships with the community and business.
3)Makes findings regarding previous and existing STEM efforts in
San Mateo County, such as the establishment of a Math and
Science Workgroup in 2005, and the upcoming opening of a STEM
center at the county office of education.
4)Makes declarations relative to women in STEM careers and
states that role models are important to maintain a young
woman's interest in STEM academics and pursuing a STEM career.
5)Highlights two specific STEM-related annual conferences, the
"Dare 2B Digital" and the "Expanding Your Horizons in Science
and Mathematics," held in San Jose and San Mateo respectively,
and both of which target girls and young women.
6)Resolves that the Assembly urges the establishment of STEM
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outreach programs such as Dare 2B Digital, the goal of which
is to encourage the recruitment of girls and women to study
and work in STEM fields.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes requirements for courses of study in grades 1-12,
inclusive, and requires the adopted courses of study for
grades 1-6 and grades 7-12 to offer courses in specified areas
of study including science and mathematics.
2)Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and
Career Technical Education Educator Credentialing Program for
purposes of providing alternative routes to credentialing, in
accordance with the guidelines for the federal Race to the Top
Fund, authorized under the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
FISCAL EFFECT : This House Resolution is non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : This resolution promotes the development of summer
camps, workshops, after school programs and outreach programs
that further the advancement of female students and workers in
STEM fields, and urges the extension of current grant and
fellowship programs at the state and local levels.
The focus of the resolution appears to be on the advancement of
female students in STEM fields, however the resolution makes
declarations on various issues related to STEM including the
STEM workforce, the California economy and local efforts in San
Mateo County. References to San Mateo County appear in four
paragraphs of the resolution. This Committee may wish to
consider whether highlighting efforts in San Mateo within a
House Resolution intended to promote girls and young women in
STEM fields is appropriate or whether the language in the
resolution should be more general in nature.
This resolution this resolution urges the establishment of STEM
outreach programs such as Dare 2B Digital. In recognition that
there may be other outreach programs around the state doing
similar work, and to not appear as though Dare 2B Digital is a
preferred or endorsed program, staff recommends an amendment to
delete the reference to the Dare 2B Digital program on page 3,
line 35.
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The resolution refers to a survey that shows that "women who
participated in a STEM project show a 25% increase in interest
of pursuing a career relating to STEM," however this statement
is a conclusion derived from pre and post activity surveys
conducted as part of a project by the California University of
Pennsylvania STEM initiative that targeted female middle school
students. The information from the pre and post surveys
indicated that from the responding participants, there was a 25%
increase in the number of students that may want to become
engineers. Staff recommends an amendment to clarify the source
of the information and to align the language with the
information cited.
Additionally, it is not clears as to whether some of the
statistics mentioned in the resolution are national or state
level figures, and at the time of this writing, the author has
not provided evidence to substantiate some of those statistics,
specifically the following:
1. Women now comprise 45% of mathematical scientists, and
have reached parity in the medical and biological sciences.
2. First-year undergraduate women interested in computer
science majors dropped 79 percent from 2000 to 2009.
Technical amendment : A grammatical error appears on page 3,
lines 25-26 of the resolution. Staff recommends deleting "which
research appeals to women."
Existing STEM-related efforts : State-level efforts to promote
STEM education are underway. The STEM taskforce was established
earlier this year by Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom
Torlakson, to promote the improvement of STEM education across
the state. According to information on the California
Department of Education's Internet Web site, "the task force
will recommend a blueprint on how to improve teaching, learning,
and equal access to STEM-related courses and careers for
students in kindergarten through grade twelve. The resultant
blueprint will include career technical education, and newly
developed national Common Core State Standards and Next
Generation Science Standards. The Task Force will organize its
work to address five key areas-curriculum and instruction,
resources and infrastructure, professional learning, testing and
assessment, and community and business partnerships."
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Administered by the University of California (UC), the
California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science, also
known as, COSMOS, is an intensive four-week summer residential
program for pupils with a demonstrated aptitude for academic and
professional careers in the science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) fields. Pupils completing grades 8-12
have the opportunity to work with faculty, researchers, and
scientists while exploring advanced STEM topics beyond those
usually offered in California high schools. The pupil
participants appear to be closely split between male and female
according to data from 2006-2010, during which time 50.4% males
and 49.6% females enrolled in the program.
The author states, "It is important that more girls and women
are recruited to the STEM fields to expand the STEM industries
innovative potential. Overall, the encouragement of STEM
programs for girls will increase the number of women who will go
on to pursue a STEM career. This will, in return, generate the
skills and innovation needed to allow the state of California to
continue as the nation's leader in science and technological
industries."
Prior legislation: ACR 88 (Torlakson), Resolution Chapter 84,
Statutes of 2010, resolves that the eleven member California
Task Force on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) Education be established through January 1, 2014, for the
purpose of promoting the improvement of mathematics, science,
engineering, and technology education across the state and that
the task force be funded through private funding or donations.
ACR 116 (Hill) Resolution Chapter 77, Statutes of 2010,
proclaims May 12, 2010, as California Lab Day, in conjunction
with the National Lab Day, and extends the Legislature's support
to students of all ages who are interested in STEM education.
SB 507 (Torlakson) of 2007 establishes the Science Instruction
Augmentation Grant program, administered by the SPI, to provide
grants to K-12 school districts for the purpose of providing
greater access to science education and promoting knowledge,
curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, and interest in all
aspects of science. SB 507 was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SB 1444 (Hancock) of 2010 defines science, technology,
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engineering, and mathematics education and specifies that STEM
education for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, may include but is not
limited to specified courses. SB 1444 was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger with the following veto message:
"While I strongly support science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) education, this bill does nothing to promote
real opportunities for STEM education. This bill could create
unintended, potential barriers by preventing California from
applying for and receiving funds for STEM-related programs, if
grant requirements or competitive priorities are not consistent
with the definition outlined in the bill. This bill could create
confusion and limit future STEM education efforts."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087