BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 250 (Brownley)
Hearing Date: 08/25/2011 Amended: 08/15/2011
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 8-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 250 establishes a process for the full
implementation of the common core academic content standards
(Common Core) through the development of curricular frameworks,
instructional materials, and professional development aligned
with the common core standards. This bill extends the operative
date of the existing standardized assessments by one year (until
July 1, 2014), as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
Common Core implementation $133
$133 Federal*
Professional development $400
$300-500 $300-500 Federal*
STAR program extension
$53,000 / $12,400 Gen**/Fed
* Title 1 carryover funds
**Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee.
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted the Common Core in
English language arts and mathematics in August 2010. The
current curricular frameworks and instructional materials are
not fully aligned with the Common Core, and the process to
update curricular frameworks and adopt instructional materials
AB 250 (Brownley)
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has been suspended since July 2009 and is suspended until the
2015-16 school year.
This bill seeks to fully implement Common Core, and proposes the
following changes:
Frameworks and evaluation criteria: This bill requires the SBE
to adopt curriculum frameworks and evaluation criteria in math
and ELA aligned to the common core standards by May 2013 and May
2014, respectively. It requires that English language
development (ELD) standards be incorporated in English language
arts (ELA) frameworks, and that frameworks include ELD
strategies to address the needs of English learners and
strategies to meet the needs of pupils with disabilities in all
core content areas, as specified.
Instructional Quality Advisory Committee : This bill renames the
Curriculum Commission as the Instructional Quality Advisory
Committee. As previously noted, this bill removes the committee
from having a role in the process to review and recommend
instructional materials for adoption by the SBE. It otherwise
keeps the renamed body's duties intact with responsibility for
reviewing and revising frameworks and evaluation criteria.
The CDE has indicated that existing staff would take on the
administrative work needed to implement changes to the
frameworks and evaluation criteria, the instructional materials,
and the Instructional Quality Advisory Committee. The CDE would
require additional resources for travel and related
reimbursements (for committee members, consultants, and staff),
as well as mailing and duplication costs. The Department
estimates that it would require $267,000 over two years to cover
these costs.
Professional Development (PD) : This bill requires the SPI, in
collaboration with the SBE, teachers, district and county office
of education curriculum administrators and PD trainers,
representatives of higher education and other educational
entities to develop PD modules for teachers, principals and
school leaders that incorporate, make use of, and build upon
existing PD programs and opportunities currently available at
the local, state, and national levels to support implementation
of the Common Core. It further requires the model PD modules to
be aligned with California Standards for the Teaching Profession
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and be developed in consideration of the National Staff
Development Council Standards for PD, and to be designed for
delivery through various methods including, but not limited to,
school-based and web-based delivery. This bill also requires the
SPI to report to the SBE on the development of the model PD
modules.
The CDE estimates that it would cost $100,000 to create each PD
module, make it accessible on the Department website, and
provide training to local trainers; the estimate assumes the
modules will be created by existing staff. The CDE plans to
develop 4 modules in the first year ($400,000) and 6-10 modules
over the following two years ($600,000 - $1,000,000).
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program : The STAR
program requires pupils to be tested in ELA, math, science and
history-social science at specific grade levels, using specific
tests. The STAR program is currently scheduled to sunset on July
1, 2013; this bill extends the operative date of STAR program by
one year (until July 1, 2014). Additionally, this bill requires
the SPI, by November 1, 2012, to develop recommendations for a
future reauthorization of the state assessment system.
The actual cost of extending the STAR Program would depend upon
the contract negotiated by the CDE and SBE, based on several
factors including the final test components and the amount
apportioned to local education agencies. The CDE estimates the
total cost to be approximately $65,400,000, which includes
$12,400,000 in federal funds.
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: Proposed amendments would specify
that certain provisions of the bill be funded with federal Title
1 carryover funds.