BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 300|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 300
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 5/31/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-3, 5/4/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian,
Vargas
NOES: Runner, Blakeslee, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Emmerson, Runner
SUBJECT : Academic Content Standards: Science and
History-Social Science
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) requires the State Board of
Education (SBE) to consider the adoption of a revised
curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for
instructional materials in history-social science by June
30, 2013, (2) allows the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to complete the public review process of
the draft version of the curriculum framework and
evaluation criteria for instructional materials in
history-social science, (3) requires the SPI to review the
statewide science academic content standards and identify
CONTINUED
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the standards that are in need of updating, (4) requires
the SBE to either adopt or reject the standards by June 30,
2013, and (5) requires the SBE and SPI to present to the
Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation
plan for integrating the academic content standards into
the state educational system.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the SBE to adopt
statewide academically rigorous content standards in
reading, writing and mathematics by January 1, 1998, and
standards in history-social science and science by November
1, 1998. Existing law authorizes the SBE to modify any
proposed content standard or performance standard prior to
its adoption.
Existing law does not require the standards to be reviewed
or revised.
SBX5 1 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2010, Fifth
Extraordinary Session, among other things, established a
21-member Academic Content Standards Commission for the
purpose of developing academic content standards in
language arts and mathematics that are at least 85 percent
the same as the common core standards being developed by
the Common Core State Standards Initiative. As required by
SBX5 1, the Commission reported its recommendations to the
SBE by July 15, 2010, and the SBE adopted the standards on
August 2, 2010.
This bill:
1.Requires the SBE to consider the adoption of a revised
curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for
instructional materials in history-social science by June
30, 2013.
2.Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
complete the public review process of the draft version
of the curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for
instructional materials in history-social science,
approved for public review on July 17, 2009, modify that
framework and criteria based upon public comment, and
submit the revised curriculum framework and evaluation
criteria for instructional materials in history-social
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science to the SBE for approval.
3.Requires the SPI to review the statewide science academic
content standards and identify the standards that are in
need of updating.
4.Requires the SPI to modify, revise, or delete any of the
standards in order to reflect current and confirmed
research, as judged by scientific experts and teachers.
5.Requires the SPI to present the recommended academic
contents standards to the SBE by January 1, 2013.
6.Requires the SBE to either adopt or reject the standards
by June 30, 2013. If the SBE rejects the standards it
must provide to the SPI, Governor and Legislature a
written explanation of the reasons the why the proposed
standards were rejected.
7.Requires the SBE and SPI to present to the Governor and
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for
integrating the academic content standards into the state
educational system.
Comments
Common Core . It is possible that common core standards in
science and history-social science will be developed and
available for adoption by states. It appears that
California has not been deeply involved in any discussions
or actual development of these standards. It may not be
reasonable to wait for the development of common core
standards in science and history-social science because
there is no clear timeline of when these standards may be
developed, and California's standards include issues that
may not be addressed in the common core (such as the role
of racism in history).
Role of the State Board of Education . This bill
establishes a process for the development and adoption of
standards that mirrors the process used for the development
and adoption of California's common core standards. The
veto messages for prior legislation relative to the
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revision of standards indicate concern over the diminished
role of the SBE to modify proposed standards. While
current law relative to the initial adoption of standards
specifically authorized the SBE to modify standards prior
to their adoption, Legislative Counsel opined in 2005 that
the SBE does not have the authority to revise or amend the
content standards after their adoption and argued that the
Legislature reserved for itself the power to decide if,
when, and the process by which the content standards should
be revised or amended.
Frameworks and Instructional Materials . The development
and adoption of California's standards was followed by the
development and adoption of the frameworks, which serve as
the blueprint for how to implement the standards. The
frameworks in turn provide guidance for the development of
instructional materials. The process for reviewing
frameworks and adopting instructional materials has been
suspended since July 2009, and is not scheduled to resume
until the 2015-16 school year.
The Curriculum Commission approved the draft update of this
framework for field review on July 17, 2009. However,
suspension of the framework and instructional material
processes was implemented beginning July 28, 2009, meaning
that no actual field review or online survey will occur for
this framework.
Related Legislation/Prior Legislation
AB 1033 (Feuer), 2011-12 Session, provides for the
establishment of a standards review commission if the SPI
to recommend to the SBE jointly determine that there is a
need to revise or modify existing standards. (Held under
submission in Assembly Appropriations Committee)
AB 97 (Torlakson), 2009-2010 Session, was nearly identical
to this bill. Passed the Senate with a vote of 22-10 on
August 30, 2010. AB 97 was vetoed by the Governor, whose
veto message read:
"Given California's participation in the Common Core
initiative and the anticipated reauthorization of the
federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this
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bill is premature. This bill could create an
unnecessary, duplicative process in the development of
content standards and in the integration of those
standards into the state's assessment system."
There have been several unsuccessful attempts to authorize
or establish a process to review and revise academic
content standards. Veto messages for SB 1097 (Torlakson),
2007-2008 Session, AB 2744 (Goldberg), 2003-04 Session, AB
642 (Mullin), 2003-04 Session, and SB 1367 (Karnette),
2001-2002 Session, cite the Governor's concern over a
diminished role for the SBE in modifying any revised
standards. Other prior attempts include AB 1454
(Richardson), 2006-07 Session, which died in the Senate
Education Committee, and AB 1100 (Mullin), 2005-2006
Session, which was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
Revise standards $70
$70 General
Revise frameworks Substantial cost pressure to
update General
frameworks and
accountability tools,
beginning in 2015-16
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/11)
Business for Science, Math and Related Technologies
Education
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Science Teachers Association
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"The current academic content standards for science and
history-social science were developed in 1998, fully 13
years ago. The state's current science standards do not
include any mention of biotechnologies or nanotechnologies,
or a requirement that students learn about environmental
issues, or even that Pluto is no longer considered a
planet. California students will continue to lose ground
in science and history-social science unless required
through legislation, we provide them with the most current,
updated standards which form the foundation of their
education in core subject."
CPM:cm 5/31/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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