BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-12 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 789
AUTHOR: Price
AMENDED: March 31, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 6, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
NOTE : This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Rules. A "do pass" motion should include
referral to the Committee on Rules.
SUBJECT : Advisory Committee on Creative and Innovative
Education
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Advisory Committee on Creative and
Innovative Education for the purpose of developing an Index
of Creative and Innovative Education and making related
recommendations to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI).
BACKGROUND
Existing law provides for the establishment of state
educational commissions and committees to foster innovation
and create change in education based on research and proven
need. (Education Code � 33500)
Existing law defines an educational policy advisory committee
as an advisory body to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) composed of educational specialists,
technical experts, or specially qualified members of the
public, or any combination thereof. (EC � 33501)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Establishes the Advisory Committee on Creative and
Innovative Education (CIE Committee) for the purpose of
developing an Index of Creative and Innovative Education
and making related recommendations to the SPI.
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2) Specifies that the CIE Committee shall have 14 members
to be appointed by April 1, 2012, each of whom shall
serve two-year terms and be an expert in innovation in
their fields, including, but not limited to, business,
science, technology, math, engineering, arts education,
workforce development, or cultural development and shall
include:
a) Seven members from different geographic
regions of the state to be appointed by the
Governor.
b) Three members appointed by the President pro
Tempore of the Senate.
c) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly.
d) The Superintendent of Public Instruction.
3) Requires the appointed members of the CIE Committee to
be appointed in a manner to ensure that the diversity of
endeavors requiring a creative workforce is represented
including, but not limited to, the sciences,
engineering, technology, math, research, design and
media arts, and visual and performing arts.
4) Requires the CIE Committee to examine strategies for
producing an Index of Creative and Innovative Education
that rates every public school on teaching, encouraging,
and fostering creativity in pupils; Specifies the index
shall be based in part on the creative opportunities in
each school as measured by the availability of classes,
and before and after school programs that provide
creative opportunities for pupils, including arts
education, debate clubs, science fairs, theater
performances, concerts, and filmmaking.
5) Requires the CIE Committee to consult with parents,
teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and
students.
6) Requires the CIE Committee to develop recommendations on
what should be included in the Index on Creative and
Innovative Education, how an index should be produced
and implemented, the funding necessary to implement the
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index, and ways to foster creative and innovative
education in the public schools.
7) Requires the Committee to submit a report to the SPI by
June 1, 2013, on the factors to be considered in the
index and the funding necessary to implement the index.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to the sponsor of the
bill, the California Alliance for Arts Education,
although 81 percent of American corporate leaders
indicate creativity is an essential skill for the 21st
century workforce, current measures of school success do
not tell us how well schools are preparing students to
develop creativity - the ability to generate ideas and
then critically evaluate their potential. The purpose
of this bill is to establish an advisory committee that
would develop recommendations leading to the
establishment of a Creative and Innovative Education
Index (CIE Index) that would rate every public school on
activities that teach, encourage, and foster creativity.
2) Other efforts . This bill is modeled after 2009
Massachusetts legislation that established a special
commission to develop a "Creative Challenge Index" for
the Commonwealth that will provide an easy-to-understand
rating of schools based on the creative and innovative
activities they offer. Schools that provide many
opportunities for creative work in the arts, music,
drama, and dance would rank higher on the index compared
with schools that provide fewer such opportunities.
Advocates of the Massachusetts effort hope the index
will a) inspire teachers of science, history, math,
English and other core subjects to design lesson plans
that fit into existing curriculum and require creative
student work and b) encourage schools to establish and
maintain activities such as arts education, debate
clubs, science fairs, theater performance, or film
making.
3) What will the index tell us ? Although this bill is
focused on the establishment of the advisory committee,
the long-term vision is to establish and implement an
index that will rate every public school based on
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activities and practices that teach, encourage, and
foster creativity in pupils. Unlike the Academic
Performance Index (API), which provides parents and the
public information about school achievement, the
Creative and Innovative Education (CIE) Index would
provide additional information about the school as a
whole, particularly with regard to courses and
after-school clubs and activities such as debate clubs,
science fairs, or arts education that can help students
develop creative and innovative approaches to problem
solving.
Although there could be value in such an index, the need for
such an index is less clear. Given the fiscal
constraints that exist in most school districts, it
seems unlikely that schools would be able to respond to
a low index ranking by increasing the availability of
courses or extracurricular activities.
4) Implementation costs and issues . In its present form,
this bill could result in unknown, but potentially
moderate General Fund costs associated with providing
administrative support to a new advisory body and travel
reimbursement for committee members. Although the
sponsor has indicated that participation in the index
would be voluntary, the bill appears to call for the CIE
Index to rate every public school, which could result in
unknown, but potentially significant, local cost
pressure for schools to offer more coursework or
activities that might lead to an improved ranking.
Given that the advisory committee would be established for
the purpose of making recommendations to the SPI, should
the SPI be an ex-officio member of the CIE Committee?
The bill specifies that members are to serve a two-year
term, but does not indicate any ongoing role for the CIE
Committee after the report is submitted in June 2013.
Further, the bill does not specify that the members of
the committee will serve without compensation.
Rather than establish a new advisory committee as this bill
proposes, it may be less costly to expand the role and
responsibility of the Public Schools Accountability Act
(PSAA) Advisory Committee to develop recommendations on
what should be included in the CIE Index and whether
such an index can or should be part of the state's
overall accountability system. That said, could the SPI
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address this issue without legislation? Alternatively,
could the sponsor of this bill create its own index in
which schools could participate on a voluntary basis?
However, even if this bill is amended to charge the PSAA
Advisory Committee with the responsibilities of
developing recommendations for the CIE Index, it is
unclear if the state or schools will have resources to
support the long-term vision of the bill. The fiscal
constraints under which schools are likely to operate
over the next several years could potentially result in
reductions to the very programs and courses that may be
included in the ratings that a CIE Index would produce.
Notwithstanding the value of taking a larger look at how
schools educate the "whole child," and encouraging
schools to foster creativity, is this the right time for
this idea?
Should it be the wish of this Committee to pass this bill,
staff recommends amending the bill to delete the
provisions requiring the establishment of the Advisory
Committee on Creative and Innovative Education and
instead require the PSAA Advisory Committee to consult
as appropriate with individuals that are experts or have
experience in innovation in the fields of business,
science, technology, mathematics, engineering, and arts
education and to make recommendations to the
Superintendent by June 1, 2013, on the development of a
voluntary Creative and Innovative Education Index,
including the extent to which such an index should be
part of an accountability system and methods to foster
creative and innovative education in the public schools.
SUPPORT
Alameda County Office of Education Alliance for Arts Learning
Leadership
California Alliance for Arts Education
An individual
OPPOSITION
None received.
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