BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 789
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 789 (Price) - As Amended: June 20, 2012
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA)
advisory committee to consult with individuals who are experts
in the fields of business, science, technology, mathematics,
engineering, and arts education on the development of a
voluntary Creative and Innovative Education Index (CIE Index).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CIE Index to be based in part on the creative
opportunities in each participating school as measured by the
availability and before/after school programs that provide
creative opportunity for pupils, as specified.
2)Requires the PSAA advisory committee to consider the extent to
which the index may be used to foster creative and innovative
education in the public schools. Further requires the
advisory committee, by June 1, 2014, to make recommendations
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) on the
committee's findings.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF administrative costs to the State Department of Education,
likely between $60,000 and $100,000, to complete the
requirements of this bill.
2)GF/98 cost pressure, likely in excess of $200,000 to local
education agencies (LEAs) to participate in a voluntary CIE
Index. Actual costs will depend on the number of LEAs that
participate and how complex data requirements will be to
implement the index. There are approximately 1,000 LEAs in
the state.
SB 789
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . Since the establishment of the Academic
Performance Index (API), individuals have argued school
accountability overly emphasizes test scores over other
valuable aspects of a well-rounded education, such as art and
career-readiness. According to the author, "There is growing
recognition that our state's economy will be driven by ideas
and innovation. According to a coalition of researchers, 81%
of American corporate leaders say that 'creativity is an
essential skill for the 21st century work force.' Yet schools
have narrowed their expectations in recent years, 'teaching to
the test' because standardized tests are the only public
measures of school success."
This bill requires the PSAA advisory committee to consult with
individuals on the development of a voluntary CIE Index, as
specified.
2)SB 1X (Alpert), Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999, established the
PSAA , which required the development of the API. The API is
used to measure performance of schools and districts over
time. An API score is calculated based on students'
performance on the following standardized tests: the
California Standards Tests in English language arts,
mathematics, and history-social science, and science (where
applicable) and the California High School Exit Exam.
Statute also requires the SPI to establish the PSAA advisory
committee to advise the SPI and the SBE on all appropriate
matters related to the creation of the API. Members of this
committee are required to serve terms not to exceed two years
and without compensation.
This bill requires the PSAA advisory committee to consult with
specified individuals on the development of a voluntary CIE
Index, as specified.
3)Related legislation .
a) SB 1458 (Steinberg), pending in this committee, modifies
the API to add additional indicators of academic success
other than standardized test scores, as specified.
SB 789
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b) AB 224 (Bonilla), pending in the Senate Appropriations
Committee, modifies the indicators that contribute to the
API and requires SPI, in consultation with the State Board
of Education to create a new API for grades 8-12, as
specified.
c) SB 547 (Steinberg) sunsetted the API, the state's
accountability system for schools and districts, on July 1,
2014, and replaced it with the Education Quality Index,
which is comprised of multiple newly established indices to
reflect the overall performance of the state's public
schools, districts, and pupils. The governor vetoed this
bill in October 2011 stating it was not the appropriate
time to reform the API.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081