BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 133
AUTHOR: Hagman
AMENDED: April 11, 2013
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 5, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : K-12 instructional materials: digital format.
SUMMARY
This bill requires publishers of instructional materials, when
submitting printed materials for adoption, to also make
available an equivalent digital format.
BACKGROUND
School districts are required to provide instructional
materials adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) to
pupils in grades K-8, or standards aligned materials that have
not been adopted by the SBE (see next paragraph). School
districts adopt materials for use in high schools. The SBE is
prohibited from adopting instructional materials (other than
specified materials related to the common core standards)
until the 2015-16 school year (due to budget constraints).
(Education Code � 60200, � 60200.7 and � 60400)
Current law authorizes school districts to use instructional
materials that are aligned with the academic content standards
(original standards or common core standards), including
instructional materials that have not been adopted by the SBE.
A district that chooses to use instructional materials that
have not been adopted by the SBE must ensure that a majority
of participants of a review process are classroom teachers who
are assigned to the subject area or grade level of the
materials. (EC � 60210)
Current law requires publishers to adhere to several
requirements when submitting instructional materials to the
SBE for consideration, as well as in the provision of those
materials to school districts, including:
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1) Furnish the materials at a price that does not exceed the
lowest price sold in the United States.
2) Provide any materials free of charge to the same extent
as received by any state.
3) Provide to the state, at no cost, computer files or other
electronic versions of each state-adopted literary title
and the right to transcribe, reproduce, modify and
distribute the material in Braille, large print,
recordings, American Sign Language videos or other
specialized media exclusively for use by pupils with
visual disabilities. (EC � 60061 & � 60220)
Current law requires the California Department of Education
(CDE) to establish a pilot program of 12 schools to request
publishers make instructional materials in electronic
multimedia format available for purchase. Participating
schools are required to provide to pupils the hardware
necessary to use the electronic materials, or print materials
to pupils who do not have access to the hardware. No schools
elected to participate in this pilot program. (EC � 60051)
Current law authorizes school districts to include relevant
technology-based materials when adopting instructional
materials if the materials are both available and comparable
to other, equivalent instructional materials. (EC � 60052)
For purposes of the Williams settlement, current law defines
"sufficient textbooks or instructional materials" to mean that
each pupil, including English learners, has a
standards-aligned textbook or instructional materials, or
both, to use in class and to take home, but does not require
two sets of textbooks or instructional materials to be
purchased for each pupil. (EC � 60119)
Instructional materials may be in a digital format as long as
each pupil, at a minimum, has and can access the same
materials in the class and to take home, as all other pupils
in the same class or course in the district and has the
ability to use and access them at home. (EC � 60119)
Current law requires, by January 1, 2020, publishers of any
textbook offered for sale at the University of California,
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California State University, the California Community
Colleges, or a private university in the state, to the extent
practicable, make the textbooks available (in whole or part)
for sale in an electronic format. The electronic version must
contain the same content as the printed version and may be
copyright-protected. (EC � 66410)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires publishers of instructional materials, when
submitting printed materials for adoption, to also make
available an equivalent digital format. Specifically, this
bill:
1) Requires a publisher or manufacturer that submits a
printed instructional material for adoption by the State
Board of Education (SBE), or by a school district, to
ensure the printed material is also available in an
equivalent digital format.
2) Clarifies that digital versions must be available for
instructional materials submitted to SBE or school
districts on or after January 1, 2014.
3) Requires the digital format to be available during the
entire term of the adoption.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "Under the
system in place, California K-8 and 9-12 school districts
are mandated to provide all students a hard copy of a
textbook. Currently, students who have e-readers do not
have the option to receive their texts in a format that
would be compatible to view on these devices. This has
done a disservice to both school districts and students
who own these devices and would prefer to learn from
them."
2) Current options . School districts must provide to pupils
in grades K-8 instructional materials that have been
either been adopted by the State Board of Education
(SBE), or by the governing board of the district. School
districts must provide to pupils in grades 9-12
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instructional materials that have been adopted by the
district governing board; SBE does not adopt
instructional materials for grades 9-12. Publishers of
instructional materials negotiate directly with school
districts with regard to exactly which adopted materials
the district will purchase (print textbooks, materials
for English learners, ancillary materials, and the format
desired). While school districts currently have the
authority to request digital formats and negotiate with
publishers, publishers are not required to disclose all
available options nor are publishers required to offer
materials in any format other than print versions.
3) No requirement to purchase . This bill does not require
school districts to purchase instructional materials in
any specific format, nor does this bill reinstate the
requirement that school districts purchase materials
within a specific timeframe subsequent to adoption by the
SBE.
4) Technical amendment needed . This bill includes
cross-references to two provisions of the Education Code
related to adoption of K-8 materials by the SBE and 9-12
materials by school districts. Beginning in 2013, school
districts are authorized to use K-8 instructional
materials that are standards-aligned but not adopted by
the SBE. Staff recommends an amendment to include a
cross-reference to the provision allowing districts to
use K-8 materials that have not been adopted by the SBE.
(On page 2, line 6, after "Section" add "60210 or.")
5) Related legislation . SB 185 (Walters) authorizes school
districts to negotiate the price of instructional
materials, requires publishers to offer instructional
materials as unbundled elements, and authorizes school
districts to create a districtwide online digital
database of instructional materials. SB 185 is pending
in the Assembly.
SB 682 (Lara) authorizes school districts to provide a digital
version of instructional materials to students that may
be downloaded onto an electronic device, and allows
students to keep the digital materials beyond the end of
the school year. SB 682 is pending in the Assembly.
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6) Prior legislation . AB 1790 (Hagman, 2012) would have
required publishers to ensure that instructional
materials are offered in both print and digital formats.
AB 1790 was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message
read:
This bill is contingent on the enactment of Senate
Bill 1154, which I vetoed. As a consequence, this
bill cannot become operative.
SB 1154 (Walters, 2012) would have required equivalent
digital formats to be offered at the same or lower cost
than print materials, required publishers to offer
unbundled instructional materials, and authorized
districts to use digital materials for classroom use
through a district-based digital library. SB 1154 was
vetoed by the Governor, whose veto message read:
Providing on-line instructional materials and
coursework to pupils in California is an educational
goal that I very much share.
This bill, however, does not accomplish that goal.
Instead, it puts unrealistic requirements on
California's businesses that will lead to increased
costs of instructional materials.
AB 1010 (Pavley, 2004) would have required, beginning
January 1, 2007, a publisher that makes basic
instructional materials available to a school district in
a hard copy format to also make instructional materials
available in an electronic multimedia format. AB 1010
was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with the following
veto message:
While I support the idea of using an electronic
multimedia format, it is crucial that we remain
focused on providing all pupils with an actual
textbook in core curricula areas. In addition, I
am concerned about the rising costs of textbooks
and this bill could create increased costs to
the State in the form of higher textbook costs
for publishers to comply with the electronic
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multimedia format requirement. Higher costs
could make it more difficult for schools to
ensure that pupils have adequate textbooks which
was a cornerstone of the Williams v. State of
California settlement agreement.
SUPPORT
Association of American Publishers
Association of California School Administrators
California Communities United Institute
Disability Rights California
Los Angeles County Office of Education
OPPOSITION
None on file.