Amended in Assembly April 28, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1530

Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

January 17, 2014

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Article 7 (commencing with Section 51300) begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert Chapter 2 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school curriculum.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1530, as amended, Chau. Model begin delete curriculum: end delete begin insert curricula: end insert computer science.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to include in various areas of study, including, but not limited to, English, mathematics, and social sciences. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to adopt model curricula in certain areas of instruction, including, among others, begin delete driver’s end delete begin insert driver end insert education and training, gang violence suppression, and substance abuse prevention.

This bill would encourage the Superintendent of Public Instruction to begin delete develop end delete begin insert identify, develop, end insert or, as needed, revise begin delete a model curriculum end delete begin insert new or existing model curricula end insert on computer science, and to begin delete submit end delete begin insert submit, on or before July 1, 2017, end insert the model begin delete curriculum end delete begin insert curricula end insert to the State Board of Education for adoption. The bill, in addition to funds that may be appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of implementing the provisions of the bill, would authorize the Superintendent to seek out alternative nonstate funding sources to defray the cost of begin delete developing the model curriculum, as specified. end delete begin insert identifying, developing, or revising the model curricula. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2018, and would repeal them on January 1, 2019. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 51300) is
added to Chapter 2 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article 7.  Model begin delete Curriculum end delete begin insert Curricula end insert for Computer Science

 

51300.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the
establishment of programs of instruction in computer science, with
instruction beginning as early as feasible for each school district.

51301.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Computer science is an established discipline at the collegiate
and postgraduate levels, but the integration of computer science
concepts into kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, curriculum
has not kept pace in the United States.

(b) Computer science education is not just about access to
computers or about preparing pupils to be passive users of
technology, it is about preparing pupils to be innovative creators
of new technologies.

(c) Our educational system should prepare our pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, with the fundamental
computer science knowledge, skills, insights, and perspectives
they need for future success and for a world in which computing
is everywhere. While computer usage in classrooms is increasing,
knowledge and familiarity about computing is not keeping pace.

(d) The goal of begin delete the end delete computer science begin delete curriculum end delete begin insert curricula end insert in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, should be to introduce
the fundamental concepts of computer science, including
instruction on computational thinking, algorithmic processes and
principles, hardware and software design, computer applications,
and the impact of computers on society, and to increase the
knowledge of computer science for all pupils, especially those
pupils who are members of underrepresented groups.

begin insert

(e) The National Science Foundation and nonprofit
organizations publish and maintain comprehensive computer
science curricula for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that are free of charge to all persons. These curricula
promote an introduction to, and an understanding of, the
fundamental concepts of computer programming and coding.

end insert

51302.  

The Superintendent is encouraged to begin delete develop end delete begin insert identify,
develop, end insert or, as needed, revise begin delete a model curriculum end delete begin insert new or existing
model curricula end insert on computer science, and to begin delete submit end delete begin insert submit, on or
before July 1, 2017, end insert the model begin delete curriculum end delete begin insert curricula end insert to the state
board for adoption. Upon adoption, the Superintendent shall make
the model begin delete curriculum end delete begin insert curricula end insert available on the department’s
Internet Web site.

51303.  

In addition to any funds that may be appropriated by
the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for
purposes of implementing this article, the Superintendent may
seek out, apply for, and accept nonstate funding sources to defray
the cost of begin delete developing a model curriculum end delete begin insert identifying, developing,
or revising the model curricula end insert pursuant to this article, including,
but not limited to, federal funds, grant programs, and private funds.

begin insert

begin insert 51304. end insert   

This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018,
and as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.

end insert