BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1539 (Hagman) - Computer Science Content Standards
Amended: As Proposed to be AmendedPolicy Vote: Education 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 14, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 1539 requires the Instructional Quality
Commission (IQC) to consider developing and recommending to the
state board of education (SBE), on or before July 31, 2019,
computer science content standards for kindergarten - 12th
grade, as specified. This bill would further require the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in consultation with
the SBE, to consider convening a group of experts, as specified.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on August 14, 2014): If a budget
appropriation is made for this purpose, the bill requires the
IQC to "consider" developing computer science content standards
and recommending them to the SBE. If the IQC decides to do so,
the costs and costs pressure are:
Standards development: Significant costs to the California
Department of Education (CDE) to convene computer science
experts, contract for content writers, and staff the IQC
throughout the 2-year development of computer science
content standards for grades K-12. Costs over the 2-year
adoption period will total approximately $550,000 (General
Fund).
Frameworks: Potentially substantial cost pressure to create
computer science curricular frameworks.
Implementation: Offering computer science courses is
optional, and schools would be responsible for any costs
related to electing to offer them.
Background: Academic content standards define the knowledge,
concepts and skills that pupils should learn at each grade
level. Curricular frameworks serve as a blueprint for how to
implement the standards and provide guidance to publishers,
along with evaluation criteria, for the development of
instructional materials. The processes for the revision of
AB 1539 (Hagman)
Page 1
curricular frameworks and adoption of instructional materials
are suspended until the 2015-16 school year. (EC � 60200.7)
Existing law establishes the Academic Content Standards
Commission for the purpose of developing the Common Core
standards in English language arts and mathematics. These
standards were adopted by the SBE on August 2, 2010. The SBE
adopted revised frameworks for Common Core mathematics on
November 6, 2013, and adopted revised frameworks for Common Core
English language arts on July 9, 2014. (Education Code �
60605.8 and � 60207)
Existing law requires the SPI to convene a group of science
experts to recommend science standards using the Next Generation
Science Standards. The SBE adopted these standards on September
4, 2013, and is required to consider the adoption of a revised
framework and evaluation criteria by January 31, 2016.
(EC � 60605.85 and � 60200.9)
Proposed Law: This bill requires the IQC to consider developing
and recommending to the SBE computer science content standards
by July 31, 2019. To that end, this bill requires:
a) The IQC to consider existing computer
science content standards including the national K-12
computer science content standards developed by the
Computer Science Teachers Association.
b) The IQC to consider content standards
that include, but are not limited to, standards for
teaching coding, as defined.
c) The SPI, in consultation with the SBE,
to consider convening a group of experts in computer
science, as specified.
This bill authorizes the computer science content standards to
be used by school districts to develop computer science programs
and course assessments, and specifies that the standards are not
mandatory.
Related Legislation: AB 1530 (Chau) requires the SPI to consider
identifying, developing or revising model curriculum on computer
science for kindergarten - 6th grade. AB 1530 will also be heard
AB 1539 (Hagman)
Page 2
in this Committee on August 4, 2014.
AB 2110 (Ting) requires the IQC to consider incorporating
computer science curriculum content into the mathematics,
science, history-social science, and English language arts
frameworks. AB 2110 will also be heard in this Committee on
August 4, 2014.
Staff Comments: This bill requires the IQC to consider
developing and recommending to the SBE for adoption stand-alone
computer science content standards for grades K-12, including
coding standards. In order to develop content standards, the CDE
would contract with a writer to draft the standards, and then
would convene the group of computer science experts, required by
the bill, to revise the standards. The CDE estimates this would
result in contract costs of $140,000 (General Fund) over a
2-year period. Convening a large group of experts, as specified
in the bill, to revise the standards would incur additional
costs of approximately $54,000 (General Fund), primarily to
reimburse their travel costs.
Staffing this process would require personnel specifically
assigned to this activity, to manage the contract and expert
work group, and to staff the IQC throughout the process. While
the exact costs will depend on CDE's interpretation of what it
must do, and how efficiently it completes that work, the
workload is sufficiently extensive as to expect approximately
$300,000 (General Fund) in costs for two .5 PYs over two years
and office technician support throughout the process. There will
likely be additional costs in the tens of thousands of dollars,
if the CDE publishes the new standards in hard copy.
Committee Amendments would make this bill's requirements subject
to a Budget Act appropriation.