Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2296

Introduced by Assembly Member Hagman

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section begin delete 17515 end delete begin insert 60810 end insert of the Education Code, relating to begin delete school districts end delete begin insert pupil assessment end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2296, as amended, Hagman. begin delete Public schools: school facilities. end delete begin insert Pupil assessment: English learners: assessment of English language development. end insert

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Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review existing tests that assess the English language development of pupils whose primary language is a language other than English. Existing law requires pupils in kindergarten and first grade to be assessed in English listening and speaking, and, once an assessment is developed, early literacy skills. Existing law requires an early literacy assessment to be administered for a period of 4 years beginning after the initial administration of the assessment or until July 1, 2014, whichever occurs first.

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This bill would instead require this early literacy assessment to be administered for a period of 4 years beginning after the initial administration of the assessment or until July 1, 2017, whichever occurs last.

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Existing law authorizes a school district to enter into leases and agreements relating to real property and buildings to be used jointly by the district and any private person, firm, local government agency, as defined, or corporation, pursuant to specified provisions.

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This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 60810 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , as amended
by Section 5 of Chapter 478 of the Statutes of 2013, is amended
to read: end insert

60810.  

(a) (1) The Superintendent shall review existing tests
that assess the English language development of pupils whose
primary language is a language other than English. The tests shall
include, but not be limited to, an assessment of achievement of
these pupils in English reading, speaking, and written skills. The
Superintendent shall determine which tests, if any, meet the
requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). If any existing test or
series of tests meets these criteria, the Superintendent, with
approval of the state board, shall report to the Legislature on its
findings and recommendations.

(2) If no suitable test exists, the Superintendent shall explore
the option of a collaborative effort with other states to develop a
test or series of tests and share test development costs. If no suitable
test exists, the Superintendent, with approval of the state board,
may contract to develop a test or series of tests that meets the
criteria of subdivisions (b) and (c) or may contract to modify an
existing test or series of tests so that it will meet the requirements
of subdivisions (b) and (c).

(3) The Superintendent and the state board shall release a request
for proposals for the development of the test or series of tests
required by this subdivision. The state board shall select a
contractor or contractors for the development of the test or series
of tests required by this subdivision, to be available for
administration during the 2000-01 school year.

(4) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated to
enable school districts to meet the requirements of subdivision (d).
The state board shall establish the amount of funding to be
apportioned per test administered, based on a review of the cost
per test.

(5) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned
per test is not valid without the approval of the Director of Finance.
A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount of funding
to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing to the
Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees
of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying material
justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of Finance is
authorized to approve only those adjustments related to activities
required by statute. The Director of Finance shall approve or
disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the request and
shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses
of the Legislature of the decision.

(b) (1) The test or series of tests developed or acquired pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall have sufficient range to assess pupils in
grades 2 to 12, inclusive, in English listening, speaking, reading,
and writing skills. Pupils in kindergarten and grade 1 shall be
assessed in English listening and speaking, and, once an assessment
is developed, early literacy skills. The early literacy assessment
shall be administered for a period of four years beginning after the
initial administration of the assessment or until July 1, begin delete 2014 end delete begin insert 2017 end insert ,
whichever occurs begin delete first end delete begin insert last end insert . Six months after the three administered
assessments are collected, but no later than June 30, 2013, the
department shall report to the Legislature on the administration of
the kindergarten and grade 1 early literacy assessment results, as
well as on the administrative process, in order to determine whether
reauthorization of the early literacy assessment is appropriate.

(2) In the development and administration of the assessment
for pupils in kindergarten and grade 1, the department shall
minimize any additional assessment time, to the extent possible.
To the extent that it is technically possible, items that are used to
assess listening and speaking shall be used to measure early literacy
skills. The department shall ensure that the test and procedures for
its administration are age and developmentally appropriate. Age
and developmentally appropriate procedures for administration
may include, but are not limited to, one-on-one administration, a
small group setting, and orally responding or circling a response
to a question.

(c) The test or series of tests shall meet all of the following
requirements:

(1) Provide sufficient information about pupils at each grade
level to determine levels of proficiency ranging from no English
proficiency to fluent English proficiency with at least two
intermediate levels.

(2) Have psychometric properties of reliability and validity
deemed adequate by technical experts.

(3) Be capable of administration to pupils with any primary
language other than English.

(4) Be capable of administration by classroom teachers.

(5) Yield scores that allow comparison of the growth of a pupil
over time, can be tied to readiness for various instructional options,
and can be aggregated for use in the evaluation of program
effectiveness.

(6) Not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender.

(7) Be aligned with the standards for English language
development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60811.

(8) Be age and developmentally appropriate for pupils.

(d) The test shall be used for the following purposes:

(1) To identify pupils who are limited English proficient.

(2) To determine the level of English language proficiency of
pupils who are limited English proficient.

(3) To assess the progress of limited-English-proficient pupils
in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing
in English.

(e) (1) A pupil in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, shall not be
required to retake those portions of the test that measure English
language skills for which he or she has previously tested as
advanced within each appropriate grade span, as determined by
the department in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision
(c).

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a pupil in any of grades 10
to 12, inclusive, shall not be required to retake those portions of
the test that measure English language skills for which he or she
has previously tested as early advanced or advanced.

(3) This subdivision shall not be implemented until the test
publisher’s contract that is in effect on January 1, 2012, expires.

(4) This subdivision shall not be implemented unless and until
the department receives written documentation from the United
States Department of Education that implementation is permitted
by federal law.

(f) This section shall remain in effect only until the
Superintendent reports to the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section
60810 as added by the chapter that added this subdivision during
the 2013-14 Regular Session, and as of January 1 of the following
year, this section is repealed.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 17515 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

17515.  

(a) Any school district may enter into leases and
agreements relating to real property and buildings to be used jointly
by the district and any private person, firm, local governmental
agency, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section
4420 of the Government Code, or corporation pursuant to this
article. As used in this article, “building” includes onsite and offsite
facilities, utilities and improvements that, as agreed upon by the
parties, are appropriate for the proper operation or function of the
building to be occupied jointly by the district and the private
person, firm, or corporation. It also includes the permanent
improvement of school grounds.

(b) Any building, or portion thereof, that is used by a private
person, firm, local governmental agency, as defined in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (f) of Section 4420 of the Government Code,
or corporation pursuant to this section shall be subject to the zoning
and building code requirements of the local jurisdiction in which
the building is situated.

(c) Section 53094 of the Government Code does not apply to
uses of school district property or buildings authorized by this
section, except in the case of property or buildings used solely for
educational purposes.

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