BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2307
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2307 (Donnelly) - As Amended: March 20, 2014
SUBJECT : Common Core academic content standards: School
district opt out
SUMMARY : Permits a school district to opt out of any state
statute or regulation that would require the use of the Common
Core State Standards (CCSS) by that school district.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that a school district may opt out of any state
statute or regulation that would require the use of CCSS by
that school district, including, but not limited to,
curriculum, frameworks, instructional materials, and
assessments.
2)Requires a school district that opts out of the CCSS to do all
of the following:
a)Use the academic content standards for English language arts
and mathematics adopted pursuant to Education Code section
60605.
b)Administer the state-wide assessments as established under the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program prior to the
adoption of the Measurement of Academic Performance and
Progress (MAPP).
c)Specifies school districts are responsible for all costs
associated with acquiring and administering the STAR
assessment.
3)Makes this provision operative on July 1, 2015, makes the
provision inoperative on July 1, 2020, and repeals these
provisions on January 1, 2021.
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EXISTING LAW
1)Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt statewide
academic content standards and performance standards in core
curriculum areas, based on the recommendation of the
Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and
Performance Standards and the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI).
2)Allows the SBE to adopt content and performance standards in
additional curriculum areas.
3)Establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission
(Standards Commission), as specified, to develop academic
content standards in language arts and mathematics and present
recommended academic content standards to the SBE by July 15,
2010.; requires that at least 85% of these standards be the
common core academic standards developed by the Common Core
State Standards Initiative consortium sponsored by the
National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief
State School Officers (CCSSO) or any associated or related
interstate collaboration to jointly develop common
high-quality standards or assessments aligned with the common
set of standards; and requires the SBE to adopt or reject the
recommended standards by August 2, 2010.
4)Requires the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to develop an
API to measure the performance of schools and school
districts, especially the academic performance of pupils.
5)Requires states, under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
to adopt performance goals for their public elementary and
secondary schools, and to demonstrate that these public
schools are making adequate yearly progress, as measured by
pupil performance on standardized tests as well as other
measures, to satisfy those goals.
6)Deletes the provisions of the STAR Program, and instead
establishes the MAPP, commencing with the 2013-14 school year.
7)Specifies MAPP is composed of:
a) A consortium summative assessment in English language
arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and
grade 11, as specified;
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b) Science grade level assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10,
measuring specified content standards; the California
Alternate Performance Assessment in grades 2 to 11,
inclusive, in English language arts and mathematics and
science in grades 5, 8, and 10, as specified; and
c) The Early Assessment Program (EAP).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : In 2010, the SBE adopted the CCSS for California,
joining 43 other states and the District of Columbia. The CCSS
are a set of standards in English language arts and mathematics
that outline what pupils should know and be able to do at the
end of each grade level. In California, the CCSS replace
academic content standards that were adopted approximately 25
years ago.
The adoption of the CCSS required the development of new
assessments that are aligned to the new standards. California is
currently a governing state for the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium (SBAC) , which is a multistate consortium working to
develop a common student assessment system aligned with the CCSS
for English language arts/literacy and mathematics. The
assessment system includes a computer adaptive summative test
for grades 3-8 and 11 that provides student performance and
growth information to meet state and federal accountability
requirements. The Smarter Balanced assessments are being pilot
tested in the 2013-14 school year and will be administered in
the 2014-15 school year.
While some school districts may resist implementing California's
CCSS and using the accompanying curriculum frameworks,
instructional materials, and assessments, significant state
resources have been invested to assist them with this
transition. Since the adoption of the CCSS, the state has
committed to implementing these standards by appropriating more
than $1.2 billion in one-time funding to assist schools in
implementing these rigorous standards. Additionally, the
California Department of Education has dedicated significant
resources to developing these standards, the accompanying
frameworks, and the initial stages of the instructional
materials resources.
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Arguments In Support
Supporters contend that without this bill Californians will be
forced to spend funds on an unpopular curriculum that is likely
to be repealed within just a couple of years. Supporters urge
the curriculum decisions to be made at the local level and are
concerned that the SBAC and other multi-state resources lead to
"data mining" of California's children and the "corporatization"
of California's public schools. Some of the supporters allege
that Common Core is merely an intrusion of the federal
government into California's children's and families' lives and
as such, this bill will help limit the intrusive nature of these
standards.
Arguments in Opposition
The SBE has the statutory, and as applicable the constitutional,
responsibility of developing standards, identifying assessments,
and adopting instructional materials for use in California's
classrooms. Compulsory public education is an arm of the state
government and as such, the state has adopted rigorous standards
and laws to ensure California's students receive the best
education possible. It is contrary to public policy to allow
individual districts to opt out of statewide standards and
assessments. The assessments are required under the federal law
and any such option to schools and districts may jeopardize the
more than 7 billion dollars in federal funding California
receives annually. It is critical that California have a
well-articulated state system of education and to allow
districts to opt out of these keys elements runs contrary to
that basic premise.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Californians United Against Common Core
Common Core Concerns
Eagle Forum of California
Numerous Individuals
Opposition
Association of California School Administrators
California Teachers Association
Children Now
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Students First
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087