BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 185
Author: Walters (R)
Amended: 5/15/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/8/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Hancock, Hueso, Huff, Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Jackson
SUBJECT : Instructional materials: digital format
SOURCE : Association of California School Administrators
DIGEST : This bill 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, as specified.
ANALYSIS : 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. 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).
Existing law:
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1.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.
2.Requires publishers to adhere to several requirements when
submitting instructional materials to the SBE for
consideration, and well as in the provision of those materials
to school districts, including:
A. Furnish the materials at a price that does not exceed
the lowest price sold in the United States.
B. Provide any materials free of charge to the same extent
as received by any state.
C. 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.
1.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.
2.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.
3.Defines for purposes of the Williams v. State of California
Settlement, "sufficient textbooks or instructional materials"
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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. 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.
4.Requires, by January 1, 2020, publishers of any textbook
offered for sale at the University of California, 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.
This bill 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. Specifically, this bill:
1.Authorizes school districts and county offices of education to
negotiate the price of standards-aligned instructional
materials and supplemental materials in either a printed or
digital format.
2.Authorizes school districts to use instructional materials in
digital format that were purchased by the school district to
create a districtwide online digital database for classroom
use consistent with an online security system that is mutually
agreed on by the publisher and the school district, without
violating any copyright law or contract between a school
district and a publisher or manufacturer.
3.Requires publishers to offer instructional materials or
supplemental materials as unbundled elements to enable the
digital material or printed materials to be purchased
separately from other components.
Comments
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Price of state-adopted materials . The SBE adopts K-8
instructional materials while school districts adopt
instructional materials for grades 9-12. Until recently, school
districts were required to purchase K-8 instructional materials
from the list of materials adopted by the SBE. Beginning
January 1, 2013, school districts may choose to purchase
instructional materials that are aligned to the academic content
standards but not adopted by the SBE.
Publishers of instructional materials are required to submit
initial prices for K-8 instructional materials submitted by the
publisher to the SBE for consideration for adoption. The SBE
adopts the price of materials at the time of adoption of the
instructional materials. Prices remain in effect for two years,
although publishers may reduce the price at any time during the
two year cycle. Publishers may submit revisions to price
schedules biennially. The list of SBE adopted materials,
including prices, is available on the CDE's Internet Web site.
Supplemental instructional materials are approved but not
adopted by the SBE. The price of supplemental materials is not
set by the SBE; districts negotiate directly with publishers for
the purchase of supplemental instructional materials.
Prior Legislation
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 Governor Brown, 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 1790 (Hagman, 2012) would have required publishers to ensure
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that instructional materials are offered in both print and
digital formats.
AB 1790 was vetoed by Governor Brown, whose veto message read:
This bill would require textbook publishers to produce
digital "equivalent" versions of printed instructional
materials submitted for adoption by the SBE or by local
school districts.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/15/13)
Association of California School Administrators (source)
Junior League of California State Public Affairs Committee
San Francisco Unified School District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/15/13)
Association of American Publishers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "California's
current economic situation has resulted in many school districts
being unable to afford new hardcopy textbooks for their
students. Additionally, public schools are not able to seize
the opportunity presented by these new technologies, which are
the future of education, due to California's fiscal situation
and the rigidity of California's instructional materials market
model. Currently, many textbook publishers only offer
educational materials in bundled formats. For example, a
textbook, workbook and CD-ROM may come together in one bundle.
Therefore, when purchasing needed materials, schools districts
must often purchase other materials they never intend to use."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Association of American
Publishers writes, "The industry already has digital
instructional materials available on the market in a variety of
formats ranging from PDF to interactive digital products. The
measure is out of step with what the market has available to
schools.
Additionally, one unintended consequence of this bill is that
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the requirements imposed by this bill will result in fewer
products being offered in the market. This is contradictory to
the state's historic practice of encouraging maximum choices for
school districts in the selection of instructional materials."
PQ:ej 5/15/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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