BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1143|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1143
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 4/30/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/24/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Huff, Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Hueso
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: independent study
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes various changes to independent study
(IS), including authorizing a school district, county office of
education (COE), or charter school to offer IS courses to pupils
enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), in
accordance with prescribed conditions. This bill specifies the
computation of average daily attendance (ADA) for IS courses,
and prohibits local educational agencies (LEAs) from having to
sign and date pupil work products when assessing their time
value of pupil work products for apportionment purposes. This
bill also revises the pupil-to-teacher ratios by grade span, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for IS, which is provided as
an alternative instructional strategy. IS students work
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independently, according to a written agreement and under the
general supervision of a credentialed teacher or teachers.
While IS students follow the district-adopted curriculum and
meet the district graduation requirements, IS offers flexibility
to meet individual student needs, interests, and styles of
learning. Because students in IS work closely with their
teachers, in one-on-one meetings or small group instruction, IS
can be a highly personalized form of instruction. In all cases,
students are supervised by a certificated teacher who assigns
and evaluates student work on a periodic basis. Since IS
students do not attend school on a daily basis, funding for IS
programs is based on students' academic work products. For each
assignment, the supervising teacher equates a students' work to
an equivalent amount of seat time. An IS program can claim full
per-pupil funding if the seat-time equivalent of the students'
work is the same as the time the students would have spent in a
classroom setting.
Under existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992 provides for
the establishment of charter schools in California for the
purpose, among other things, to improve student learning and
expand learning experiences for pupils who are identified as
academically low achieving. A charter school that does not meet
the requirements to be a classroom-based instruction is
considered to be nonclassroom-based instruction and must have a
funding determination approved by the State Board of Education.
Classroom-based instruction occurs only when pupils are under
the immediate supervision and control of a certificated teacher.
The charter school must offer at least 80% of its instructional
time at the school site (principally for classroom instruction)
and attendance must be required at the school site for at least
80% of the minimum instructional time required to be offered.
This bill makes various changes to IS, including authorizing a
school district, COE, or charter school to offer IS courses to
pupils enrolled in K-12, in accordance with prescribed
conditions. More specifically, this bill:
1.Specifies that only those units of ADA that reflect a
pupil-teacher ratio that does not exceed the applicable grade
span ratio, shall be eligible for state apportionment funding.
For charter schools, the applicable ratio of
pupils-to-teacher shall be a fixed 25:1, or a ratio of less
than that.
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2.Eliminates the requirement that all student assignments be
signed and dated by a supervising teacher. The underlying
requirements for teachers to evaluate student assignments,
keep a record of all work assigned, and maintain
representative samples of student work would remain in place.
3.Authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and
charter schools to offer a new course based IS option
beginning with the 2015-16 school year for pupils enrolled in
grades 9 to 12, pursuant to the following conditions:
A. The local governing board adopts policies, at a public
hearing, that comply with the requirements of this bill, as
specified.
B. A signed learning agreement is completed, as specified.
C. Courses are taught under the general supervision of
certificated employees, as specified; and are employed by
the school district, COE, or charter school or by a LEA
that has a memorandum of understanding to provide the
instruction, as specified.
D. Courses are annually certified by the local governing
board, as specified, to be of the same rigor and
educational quality as equivalent classroom-based courses,
including all relevant local and state content standards.
This certification, at a minimum, must include the
duration, number of equivalent daily instructional minutes
for each school day that a pupil is enrolled, number of
equivalent total instructional minutes, and number of
course credits for each course. This information shall be
consistent with that of equivalent classroom-based courses.
E. Pupils enrolled in courses authorized by this bill must
meet applicable residency, enrollment and age requirements,
as specified.
F. Requires at least once per week pupil/teacher
communication, as specified, assessing whether each pupil
is making satisfactory educational progress. Satisfactory
educational progress includes, but is not limited to,
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applicable statewide accountability measures and
assessments and the completion of assignments,
examinations, or other indicators that evidence that the
pupil is working on assignments, learning required
concepts, and progressing toward successful completion of
the course, as determined by certificated employees
providing instruction. In addition, this bill prescribes a
process if satisfactory educational progress is not being
made, as specified.
G. Examinations given to pupils must include a proctor or
other reliable method to ensure exam integrity.
H. Pupil shall not be required to enroll in a course based
IS.
I. Pupil-to-certificated employee ratio limitations
identified in #1 above apply.
J. For each pupil, the combined equivalent daily
instructional minutes for enrolled courses authorized by
this bill and enrolled courses authorized by all other laws
and regulations must meet the applicable minimum
instructional day requirements. Pupils enrolled in courses
authorized by this bill shall be offered the minimum annual
total equivalent instructional minutes, as specified.
AA. Specifies the computation of ADA for each pupil enrolled
in one or more courses authorized by this bill, shall be
computed based on daily instructional minutes, as
specified.
4.The learning agreement must be signed by the pupil and pupil's
parent or legal guardian, as applicable, and all certificated
employees providing instruction before instruction may
commence.
5.A physical or electronic copy of the signed learning agreement
must be retained by the school district, COE or charter school
for at least three years.
6.Defines an electronic copy to include a computer or electronic
stored image of an original document, including, but not
limited to, PDF (portable document format), JPEG (joint
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photographic experts group), or other digital image file type,
that may be sent via fax machine, e-mail, or other electronic
means.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
ADA: Potentially significant state costs (General Fund), to
the extent that the increased flexibility allows LEAs to
increase ADA through definitional flexibility, increased IS
program offerings, and/or increased success in meeting audit
requirements.
Workload: Significant local savings, due to changes that
update and streamline the accounting and record-keeping
process for LEAs offering IS courses.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/14)
Butte County Office of Education
California Association of Gifted and Talented
California Consortium for Independent Study
California Continuation Education Association
California Educational Technology Professionals Association
Contra Costa County Superintendents' Coalition
Education Trust-West
EdVoice
Napa County Office of Education
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
San Diego County Office of Education
San Francisco Unified School District
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Santa Cruz County Office of Education
School Employers Association of California
Small School Districts' Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/14)
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Because students in independent study work closely with their
teachers, in one-on-one meetings or small group instruction,
independent study can be a highly personalized form of
instruction. In all cases, students are supervised by a
certificated teacher who assigns and evaluates student work on
a periodic basis.
Since IS students do not attend school on a daily basis,
funding for IS programs is based on students' academic work
products. At present, for each assignment, the supervising
teacher equates a students' work to an equivalent amount of
seat time - SB 1143 offers a course-based alternative to this
approach. An IS program can claim full per-pupil funding if
the seat-time equivalent of the students' work is the same as
the time the students would have spent in a classroom setting.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Federation of
Teachers (AFT) believes that the integration of technology into
the classroom is essential to providing students with the
knowledge and skills they need to be successful in the 21st
century. However, AFT states that they also strongly believe
that every child deserves a highly-qualified teacher providing
daily instruction in a supportive learning environment where
personalized attention can be given to each student. Education
is much more than learning content; it is also about the
development of social and emotional skills so that children not
only learn the academic skills they need but also develop the
social and emotional skills they need to be successful. This
bill undermines this core tenet of what AFT believe constitutes
effective teaching and learning.
PQ:k 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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