Amended in Senate April 22, 2014

Amended in Senate April 2, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1200

Introduced by Senator Padilla

February 20, 2014

An act to begin delete add Section 66205.55 to end delete begin insert amend Section 66205.5 of end insert the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1200, as amended, Padilla. Public postsecondary education: academic standards.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California’s public and independent segments of higher education, and their respective institutions of higher education. Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as 2 of the public segments of postsecondary education in this state. A provision of the act requires the California State University and requests the University of California to establish a uniform set of model academic standards for high school courses for pupils who wish to attend those institutions.

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This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University, and would request the Regents of the University of California, to create guidelines for high school computer science courses to satisfy the “a-g” subject requirements, as defined, for the area of mathematics for purposes of undergraduate admission at their respective institutions.

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Existing law establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission and requires the commission to develop internationally benchmarked academic content standards in language arts and mathematics, at least 85% of which are required to be the common core academic standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium or another specified interstate collaboration.

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This bill would express the Legislature’s intent that the University of California and the California State University align their respective model academic standards for high school courses in language arts and mathematics to these academic content standards developed by the commission. The bill would require the trustees and would request the regents to develop guidelines for high school computer science courses to be approved for purposes of recognition for admission to the California State University and the University of California, respectively, and would encourage the University of California to ensure that computer science courses that satisfy the mathematics subject area requirements for admission build upon fundamental mathematics content provided in courses that align with the academic content standards developed by the commission.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. 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 66205.5 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

66205.5.  

The California State University shall, and the
University of California is requested to, do all of the following:

(a) Establish a model uniform set of academic standards for
high school courses, including career technical courses pursuant
to subdivision (i) of Section 51220, for the purposes of recognition
for admission to the California State University and to the
University of California, respectively. In developing the model
academic standards, the faculty of the postsecondary segments
may work in consultation with administrators and faculty from
schools maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 12.
Participating schools that maintain any of grades kindergarten
through 12 shall consult with an advisory group that shall include,
but need not be limited to, representatives from all of the following:

(1) The University of California and the California State
University.

(2) Business and industry, related to career technical programs
in any of grades kindergarten through 12, inclusive.

(3) Classroom teachers in career technical education.

(4) School administrators.

(5) Parents.

(b) Develop and implement a speedy process whereby high
schools may obtain approval of their courses to satisfy specified
admissions requirements of the California State University and
the University of California, respectively, by January 1, 2006. The
approval process shall, by August 1 of each school year, notify
applying schools whether the application for approval has been
approved or denied.

(c) Develop a simple procedure to evaluate a career technical
education course submitted by a high school that identifies it as a
duplicate of a course offered by another high school that is
approved by and satisfies the admissions criteria of the California
State University or the University of California. The procedure
shall ensure that a duplicated course shall be approved as satisfying
the admissions criteria of the California State University or the
University of California, respectively, to the same extent as the
original course if the review determines that the course successfully
duplicates the content and requirements of the original course. If
a course is not approved as a duplicate, the California State
University or the University of California shall inform the applicant
high school of the reasons why the course was not approved and
shall provide the applicant with a specific list of requirements that
the course must meet in order to be approved as a duplicate. In the
event an applicant high school, whose course was not approved
as a duplicate, revises the course and resubmits its application, the
California State University or the University of California shall
respond as expeditiously as possible so that if the course meets
the necessary requirements for approval it may be offered in the
next fall term.

(d) Take into consideration any previous work completed or
policies adopted regarding matters related to subdivisions (a) to
(c), inclusive, by the California State University or the University
of California, respectively.

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(e) Develop guidelines for high school computer science courses
that may be approved for the purposes of recognition for
admission, as provided in subdivision (a). For computer science
courses determined to satisfy mathematics subject area
requirements, the University of California is encouraged to ensure
that these courses build upon fundamental mathematics content
provided in courses that satisfy the requirements of subdivision
(f).

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(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the academic standards
for a high school course, adopted pursuant to and for purposes
outlined in subdivision (a), are aligned with the standards
developed pursuant to Section 60605.8 of the Education Code.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 66205.55 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

66205.55.  

(a) The Trustees of the California State University
shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested
to, create guidelines for high school computer science courses to
satisfy the “a-g” subject requirements for the area of mathematics,
for purposes of undergraduate admission to the California State
University and to the University of California, respectively.

(b) As used in this section, the “a-g” subject requirements
constitute the pattern of college preparatory courses drawn from
the areas of history/social science, English, mathematics, laboratory
science, languages other than English, visual and performing arts,
and college-preparatory electives required for entrance as a
first-year student at the University of California.

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