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.
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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 66205.5 of the Education Code is
2amended to read:
The California State University shall, and the
4University of California is requested to, do all of the following:
5(a) Establish a model uniform set of academic standards for
6high school courses, including career technical courses pursuant
7to subdivision (i) of Section 51220, for the purposes of recognition
8for admission to the California State University and to the
9University of California, respectively. In developing the model
10academic standards, the faculty of the postsecondary segments
11may work in consultation with administrators and faculty from
12schools maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 12begin insert,
13
inclusiveend insert. Participating schools that maintain any of grades
14kindergarten through 12 shall consult with an advisory group that
15shall include, but need not be limited to, representatives from all
16of the following:
17(1) The University of California and the California State
18University.
P3 1(2) Business and industry, related to career technical programs
2in any of grades kindergarten through 12, inclusive.
3(3) Classroom teachers in career technical education.
4(4) School administrators.
5(5) Parents.
6(b) Develop and implement
a speedy process whereby high
7schools may obtain approval of their courses to satisfy specified
8admissions requirements of the California State University and
9the University of California, respectively, by January 1, 2006. The
10approval process shall, by August 1 of each school year, notify
11applying schools whether the application for approval has been
12approved or denied.
13(c) Develop a simple procedure to evaluate a career technical
14education course submitted by a high school that identifies it as a
15duplicate of a course offered by another high school that is
16approved by and satisfies the admissions criteria of the California
17State University or the University of California. The procedure
18shall ensure that a duplicated course shall be approved as satisfying
19the admissions criteria of the California State University or the
20University of
California, respectively, to the same extent as the
21original course if the review determines that the course successfully
22duplicates the content and requirements of the original course. If
23a course is not approved as a duplicate, the California State
24University or the University of California shall inform the applicant
25high school of the reasons why the course was not approved and
26shall provide the applicant with a specific list of requirements that
27the course must meet in order to be approved as a duplicate. In the
28event an applicant high school, whose course was not approved
29as a duplicate, revises the course and resubmits its application, the
30California State University or the University of California shall
31respond as expeditiously as possible so that if the course meets
32the necessary requirements for approval it may be offered in the
33next fall term.
34(d) Take into consideration any previous work completed or
35policies adopted regarding matters related to subdivisions (a) to
36(c), inclusive, by the California State University or the University
37of California, respectively.
38(e) Develop guidelines for high school computer science courses
39that may be approved for the purposes of recognition for admission,
40as provided in subdivision (a). For computer science courses
P4 1determined to satisfy mathematics subject area requirements, the
2University of California is encouraged to ensure that these courses
3build upon fundamental mathematics content provided in courses
4that satisfy the requirements of subdivision (f).
5(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the academic standards
6for a high school course, adopted pursuant to
and for purposes
7outlined in subdivision (a), are aligned with the standards
8developed pursuant to Section 60605.8 of the Education Code.
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