Education

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Written by: Editor

Published: 02 October 2013

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday signed a package of bills to help improve education in California and continue transitioning to Common Core State Standards.

The governor’s 2013-14 Budget, signed in June, invests $1.25 billion in professional development, instructional materials and technology to support the implementation of Common Core Standards in California.

Wednesday’s action also builds on the historic school funding reforms signed into law by Gov. Brown in July.

The legislation – called the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) – replaces California’s overly complex, inefficient and inequitable finance system for K-12 schools and directs additional resources to the state’s neediest students, while restoring local control over how money is spent on schools.

The governor signed the following bills Wednesday:

AB 56 by Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D-San Diego) – Requires, by July 1, 2015, the State Fire Marshal to propose for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission, for the commission's next triennial code adoption cycle, appropriate standards for the installation of carbon monoxide devices in school buildings.

AB 123 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) – Requires the State Board of Education to ensure that the state curriculum and framework on César Chávez and the history of the farm labor movement in the United States, and the state criteria for selecting textbooks, include information on the role of immigrants, including Filipino Americans, in that movement.

AB 182 by Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) – Establishes parameters for the issuance of local education bonds that allow for the compounding of interest, including, but not limited to, capital appreciation bonds (CABs) and requires local governing boards to be provided additional information regarding the issuance of CABs and Current Interest Bond that are issued for a period over 30 years.

AB 308 by Assemblymember Curt C. Hagman (R-Chino Hills) – Requires a school district, county office of education or charter school to reimburse the state for any state bond funding received for a building if that building is subsequently sold and the proceeds used for ongoing general fund purposes. Limited to property that was purchased, modernized or constructed within 10 years of the sale.

AB 424 by Assemblymember Tim M. Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks) – Requires the Instructional Quality Commission, when revising the history-social science framework, to consider incorporating the Magna Carta, the Articles of Confederation, and the California Constitution into the framework.

AB 484 by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) – Establishes the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress, commencing with the 2013-14 school year, as the statewide assessment program, aligned with the common core state standards, and provides for a rational transition from the existing statewide assessment system to the new system. In addition, the bill provides direction to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the California Department of Education on the administration and future expansion of the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress to ensure a comprehensive assessment system that best meets the needs of teachers, students, and parents.

AB 700 by Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) – Requires the Instructional Quality Commission, when revising the history-social science framework, to ensure that voter education information is included in the American government and civics curriculum at the high school level.

SB 201 by Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge) – Authorizes the State Board of Education to adopt K-8 instructional materials that are aligned to the Common Core English language arts standards and the Common Core development standards.

SB 247 by Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge) – Addresses the use of grade 2 diagnostic assessments for use by classroom teachers in the absence of state-required testing of grade 2 pupils.

SB 300 by Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) – Requires the State Board of Education, on or before January 31, 2016, to consider the adoption of a revised curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for the Next Generation Science Standards.

SB 330 by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) – Requires the Instructional Quality Commission to consider developing and recommending to the State Board of Education a distinct category on mental health instruction to educate pupils about all aspects of mental health, when the Health Framework for Public Schools is next revised.

SB 490 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) – Encourages California community college districts that participate in the Early Assessment Program to consult with the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges to work toward sequencing their pre-collegiate and transfer level English and math courses to the common core academic content standards.

SB 552 by Sen. Ronald S. Calderon (D-Montebello) – Permits local school district governing boards to provide instruction in grades 1 through 12 on violence awareness, as specified.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html .