Whatever education bills the Legislature passes in the next four weeks will pale in importance compared to its monumental achievement of 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula, Gov. Jerry Brown’s sweeping school finance and accountability plan that legislators enacted as part of the state budget in June.
But key bills do await action, as legislators head toward the end of session on Sept. 13. Chief among them is a decision on what state standardized tests to discontinue this year, which to suspend and resume later, and which to continue. The proposed changes are in Assembly Bill 484, which Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, is sponsoring on behalf of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.
California’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards and new English Language Development Standards for English learners and likely adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards by the State Board of Education in November are prompting a more comprehensive look at assessments. The new Common Core tests will be introduced in spring 2015, replacing California Standards Tests in English language arts and math in grades 3-8 and 11. Torlakson has proposed suspending many state tests in order to save money and allow schools to focus their attention on the new standards. Legislators must decide what to do in the future with end-of-subject high school tests, and when to create new tests for English learners and students with disabilities aligned with the new state standards. They must also decide how to proceed with new social studies and science tests.
Torlakson’s proposal is likely to change in the weeks ahead. The issue has captured Brown’s attention; he scheduled a meeting on it with his advisers.
But crucial votes are coming on other bills, too. What follows is a status report on a baker’s dozen of bills EdSource Today has been following. Use our interactive tracker to check the status of the bills’ status and read on for a brief description of each. The list includes several bills that, for lack of agreement, will be pushed into next year.
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Status Key
Bill Introduced
Two-Year Bill
Governor Signed into Law
In Assembly
Passed Assembly
In Senate
Passed Senate
Waiting on Governor
Governor Vetoed
Assembly bills
AB 174
- AB 174, by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, would establish a pilot grant program to fund school-based mental health services and trauma treatment for Alameda County students affected by violence.
- Why it’s important: Lack of access to mental health care is an issue for students affected by trauma and violence; AB 174 would bring services to traumatized youth in schools, a model that has proven to be effective.
- Bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly and Senate Health Committee, referred to Senate appropriations Suspense File, where committee sends any bill with an annual cost of more than $150,000. It will be considered at a hearing after the committee considers available revenue.
AB 182
- AB 182, by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, would set strict limits and a maximum debt ratio on the use of capital appreciation bonds for school construction and renovation.
- Why it’s important: Capital appreciation bonds defer repayment of interest and principal for 20 to 30 years, at which point property taxpayers incur interest charges amounting to nine or more times that of the principal; AB 182, pushed by state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, would limit that ratio to 4:1.
- Previous EdSource Today coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly, awaiting vote on Senate floor.
AB 256
- AB 256, by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, would allow schools to suspend or expel students for bullying by electronic means that originated on or off school grounds.
- Why it’s important: For the first time, schools would be authorized to take disciplinary action against students who bully by electronic means at non-school events and while off campus.
- Bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly, passed Senate Education Committee, awaiting final vote by Senate.
AB 375
- AB 375, by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, would expedite the process of dismissing a teacher by paring back evidence hearings and imposing a seven-month deadline for a decision by a three-member Commission on Professional Competence.
- Why it’s important: Unions and districts agree that teacher dismissals, including for egregious conduct, can be lengthy and expensive. Last year, unions killed a proposed reform; this year, districts opposed Buchanan’s version. She’ll have another chance at a compromise in 2014.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Two-year bill after it passed Assembly, but died in Senate Education Committee. Buchanan can revise it in 2014.
AB 420
- AB 420, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, would prohibit suspensions and expulsions for disruptive behavior – called willful defiance – in elementary school and allow suspensions and expulsions for disruptive behavior beyond grade 6 only after alternative forms of discipline have been tried.
- Why it’s important: The use of the subjectively defined willful defiance as a means for discipline has become a flashpoint in debates about how to manage school environments. Data have shown that minority students are disproportionately punished for “willful defiance.” Proponents of willful defiance say they need flexibility to remove students from school if the behavior is unacceptable. This is a scaled-back version of a bill Brown vetoed last year.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly, awaiting final vote on Senate floor.
AB 484
- AB 484, by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, on behalf of Superintendent Torlakson, would suspend most state standardized tests not required by the federal No Child Left Behind law, including high school end of course, social studies and Spanish language tests, in preparation for the new Common Core assessments in English language arts and math in spring 2015.
- Why it’s important: The transition to Common Core standards and the new science standards offers an opportunity to redesign tests in other subjects and to decide which tests no longer are necessary for state accountability. However, there are disagreements over timing, costs and priorities.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly and Senate Education Committee and referred to Senate Appropriations, subject to extensive behind-the-scenes negotiations with further amendments likely.
AB 1266
- AB 1266, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, gives transgender students the right to participate in school sports and use bathroom facilities that correspond with their expressed genders.
- Why it’s important: “Transgender” refers to those who identify with a gender different than their sex. Transgender students often face severe bullying and abuse in schools, studies have shown. The bill allows transgender students to more fully participate in school life.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Legislature, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Senate bills
SB 5
- SB 5, by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would eliminate the restriction that all multiple- and single-subject teacher credentialing programs squeeze all program requirements, including student teaching, into a one-year curriculum. The bill is consistent with recommendations of Torlakson’s Task Force on Educator Excellence.
- Why it’s important: California is unique in jamming teacher prep courses and student teaching into one year. This bill, permitting an extra year of coursework for a preliminary teaching credential, will allow for more depth and spur creative alternatives.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed the Legislature, awaiting governor’s signature.
SB 173
- SB 173, by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Glendale, would narrow the focus of adult education funded through K-12 districts to conform with changes Brown wrote into the state budget. The narrowed programs would favor English language and job and career preparation courses while eliminating parenting classes and recreational classes for older adults.
- Why it’s important: Codifies proposed changes to adult education programs, typically operated by K-12 districts, which critics say are over-broad and redundant with other available programming; opponents of the bill say the classes are vital for the communities they serve and that older adult programs should be maintained as the population of senior citizens grows.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Turned into a two-year bill.
SB 247
- SB 247, by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Glendale, would end the second grade California Standards Test in English language arts and math and turn it into an optional diagnostic test, aligned to Common Core, that districts will administer but the state will pay for.
- Why it’s important: The new Common Core assessments will start at grade 3. This bill will allow state-funded district assessments to inform parents and teachers whether 2nd graders need interventions to read by 3rd grade, a critical predictor of success.
- Previous coverage; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Assembly Education Committee and now before Assembly Appropriations suspense file.
SB 330
- SB 330, by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would include instruction about mental health in the next revision of the state health curriculum to promote positive mental health and identify signs of common mental health problems.
- Why it’s important: Mental health is critical to student well-being and academic achievement. Teaching students about common mental health issues will reduce stigma and increase understanding.
- Bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Senate, passed Assembly Education Committee, referred to Assembly Appropriations suspense file.
SB 344
- SB 344, by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would require very detailed information, by school site, on how districts will use money under the new Local Control Funding Formula to provide programs and services for English learners, and require a parent representative from every school site to be elected to the new district parent advisory council.
- Why it’s important: This bill, requiring detailed spending plans at school sites and giving school representatives a bigger policy role, steps on State Board of Education’s authority to determine rules for the LCFF by early 2014. It counters Gov. Brown’s preference to vest power at the district level.
- Bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Senate, passed Assembly Education Committee, referred to Assembly Appropriations suspense file.
SB 744
- SB 744, by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would set conditions and restrictions for the transfer of students without parent permission to community day schools, usually for discipline and truancy reasons.
- Why it’s important: Advocates say students are sent to languish in community day schools without clear standards for returning to traditional campuses.
- Previous coverage from EdSource Today and the Center for Public Integrity; bill analysis.
- Status: Passed Senate, passed Assembly Education Committee, referred to Assembly Appropriations.
EdSource Today Editor John Fensterwald and staff writers Jane Meredith Adams and Susan Frey contributed to this report. Graphic by John C. Osborn.