Current+Legislation

Current Legislation

The most critical piece of legislation focusing on curriculum and instruction **AB 250 (Brownley)**, which passed October 8, 2011. This bill:
 * Establishes the Curriculum Support and Reform Act of 2011 to implement and integrate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics and English language arts into the K-12 school system by May 30, 2013 and May 30, 2014, respectively
 * Extends the operative date of the state’s current STAR assessment system to July 1, 2014
 * Renames the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission to the Instructional Quality Advisory Committee; this committee will no longer review and recommend instructional materials, but will review and revise frameworks and evaluating criteria

To view the bill in its entirety, please visit the following link: [|AB 250]


 * __Other Curriculum and Instruction Bills of Interest: __**
 * SB 140 (Lowenthal) - Supplemental Instructional Materials
 * **Summary: Passed 10/8/11. **Requires the CDE to review and provide a list of supplemental instructional materials aligned with the Common Core State Standards by September 2012. The bill also permits governing board adoption of supplemental instructional materials other than those approved by the state board if the materials are deemed to be aligned with the common Core State Standards and meet the needs of students.
 * **Link: ** [|SB 140]
 * Supplemental Instructional Materials Review Timeline


 * AB 1033 (Feuer) - Review of standards
 * **Summary: ** (In Committee) Existing law authorizes the state board to modify any proposed content standards or performance standards prior to adoption, and to adopt content and performance standards in individual core curriculum areas as those standards are submitted to the state board. This bill would authorize the review of certain of the standards described above by a 25-member standards review commission, appointed as specified and convened for that purpose. The bill would restrict a finding to 2 subject areas at a time and would authorize the Superintendent and the state board to make additional findings after each time a standards review commission submits its recommendations to the state board. The bill would require the state board, upon receiving recommendations from a standards review commission, to either adopt or reject the standards as proposed by the commission and to notify the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly that it has acted. If the state board rejects the recommendations, the bill would require the state board to provide a specific written explanation to the Superintendent, the Governor, and the Legislature of the reasons why the proposed standards were rejected.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Link: **<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> [|AB 1033]


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">SB 300 (Hancock) - Science Content Standards
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Summary: ****<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Passed 10/8/11. **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> This bill would require the state board to adopt science content standards pursuant to specified requirements. The bill would require the Superintendent to convene a group of science experts with whom the Superintendent would be required to recommend science content standards for adoption to the state board. The bill would require the Superintendent to present the recommended science content standards to the state board by March 30, 2013, and would require the state board to adopt, reject, or modify those standards, as specified, by July 30, 2013. The bill would require the Superintendent and the state board to present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating the adopted science content standards into the state educational system. The bill would repeal these provisions on July 1, 2014.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Link: **<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> [|SB 300]


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">SB 509 (Price) - Priority purchasing
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Summary: ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Passed 10/8/11. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> This bill would authorize each school district to purchase the newest adopted instructional materials for the neediest schools in the school district, as defined, prior to purchasing these materials for the remaining schools in the district.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Link: [|SB 509] **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">SB 613 (Alquist) - Open source instructional materials
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Summary: (In Committee) Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials in specified subject areas for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive. Existing law authorizes the state board to adopt fewer than five basic instructional materials in specified instances. Existing law also requires the governing board of each school district maintaining one or more high schools to adopt instructional materials that meet specified criteria for use in the high schools under its control. This bill would require at least one-half, or one-half plus one in the case of an odd number, of the basic instructional materials adopted by the state board to be open-source instructional materials. The bill also would authorize the governing board of a school district maintaining a high school to adopt open-source instructional materials. The bill would define an open-source instructional material as an instructional material that is available in a digital format, is free to view online, meets the same requirements imposed on other printed instructional materials, and may be developed in a specified manner. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt fewer than the required number of open-source instructional materials in specified instances.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Link: SB 613


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Please note: **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">This page will be update regularly however, for the most recent bill language, you may view the bill in its entirety using the links provided.