AB 1246

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law authorizes local educational agencies to use specified funds for any educational purpose, as provided, and requires instructional materials purchased by such a local educational agency to be materials adopted by the State Board of Education and be aligned with state standards, as specified. This bill would instead provide that the instructional materials purchased by such a local educational agency be aligned with state standards, as specified. (2) Existing law requires that, in order to be eligible for specified funds, a school district take steps to ensure that each pupil in each school in the school district has sufficient textbooks or instructional materials that are aligned to adopted content standards, as specified. Existing law establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission that is required to develop academic content standards in English language arts and mathematics. This bill would require a school district, in order to be eligible for specified funds, to ensure that there are sufficient textbooks or instructional materials that are aligned to specified adopted content standards or the content standards that were developed by the Academic Content Standards Commission and adopted by the state board. The bill also would, for the purpose of transitioning to instructional materials that are aligned with the common core academic content standards, state the intent of the Legislature that textbooks, instructional materials, and supplemental instructional materials be deemed to be aligned with the content standards and be deemed consistent with the content and cycles of the curriculum framework adopted by the state board, as specified, if the textbooks, instructional materials, supplemental instructional materials, or a combination of any such materials are aligned to the content standards adopted pursuant to specified provisions of law. (3) Existing law requires the state board to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for governing boards, as defined, subject to specified provisions, including criteria established by the state board, as specified, provided that the criteria are approved by resolution at the time the resolution adopting the framework for the current adoption is approved, or at least 30 months before the date that the materials are to be approved for adoption. Existing law authorizes instructional materials to be submitted for adoption in certain subject areas according to 6- and 8-year submission cycles. This bill would add additional requirements for the review and adoption of instructional materials, including, but not limited to, changing the submission cycles to 8 years for all subject areas and requiring the State Department of Education to assess a reasonable fee on a publisher or manufacturer if it submits instructional materials for review after the applicable timeframe, and would provide that the criteria established by the state board for reviewing and adopting instructional materials are required to be approved by resolution at the time the resolution adopting the framework for the current adoption is approved, or at least 12 months before the date that the materials are to be approved for adoption. The bill would delete a provision that requires the state board to authorize a school district governing board, under specified circumstances, to use its instructional materials allowances to purchase materials as specified by the state board, in accordance with standards and procedures established by the state board. This bill would, among other things, require the department, before conducting an adoption of basic instructional materials for mathematics, to provide notice, as specified, to all publishers or manufacturers that each publisher or manufacturer is required to pay a fee, as specified, to offset the cost of conducting the adoption process. The bill would further authorize a local educational agency to use instructional materials that are aligned with academic content standards, as specified, including basic instructional materials that have not been adopted by the state board, and would require a majority of the participants of any review process conducted by the local educational agency to be classroom teachers who are assigned to the subject area or grade level of the materials. (4) Existing law requires the state board to give the Instructional Quality Commission a public hearing before making any adoption of instructional materials for use in elementary schools. This bill would require the state board to hold a public hearing before adopting instructional materials for use in elementary schools. The bill also would, upon review of the commission's recommendations for instructional materials, authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to make alternative recommendations for instructional materials, and would require the state board to consider the Superintendent's recommendations and comments from other advisory bodies and the public before making its decision to adopt instructional materials. (5) Existing law requires the state board to adopt revised curriculum frameworks and evaluation criteria that are aligned to the content standards adopted, as specified, for mathematics and English language arts no later than May 30, 2013, and May 30, 2014, respectively. This bill would instead require the state board to adopt a revised curriculum framework for mathematics no later than November 30, 2013. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that are aligned to content standards adopted, as specified, for mathematics no later than March 30, 2014, and would authorize the state board to adopt evaluation criteria for mathematics no later than March 31, 2013, as specified. The bill also would require the instructional materials adopted pursuant to these provisions to remain adopted until the next statewide adoption of instructional materials for mathematics. (6) Existing law establishes the Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program to provide funding for instructional materials to school districts on the basis of an equal amount per pupil enrolled in public elementary and high schools, as specified. This bill would repeal the provisions relating to the Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program. (7) This bill would provide that it would become operative only if AB 1719 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is also enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2013.