AB 1719

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and authorizes the state board to establish criteria for that purpose. Existing law requires the state board in reviewing and adopting instructional materials to use specified criteria and ensure that, in its judgment, the submitted instructional materials meet all of the specified criteria. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to recommend, and the state board to approve, evaluation criteria to guide the development and review of supplemental instructional materials for English language arts and mathematics to provide a bridge between the California common core academic content standards and the standards-aligned instructional materials currently being used by local educational agencies. Existing law requires the state board to perform specified reviews and to approve or reject all, or a portion, of the list of supplemental instructional materials proposed by the department and authorizes the state board to add an item to that list, as specified. Existing law also permits the governing board of a school district to approve supplemental instructional materials other than those approved by the state board if the governing board performs specified reviews and determines that other supplemental instructional materials are aligned with the California common core academic content standards and meet the needs of the pupils of the district. Existing law requires supplemental instructional materials approved by the state board and the governing board of a school district to be reviewed by content review experts, as specified. This bill would require the department to recommend, and the state board to approve, evaluation criteria to guide the development and review of supplemental instructional materials for English learners. The bill would require the department to develop a list by March 1, 2014, of supplemental instructional materials for beginning through advanced levels of proficiency for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that are aligned with the revised English language development standards. The bill would require content review experts, who are recommended by the department and approved by the state board, to review the supplemental instructional materials. The bill would appropriate $500,000 in one-time federal Title I carryover funds, as specified, from the Federal Trust Fund to the department for purposes of conducting this review. The bill would, by June 30, 2014, require the state board to approve or reject supplemental instructional materials, as specified. The bill would authorize the governing boards of school districts and county boards of education to approve supplemental instructional materials other than those approved by the state board if the governing board of a school district or county board of education performs specified reviews and determines that other supplemental instructional materials are aligned with the revised English language development standards and meet the needs of pupils of the district who are English learners. This bill would require the department, at least 30 days before the state board takes specified action, to develop a list of supplemental instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 7, inclusive, that are aligned with the California common core academic content standards for mathematics. The bill would require the department to recommend, and the state board to approve, content review experts to review supplemental instructional materials submitted for approval, as specified. The bill also would require the state board, on or before July 30, 2013, to perform specified reviews and to approve or reject all, or a portion, of the list of supplemental instructional materials proposed by the department and would authorize the state board to add an item to that list, as specified. The bill would require the department to use certain federal carryover funds to implement the development of this list of mathematics supplemental instructional materials. This bill would become operative contingent upon the enactment of AB 1246 of the 2011–12 Regular Session.