CSBA, ACSA question legality of 8th-grade Algebra 1 mandate
Published: August 22, 2008
CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance and the Association of California School Administrators today outlined legal concerns they have with the State Board of Education’s vote last month to require all eighth-graders to take an Algebra 1 assessment.
Detailed in a letter to SBE, the concerns range from procedural issues regarding the July 9 agenda item to substantive questions about the scope of SBE’s authority, according to Alliance Director Richard Hamilton. Based on those concerns, the letter asks SBE to take up the issue again at its Sept. 10-11 meeting in Sacramento.
“The first legal concern is procedural in nature regarding the wording of the July 9 agenda item itself,” Hamilton said. “Specifically, the item—resulting in a fundamental change in state policy—was not properly agendized to provide the public with any sense that the SBE would limit assessments for eighth-graders to Algebra 1.
“How could it have been, since it arose from a request from the governor in a letter delivered to the board the day before the meeting?” Hamilton asked.
“The other legal concerns outlined in the letter address substantive issues relative to the SBE’s authority to change the standards without legislative authorization and its authority to designate an assessment that was not designed or proposed by the state superintendent of public instruction and is not aligned to the academic content standards approved by the SBE,” Hamilton continued. “Currently, there are no eighth-grade math standards; therefore, the SBE’s requirement for all eighth-graders to take the Algebra 1 assessment specifies a content standard for eighth grade.”
Related links:
Read about the education community’s initial reaction to SBE’s July 9 vote @ http://www.csba.org/NewsAndMedia/Publications/CASchoolNews/2008/July/ElectronicOnly/8thGradeAlgebra.aspx.
Read about the estimated $3.1 billion cost of the Algebra 1 mandate @ http://www.csba.org/NewsAndMedia/Publications/CASchoolNews/2008/August/ElectronicOnly/AlgebraInitiative.aspx.