CSBA sample resolution available on ‘sufficient’ K-8 instructional materials
Published: September 18, 2009
Despite the suspension of California’s “24-month rule,” which requires school districts and county offices of education to purchase new math or English-language arts textbooks and instructional materials for grades K-8 within 24 months of adoption by the State Board of Education, they still must meet other state requirements regarding the sufficiency of instructional materials, according to Judy Cias, CSBA’s director of policy update services.
“Districts and county offices are still required to have ‘sufficient’ instructional materials, hold a public hearing and adopt a sufficiency resolution pursuant to Education Code 60119,” Cias noted last week. And, in a new requirement imposed as part of the state budget deal, they must provide all K-8 students who are enrolled in the same math or English-language arts course with “identical” textbooks and instructional materials from the same adoption cycle.
Public hearings on the sufficiency of instructional materials must be held between the first day that students attend school and the end of the eighth week of the school year, Cias pointed out. To help, CSBA has developed a sample resolution regarding sufficiency of instructional materials that reflects the new requirements (see the related link at the end of this story), and it is preparing a revised sample policy.
Districts and county offices that have already held their hearing and adopted a sufficiency resolution using the CDE’s 2008 sample do not need to hold another hearing and adopt another resolution this year. However, they should be aware that “identical” materials must be provided to students and ensure that their resolution in 2010 reflects this new requirement.
“CSBA members that subscribe to one of our policy services may also find this sample resolution on GAMUT Online; they will also be able to access the revised relevant sample board policy when it is issued with the November packet of policies,” Cias said.
Rule suspended due to budget cuts
State lawmakers suspended the 24-month rule as part of their 2009-10 budget package, which increased the cuts to school funding to $12.5 billion from expected levels—an astounding reduction of $2,100 per student, as CSBA’s Governmental Relations Department has characterized it.
The 24-month rule, a condition for receiving money under the state’s Instructional Materials Funding and Realignment Program, had already been partially suspended with the passage of the state budget in February, Cias noted. In July, lawmakers extended the suspension to four years —until the 2012-13 school year. As a result, districts and county offices do not need to purchase instructional materials for grades K-8 from those SBE adopted for math in 2007, or from those adopted in 2008 for reading-language arts.
For grades 9-12, school boards must decide which books are standards-aligned and then purchase them within 24 months.
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