Under the dome: 2011-12 bills introduced
Published: April 1, 2011
More than 2,300 bills had been introduced in both the state Senate and Assembly by the February deadline for this first year of the 2011-12 legislative session. Many of the bills introduced are currently considered “spot” bills, which means they make only technical changes. The following are some of the bills that CSBA has taken a position on.
AB 331 School bonds
Brownley, D-Santa Monica
In 2006, the voters approved Proposition 1D, a statewide general obligation bond that provided over $10 billion for kindergarten-university facilities. Funding for new school construction is nearly depleted, but approximately $1 billion for modernization remains. School districts need additional financial support to build and modernize schools to ensure they are safe and educationally adequate. AB 331 would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would create the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2012. The amount of the proposed general obligation bond for school construction is unspecified and will be the subject of future negotiations.
Status: Awaiting consideration by the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSBA position: Support
AB 360 Charter schools conflict of interest
Brownley, D-Santa Monica
This bill would require charter schools to comply with the conflict-of-interest restrictions applicable to traditional public schools, including the Brown Act, the California Public Records Act, Government Code Section 1090 (which prohibits school board members from contracting with their own school district or county office of eduation) and the Political Reform Act, which requires school board members to disclose economic interests and prohibits them from attempting to influence a decision in which they have an interest.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Education Committee
CSBA position: Sponsor
AB 401 Charter schools limit and conflict of interest
Ammiano, D-San Francisco
This bill would freeze the current limit on the number of charter schools authorized to operate in California at 1,450 until 2022, and limit the charter schools in every district to no more than 10 percent of all the schools. AB 401 would also prohibit charter school officials from appointing relatives. CSBA will support AB 401 if it is amended to eliminate the limit on the percentage of charters that may operate in any district. This will preserve the flexibility for small districts, with perhaps five or fewer schools, to consider the option of converting a school to a dependent charter.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Education Committee
CSBA position: Support if amended
AB 815 Instructional programs: State Seal of Biliteracy
Brownley, D-Santa Monica
This bill would establish the State Seal of Biliteracy to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading and writing in one or more languages in addition to English. The State Seal of Biliteracy would be awarded by the state superintendent of public instruction.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Education Committee
CSBA position: Support
SB 140 Instructional materials: Common Core academic content standards
Lowenthal, D-Long Beach
This bill would require the California Department of Education to develop a list by July 1, 2012, of supplemental instructional materials that are aligned with the Common Core academic content standards in language arts and mathematics. The State Board of Education would be required to either adopt or reject the instructional materials as proposed by the department. The bill would also permit the governing boards of local educational agencies to adopt instructional materials other than those adopted by the State Board if the governing board determines that other instructional materials are aligned with the Common Core academic content standards and meet the needs of their pupils. The bill would require the CDE to maintain on its website a portal for local educational agencies to share information about instructional materials that are aligned with the Common Core academic content standards.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Senate Education Committee
CSBA position: Support
SB 300 Academic Content Standards Commission for Science and History-Social Science
Hancock, D-Berkeley
This bill would establish the Academic Content Standards Commission for Science and History-Social Science, consisting of 21 appointed members. The commission would be charged to develop academic content standards in science and history-social science, which would be required to be internationally benchmarked and to build toward college and career readiness by the time of high school graduation. The commission would be required to present its recommended academic content standards to the State Board of Education on or before Jan. 1, 2013, and the State Board would be required to either adopt or reject the standards on or before June 30, 2013. The bill would also require the state school superintendent and the State Board to present specified information to the governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Senate Education Committee
CSBA position: Support
SCA 5 Taxation: educational entities: parcel tax
Simitian, D-Palo Alto
This measure would place a proposition on the statewide ballot to seek voter approval to lower the threshold for voter approval of parcel taxes from the current two-thirds to 55 percent. If passed by voters, school districts would then be able to place parcel taxes on their local ballot with a 55 percent threshold, which conforms to the threshold for local school bonds.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee
CSBA position: Support
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