2007-2008 LEGISLATION
prepared by California Science Teachers Association

Bill # (author)	Issues (italics represent amendments)	Analysis	Status	Who Supports It	Who Opposes It	Next Action	CSTA's Position
AB 2315 (Mullin)	Materials Adoption Process Would revise the instructional materials adoption process by 1) extending the time that districts have to supply students with standards-aligned books from 24 months to 36 months; 2) requiring that the evaluations and recommenda-tions of the IMR and CRE panels be made public; 3) eliminating the role of the Curriculum Commission from the adoption process; 4) requir-ing districts, as a condition of receiving instructional materials funds, to submit the names of individuals being considered to serve on the evaluation and review of instructional materials submitted for grades K-8.	This bill attempts to implement some of the recommendations of the Legislative Analyst's Office with regard to the adoption of instructional materials.	Passed Assembly, Senate; enrolled; to governor	ACSA CSBA LAUSD Small School Dist. Assoc.	American Assoc. of Publishers		Expressed concern about several elements of the bill.
AB 2932 (Karnette)	Materials Adoption Procedures Would reduce the amount of time between the adoption of materials evaluation criteria and adoption of the materials from 30 to 18 months for history/social science and from 30 to 24 months for science.	This bill would maintain the current timeline for the adoption of history/social science and science materials in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The revision of the Title 5 regulations which govern the adoption of materials delayed the start of work on the h/ss framework; this bill shortens the length of time for publishers to develop materials but maintains the end adoption date.	Passed legislature and signed by governor. Chaptered: Chapter 149	State Supt. of Public Instr. American Assoc. of Publishers Calif. Alliance for the Arts Calif. Language Teachers Assoc.	Unk.		Expressed concern for shortened timeline for science materials development.
SB 908 (Simitian)	Climate Change Requires that the topic of climate change be added to the list of topics to be included in the environmental education concepts and principles.		Passed legislature; vetoed by governor. Governor's veto message.	AFSCME Environmental Defense Fund Silicon Valley Leadership Group	Secretary of Ed.
SB 1097 (Torlakson)	Content Standards Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to appoint panels of content experts to review and revise the English/language arts and history/social science content standards. The bill allows the State Board of Education to accept or reject the revisions withing 120 days of submission. Requires state superintendent to use existing CDE resources to implement the requirements of the bill.	The original bill included all subject matter content standards in the review, but was amended to exclude all but English/language arts and history. Similar bills have been introduced in the past and have either died in committee or been vetoed by the governor.	Passed Senate, Assembly; enrolled; to governor	CSTA CSBA CTA BSMARTE CFT Calif. Math Council Calif. Space Authority SFUSD Saddleback USD	Unk.		Support (see CSTA's support letter)
SB 1111 (Scott)	Testing Requires the State Board of Education to revise testing requirements so that any federal testing requirements can be met through administration of a state test, and prohibits the State Board of Education from requiring the administration of any pupil achievement test based solely on federal requirements. The bill would instead require the administration of a federally required pupil achievement test to be authorized by a state statute.	The original bill specified that districts could administer the NCLB-required test at any grade, 9-12, with the test scores accumulated over the period of years to meet NCLB's 95% participation requirement. CSTA strongly supported that emphasis, but the bill was amended to make it less specific.	Passed Senate, Assembly; enrolled; to governor	CSTA CSBA Saddleback USD	Unk.		Support (see CSTA's support letter)
SB 1269 (Wyland)	Science Education Encourages the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to consider ways to increase the number of students who go to college and graduate with degrees in science and engineering and to consider teaching careers. Requires the SBE and SPI to revise the science frameworks, and standards if necessary, to reflect the model curriculum developed by organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences; incorporate in the science curriculum math, reading comprehension, and writing in describing observations and experiments; incorporate analytical, intellectual, and creative skills required to pose and investigate scientific questions; and incorporate engineering elements in the science curriculum in a manner designed to engage students.		Passed Senate; passed Assembly Ed. Cmte.; in Assembly Appropriations Cmte. suspense file	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.
SB 1660 (Romero)	Science and Math Teacher Salaries Would allow districts to negotiate with unions a different salary schedule for math, science, and special ed. teachers in schools in decile 1, 2, or 3 on the API.	This bill is sponsored by EdVoice, a coalition of businesses. CSTA opposes differentiated salaries for teachers within a district and urges that the funds being made available for this bill be redirected to improved science labs and equipment, guaranteed instructional minutes for science, and professional development for science teachers.	Passed Senate, Assembly; to Senate unfinished business	EdVoice CSBA Ed Trust-West UTLA	CTA CFT		Expressed non-support of the bill.
STATE BOARD ISSUES	Title V Regulations (Curriculum Frameworks, Evaluation Criteria, and Instructional Materials As the result of a lawsuit by the Hindu American Foundation, the court found that the current procedures for adopting instructional materials were not enacted according to the Administrative Procedures Act. The procedures, therefore, are being revised and adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.	Although this court decision provides the opportunity to revamp the instructional materials adoption process which has been the subject of much criticism and lawsuits, the regulation appear to codify substantially the process already followed by the Curriculum Commission, with the exception of prohibiting communication between commissioner and publishers during a specified period of time.	State Board of Education adopted revised regulations at its January 2008 meeting. Revised regulations can be found on the CDE website	N/A	N/A	N/A	CSTA sent letters with each iteration of the proposal, outlining concerns with the new regulations. CSTA testified at the hearings in July and September. Read CSTA's comments.