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AB-25 Schools.(2007-2008)

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AB25:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 25

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Brownley

December 04, 2006

An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 33600) to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to schools.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 25, as introduced, Brownley. Schools.
Existing law establishes the California Quality Education Commission for the purpose of developing, evaluating, validating, and refining a quality education model for prekindergarten through grade 12, inclusive, to provide state policymakers with adequate tools to enable them to establish the reasonable costs of schools and the best direct available resources so that the vast majority of pupils may meet academic performance standards established by the state. The work of the commission is required to identify the educational components, educational resources, and corresponding costs necessary to provide the opportunity for a quality education to every pupil.
This bill would require, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the P-16 Council, established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to work together to develop a report by July 1, 2009, for submission to the Legislature that would provide the Legislature with adequate information to enable it to establish the reasonable costs of schools offering instruction in kindergarten and any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and to determine the best use of available resources so that the vast majority of pupils may meet academic performance standards established by the state. This requirement would be implemented only to the extent that funds are available to the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the P-16 Council for this purpose from any source, including, but not limited to, state funding, federal funding, and nonstate funding sources.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California’s public school system lags behind most of the nation on almost every objective measurement of pupil achievement, funding, teacher qualifications, and school facilities.
(b) The state’s public elementary and secondary school system has fallen from a national leader 30 years ago to its current ranking near the bottom in nearly every objective category.
(c) Pupil achievement on national standardized tests is near the bottom of the 50 states.
(d) California has the second highest ratio of pupils per teacher in the nation. The state’s public elementary and secondary school system has an average of 20.9 pupils per teacher, compared with the national average of 16.1 pupils per teacher.
(e) Teacher standards are generally lower in California school districts than in other states. Just 46 percent of school districts in California require teachers to have full standard certification in the subjects they teach, compared with 82 percent nationally.
(f) Teacher salaries in this state are falling below teacher salaries in other states. When adjusted for inflation, the real average annual teacher salary in California during the 2000-2001 school year was about the same as it was in 1969-70. The adjusted annual average salary of about thirty-nine thousand dollars ($39,000) in today’s dollars places California last among the five largest states and 32nd nationwide.

SEC. 2.

 Article 7 (commencing with Section 33600) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  7. Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the P-16 Council

33600.
 (a) By July 1, 2009, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the P-16 Council, established by the Superintendent, shall work together to develop a report for submission to the Legislature that provides the Legislature with adequate information to enable them to establish the reasonable costs of schools offering instruction in kindergarten and any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and to determine the best use of available resources so that the vast majority of pupils may meet academic performance standards established by the state. The specific goal of the report is to make the state’s public school system one of the top 10 systems in the nation by 2017.
(b) At the minimum, the report prepared pursuant to this section shall accomplish the following:
(1) Identify key fiscal and academic issues that will need to be addressed in developing, evaluating, validating, and refining the state’s public school system.
(2) Discuss the current distribution and adequacy of education funding and suggest needed changes to meet the goal of the report.
(3) Discuss needed changes to teacher retention policies and teacher training to meet the goal of the report.
(4) Discuss improving pupil achievement at all grade levels, including eliminating achievement gaps to meet the goal of the report.
(5) Include recommendations for any statutory changes.
(c) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are available to the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the P-16 Council for this purpose from any source, including, but not limited to, state funding, federal funding, and nonstate funding sources.