Academic content standards: recommended modifications.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide content and performance standards in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, mathematics, history/social science, and science, as specified. Existing law authorizes the state board to modify any proposed content standards or performance standards prior to adoption, and to adopt content and performance standards in individual core curriculum areas as those standards are submitted to the state board. Existing law, until July 1, 2014, establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission and requires the commission to develop internationally benchmarked academic content standards, at least 85% of which are required to be the common core academic standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium or another specified interstate collaboration. Existing law requires the commission to present its recommended academic content standards to the state board and requires the state board by August 2, 2010, to either adopt the standards proposed by the commission or reject them. This bill, until July 1, 2014, would authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to recommend and the state board to adopt the college and career readiness anchor standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium. The bill would also authorize the state board to take action to resolve any technical issues in the English language arts standards it adopted pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would further authorize the Superintendent to recommend to the state board, and the state board to adopt, reject, or modify, modifications to the common core academic content standards for mathematics by March 30, 2013. The bill would require the state board to explain, in writing, to the Governor and the Legislature the reasons for modifying the standards. The bill would require the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, to consult a specified group of experts in mathematics for purposes of developing the recommendations. The bill would require the Superintendent and the state board to hold a minimum of 2 public hearings in order for the public to provide input on the Superintendent's recommendations. The bill would require that modifications to the common core academic content standards in mathematics be incorporated into the curriculum framework and the evaluation criteria for mathematics for the purpose of adopting specified instructional materials in mathematics, but this provision would become operative only if AB 1246 of the 2011–12 Regular Session is enacted. Existing law, until July 1, 2014, requires the state board to adopt science content standards, and requires the Superintendent to convene a group of science experts with whom the Superintendent would be required to recommend science content standards for adoption to the state board. Existing law requires the Superintendent to present the recommended science content standards to the state board by March 30, 2013, and requires the state board to adopt, reject, or modify those standards by July 30, 2013. This bill would extend those dates to July 31, 2013, and November 30, 2013, respectively.