This measure would recognize May 2025 as Head Start Month and call on the Congress and the President of the United States to protect and increase funding for Head Start.
Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations that set forth the principles for public postsecondary institutions and budgetary control agencies to observe in providing postsecondary programs and services for students with disabilities, including the principle that state-funded activity is directly related to the functional limitations of the verifiable disabilities of the students to be served. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that, as appropriate for each postsecondary segment, funds for disabled student programs and services be based on 3 categories of costs, including a continuing variable costs category for services that vary in frequency depending on the needs of students, such as, among other services, diagnostic assessment, including both individual and group assessment not otherwise provided by the institution to determine functional, educational, or employment levels or to certify specific disabilities. Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services to be provided to disabled students by community college districts. Existing law requires those regulations to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state-supported disabled student services programs or courses. Existing law describes those direct excess costs as those actual fixed, variable, and one-time costs, including those described above, that exceed the combined total of specified costs, revenues, and funds. Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education. This bill would revise the intent of the Legislature relating to diagnostic assessments by including costs for continuing assessments, required documentation, and individual and group assessments provided by the institution or by an outside entity, as provided. The bill would also expand the purpose of the assessments to include defining specific disabilities of the student and as proof for academic or institutional accommodations. This bill, commencing July 1, 2027, and upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, would require the Trustees of the California State University, and would request the Regents of the University of California, to cover the costs of diagnostic assessments for learning disabilities as proof for academic accommodations for any student who receives student financial aid or who is eligible for financial assistance from the institution's health or disability center, unless those diagnostic assessments are covered by the student's health insurance plan, as provided. The bill would require state funds to be provided annually for the cost of these services on an actual-cost basis and would require each institution to be responsible for documenting its costs to the Student Aid Commission. The bill would require the commission to oversee reimbursements to institutions for their documented costs. The bill would require each educational institution to post on its internet website that the educational institution will cover the costs of the diagnostic assessments for such students.
Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that all public schools, in kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, operated by school districts, in cooperation with specified entities and individuals, develop a comprehensive school safety plan, as provided. Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools, as provided. Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, provides for the establishment and operation of charter schools, including countywide charter schools, and requires a petition for the establishment of a charter school to contain comprehensive descriptions of various matters and procedures, including procedures that the charter school will follow to ensure the health and safety of pupils and staff. The act requires those procedures to also require the development of a school safety plan, as provided. Existing law encourages, on or before July 1, 2030, each public school, including charter schools, with an enrollment of 100 pupils or more to implement a web-based or app-based school safety program that includes certain program parameters. If a school implements a web-based or app-based school safety program, existing law requires the school to ensure that the program developers ensure that best practices are implemented to protect the security and data of all pupils and staff listed within the program, as provided. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the School Mapping Data Grant Program under the administration of the Office of Emergency Services to provide one-time grants to participating school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to enter into contracts with qualified vendors providing school mapping data, as provided, for purposes of assisting public safety agencies in efficiently responding to on-campus emergencies at schools. The bill would require a school mapping data program, to be eligible to receive funding under the grant program, to include the same program parameters as, and to have the program developers implement the same best practices to protect the security and data of all pupils and staff as, a web-based or app-based school safety program, as described above. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school for the purpose of offering or expanding dual enrollment opportunities for pupils who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education, as provided. Existing law requires the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified, and to establish protocols for information sharing, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high school pupils to enroll in community college courses. Existing law requires the protocols to only require a high school pupil participating in a CCAP partnership to submit one parental consent form and principal recommendation for the duration of the pupil's participation in the CCAP partnership. This bill would revise the CCAP partnership provisions to eliminate the requirement that the protocols require principal recommendation. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to revise the special part-time student application process to allow a pupil to complete one application for the duration of the pupil's attendance at a community college as a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement. This bill would require a CCAP partnership agreement to also establish protocols that authorize a pupil to complete one application for the duration of the pupil's attendance at a community college as a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement. Existing law authorizes a community college district to allow a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement to enroll in up to a maximum of 15 units per term in courses offered at the community college campus or the participating high school campus if certain circumstances are satisfied, including that the units constitute no more than 4 community college courses per term. This bill would eliminate the 4 community college courses per term limit for a special part-time student enrolling in up to 15 units under a CCAP partnership agreement. Existing law requires, for each CCAP partnership agreement, the affected community college district and school district, county office of education, or charter school to annually report specified information to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, including the total number of community college courses, by course category and type and by schoolsite, enrolled in by CCAP partnership participants. This bill instead would require the affected community college district and school district, county office of education, or charter school to annually report the total number of high school pupils who successfully completed 12 or more units of college coursework by graduation, completed a certificate, or completed the courses required for an associate degree or an associate degree for transfer.
Under existing law, it is the public policy of this state to encourage the utilization of apprenticeship as a form of on-the-job training, when such training is cost effective in developing skills needed to perform public services. Existing law requires state and local public agencies to make a diligent effort to establish apprenticeship programs for apprenticeable occupations in their respective workforces. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple-subject, single-subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation, as specified. This bill would require the commission and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to partner in the dissemination, approval, and monitoring of credentialed educator apprenticeship programs in California, and to communicate apprenticeship requirements to professional preparation programs, local educational agencies, and other potential sponsors of educator apprenticeship programs. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would authorize the commission to issue apprenticeship certificates or permits to educator candidates without a credential who are employed by local educational agencies and participating in approved credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission and the division to enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish processes and procedures for information sharing, application review, and data collection and reporting, and would authorize the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in consultation with the commission, to issue rules and regulations that govern credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, including the approval and denial of programs, registration of agreements, program administration and procedures, evaluations, working conditions, and minimum standards, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a new credentialed educator apprenticeship program or for the expansion of an existing credentialed educator apprenticeship program into a new geographic or credential area to submit specified documentation to the chief. The bill would require the division to present the apprenticeship program application to the commission for its review, as provided, and would require the commission, if it is satisfied that specified conditions have been met, to provide written notice of that fact to the chief.
Existing law creates the California Computer Science Coordinator as a position within the State Department of Education to provide statewide coordination in, among other things, implementing the computer science content standards and leading the implementation of the Computer Science Strategic Implementation Plan, as provided. This bill would establish the California Computer Science Demonstration Grant Program for specified purposes, including increasing the number of public high schools offering a computer science course to increase pupil access to computer science education and increasing the computer science course access of pupils eligible for free or reduced-priced meals and pupils that are underrepresented in the field of computer science. The bill would also establish the California Computer Science Demonstration Grant Program Working Group that includes the coordinator and nonprofit organizations and private industry stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience in computer science education. The bill would authorize only public high schools that do not offer computer science courses to be eligible to voluntarily participate in the grant program. The bill would require the funding entity or funding entities, as defined, to administer the grant program. If there are multiple funding entities, the bill, among other things, would require each funding entity to determine how the funds that it contributes to the grant program will be spent, provided that expenditure aligns with the grant program's purposes, and require the funding entities to coordinate implementation of the grant program. The bill would require the funding entities, in coordination with the working group, to select the public high schools to participate in the grant program, as provided. The bill would require the grant program to be funded through contributions, gifts, grants, in-kind donations, and donations from the funding entity or funding entities, and would specify the allowable uses of those funds. The bill would require the funding entity or funding entities, in coordination with the working group, to evaluate the effectiveness of the grant program and submit an interim report to certain legislative committees on or before August 1, 2027, and a final report on or before July 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would repeal the grant program's provisions as of January 1, 2029. The bill would separately require the department, on or before June 30, 2028, and annually thereafter, to publicly post specified computer science course-related data on its internet website, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or less for students certified as "full time" by a staff person in the disabled student services program, as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except as provided. This bill would instead require, for purposes of eligibility for the California College Promise, that students be enrolled in 9 or more, rather than 12 or more, semester units or the equivalent, or less for a student certified as eligible, based on a commitment by the student that is analogous to the 9 semester unit or equivalent workload, by a staff person in the disabled student services program. The bill would additionally require, as a condition of participating in, and receiving funding for, the California College Promise, community colleges and community college districts to refrain from referring to any other student financial aid funding or program as the California College Promise, and require community colleges to provide a written notification to initial recipients of the California College Promise that includes specified information related to the 2 academic years of eligibility for the California College Promise.
This measure would call on members of the United States Congress to oppose reductions to funding that negatively impact educational services for students with disabilities and would call on the President of the United States and Congress to ensure that services and funding for students with disabilities are uninterrupted.
Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the commission, when the history-social science curriculum framework is next revised, on or after January 1, 2025, to consider providing for inclusion, in that curriculum framework, related evaluation criteria, and accompanying instructional materials, of instruction on the treatment and perspectives of Native Americans during the Spanish colonization of California and the Gold Rush Era. This bill would require the commission, when the state board next revises the history-social science curriculum framework or adopts new instructional materials, on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including content on the historical, social, economic, and political contributions of African Americans during the Spanish colonization of California, the Gold Rush Era, and Antebellum, as provided.
(1) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the holder of a single subject teaching credential or a standard secondary credential or a special secondary teaching credential who either (A) has completed specified coursework approved by the commission at a regionally accredited institution of higher education in any subject commonly taught in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, other than the subject for which the credentialholder is already certificated to teach, or (B) has been verified as having subject matter competence, as specified, for any subject commonly taught in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, other than the subject for which the credentialholder is already certificated to teach, to be eligible to have that subject appear on their credential as an authorization to teach that subject. This bill would revise the above-described eligibility requirements for a credentialholder to have a subject appear on their credential as an authorized subject for the credentialholder teach by removing the qualification that the subject be one that the credentialholder is not already credentialed to teach. (2) Existing law requires both the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to include physical education for a total period of time of not less of than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays, as specified, and the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to require all pupils to attend upon the courses of physical education for a total period of time of not less than 400 minutes each 10 schooldays, unless an alternate term schedule described below has been adopted or the pupil has been excused or exempted, as provided. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, to adopt a policy providing for an alternate term schedule for physical education courses if certain conditions are met, including, among others, that pupils in grade 6 receive no less than 400 minutes of instruction every 10 days for a semester of not fewer than 18 weeks during the regular school year, for a total of 3,600 instructional minutes for the school year, and that pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive no less than 800 minutes of instruction every 10 days for a semester of not fewer than 18 weeks during the regular school year, for a total of 7,200 instructional minutes for the school year. This bill would clarify that the alternative term schedule minimum minute requirements are required to be calculated instead by schooldays. (3) This bill would correct cross references and references to entities.
