BILL NUMBER: AB 97ENROLLED BILL TEXT PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2010 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2010 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2010 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 23, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torlakson JANUARY 6, 2009 An act to add Section 60605.85 to the Education Code, relating to school curriculum. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 97, Torlakson. School curriculum: content standards. Existing law, operative until July 1, 2011, and to be repealed on January 1, 2014, requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academic content standards and performance standards, based on the recommendation of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, respectively. Existing law authorizes the state board to modify any proposed content standard or performance standard prior to its adoption. This bill would establish the Academic Content Standards Commission for Science and History-Social Science consisting of 21 appointed members, as specified. This bill would require the state board, upon recommendation of the Superintendent, to adopt a schedule for the commission to review and recommend revisions to the science and history-social science curriculum area content standards, when funding permits. This bill would require the state board to either adopt or reject the academic content standards as proposed by the commission within 90 days of their receipt and would also require the Superintendent and the state board to present specified information to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 60605.85 is added to the Education Code, to read: 60605.85. (a) There is hereby established the Academic Content Standards Commission for Science and History-Social Science. The commission shall consist of 21 members, appointed as follows: (1) Eleven members appointed by the Governor. (2) Five members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. (3) Five members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. (b) Members of the commission shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. (c) Not less than half of the members appointed by each of the appointing authorities pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be current public school elementary or secondary classroom teachers. (d) Upon recommendation of the Superintendent, the state board shall adopt a schedule for the commission to review and recommend revisions to the science and history-social science curriculum area content standards, when funding permits. (e) The commission shall develop academic content standards in science and history-social science. The standards shall be internationally benchmarked and build toward college and career readiness by the time of high school graduation. (f) Pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), all meetings and hearings of the commission shall be open and available to the public. (g) Within 90 days of receiving the commission's proposed academic content standards, the state board shall do either of the following: (1) Adopt the academic content standards as proposed by the commission. (2) Reject the academic content standards as proposed by the commission. If the state board rejects the standards it shall provide a specific written explanation to the Superintendent, the Governor, and the Legislature of the reasons why the proposed standards were rejected. (h) The Superintendent and state board shall present to the Governor and to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating the academic content standards adopted pursuant to this section into the state educational system.