California Assembly Bill AB339 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 339AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 7, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla FEBRUARY 10, 2011  An act to amend Section 35239 of the Education Code, relating to school districts.   An act to add Sections 60050 and 60227 to the Education Code, relating to instructional materials.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 339, as amended, Bonilla.  School districts: governing board members.   Instructional materials: reviews: fees.   (1) Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive. Existing law further requires the state board to ensure that curriculum frameworks are reviewed and adopted in each subject area consistent with specified submission cycles.   This bill would reenact a provision that, until January 1, 2011, required the State Department of Education, prior to conducting a followup adoption, to notify all publishers and manufacturers known to produce basic instructional materials in that subject, that a fee will be assessed on a publisher or manufacturer choosing to participate in the followup adoption based on the number of programs the publisher or manufacturer indicates will be submitted for review. The bill would provide that the amount of the fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department in conducting the followup adoption, and would prohibit the review of a submission from being conducted until the fee is paid in full.   (2) Existing law requires the State Board of Education in reviewing and adopting instructional materials to use specified criteria, and ensure that, in its judgment, the submitted basic instructional materials meet all of the specified criteria, including, but not limited to, compliance with the specified requirements and guidelines for social content.   This bill would reenact a provision that, until January 1, 2011, required the state board to adopt regulations to govern the social content reviews conducted at the request of a publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials outside the primary and followup instructional material adoption processes. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education to contract with agents to conduct the specified social content reviews and require the department to assess a fee for the review that meets specified requirements, including notice to publishers and manufacturers.   Existing law authorizes a school district that had an average daily attendance in the prior fiscal year of 70 pupils or less to provide reasonable compensation to a member of the governing board for necessary work and labor performed by the member for the district in repairing the schoolhouse, fences, and other property belonging to the district, or in furnishing wood or other necessary supplies or, if the collective bargaining agent for classified employees in that district and the governing board concur that no other qualified person is available, for providing services in a classified position.   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes in this provision.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 60050 is added to the   Education Code   , to read:   60050. (a) The state board shall adopt regulations to govern the social content reviews conducted at the request of a publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials outside the primary and followup instructional material adoption processes. A social content review is intended to determine compliance with Sections 60040, 60041, 60042, 60043, 60044, 60048, 60200.5, and 60200.6, and the guidelines for social content adopted by the state board. (b) (1) For purposes of this section, social content reviews of instructional materials shall be conducted by the department or its agents for all instructional materials, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 60010. (2) The department may contract with agents to conduct social content reviews pursuant to this section. (c) The department shall assess a fee on a publisher or manufacturer in an amount that does not exceed the reasonable costs to the department to conduct a social content review pursuant to this section. The fee shall be established and assessed pursuant to the requirements specified in subdivisions (d) to (f), inclusive, of Section 60227, and the publishers and manufacturers shall be provided notice of the establishment of the fee pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 60227. (d) Revenue derived from fees charged pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be budgeted as reimbursements and subject to review through the annual budget process and may be used to pay costs associated with the social content review of instructional materials.   SEC. 2.   Section 60227 is added to the   Education Code   , to read:   60227. (a) For purposes of this section, a followup adoption is any adoption other than the primary adoption that occurs within a six- or eight-year cycle established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 60200. (b) Before conducting a followup adoption in a particular subject, the department shall provide notice, pursuant to subdivision (c), to all publishers or manufacturers known to produce basic instructional materials in that subject, post an appropriate notice on the Internet Web site of the department, and take other reasonable measures to ensure that appropriate notice is widely circulated to potentially interested publishers and manufacturers. (c) The notice shall specify that each publisher or manufacturer choosing to participate in the followup adoption shall be assessed a fee based upon the number of programs the publisher or manufacturer indicates will be submitted for review and the number of grade levels proposed to be covered by each program. (d) The fee shall be in an amount that does not exceed the reasonable costs to the department in conducting the followup adoption process. The department shall take reasonable steps to limit costs of the followup adoption and to keep the fee modest, recognizing that some of the work necessary for the primary adoption need not be duplicated. (e) The department, prior to incurring substantial costs for the followup adoption, shall require that a publisher or manufacturer that wishes to participate in the followup adoption first declare the intent to submit one or more specific programs for the followup adoption and specify the specific grade levels to be covered by each program. After a publisher or manufacturer has declared the intent to submit one or more programs and the grade levels to be covered by each program, a fee shall be assessed by the department. The fee shall be payable by the publisher or manufacturer even if the publisher subsequently chooses to withdraw a program or reduce the number of grade levels covered. A submission by a publisher or manufacturer shall not be reviewed for purposes of adoption, either in a followup adoption or in any other primary or followup adoption conducted thereafter, until the fee assessed has been paid in full. (f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the fee not be so substantial that it prevents small publishers or manufacturers from participating in a followup adoption. (2) Upon the request of a small publisher or manufacturer, the state board may reduce the fee for participation in the followup adoption. (3) For purposes of this section, "small publisher" or "small manufacturer" means an independently owned or operated publisher or manufacturer that is not dominant in its field of operation, and that, together with its affiliates, has 100 or fewer employees, and has average annual gross receipts of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) or less over the previous three years. (g) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 60200, if the department determines that there is little or no interest in participating in a followup adoption by publishers and manufacturers, it shall recommend to the state board that the followup adoption not be conducted, and the state board may chose not to conduct the followup adoption. (h) Revenue derived from fees charged pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be budgeted as reimbursements and subject to review through the annual budget process and may be used to pay costs associated with any followup adoption and any costs associated with the review of instructional materials.   SECTION 1.   Section 35239 of the Education Code is amended to read: 35239. (a) In a school district that had an average daily attendance of 70 or less in the prior fiscal year, a member of the governing board may receive a reasonable compensation from the district for necessary work and labor performed by him or her for the district in repairing the schoolhouse, fences, and other property belonging to the district, or in furnishing wood or other necessary supplies. (b) In a school district that had an average daily attendance of 70 or less in the prior fiscal year, a member of the governing board may receive a reasonable compensation from the district for providing services in a classified position if the collective bargaining agent for classified employees in that district and the governing board concur that no other qualified person is available. (c) The requisition drawn pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) for payment for services or supplies shall be signed by the other members of the governing board and shall be approved by the county superintendent of schools.