California Assembly Bill AB1539 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1539AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Nestande, and Waldron) (Coauthor: Senator Knight) JANUARY 22, 2014 An act to add Section 60605.4 to the Education Code, relating to content standards. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1539, as amended, Hagman. Content standards: computer science. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards, pursuant to recommendations of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards, in core curriculum areas. This bill would require the  state board to adopt   Instructional Quality Commission to develop and recommend to the state board  , on or before July 31, 2015, computer science content standards, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts  and in consideration of national computer science content standards, that provide guidance for teaching computer science education in grades 7 to 12, inclusive .  The bill would express that the Legislature encourages the commission to consider existing computer science content standards, including, but not necessarily limited to, national K-12 computer science standards developed by the   Computer Science Teachers Association.  The bill would  require   encourage  the Superintendent, in consultation with the  state board   commission  , to convene that group of experts and ensure that the group includes individuals from specified groups. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 60605.4 is added to the Education Code, to read: 60605.4. (a) On or before July 31, 2015, the  state board shall adopt   Instructional Quality Commission is encouraged to develop and recommend to the state board,  computer science content standards, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts  and in consideration of national computer science content standards, that provide guidance for teaching computer science education in grades 7 to 12, inclusive  . The  Legislature encourages the Instructional Quality Commission to consider existing computer science standards, which include, but are not limited to, the national K-12 computer science standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association, and consider  content standards  shall include,   that include,  but  are  not necessarily  be  limited to, standards for teaching coding. For purposes of this section, "coding" is the process of converting a program design into an accurate and detailed representation of that program in a suitable language. (b) (1) The Superintendent, in consultation with the  state board, shall   Instructional Quality Commission, is encouraged to  convene the group of experts  required   referenced  in subdivision (a), and  shall   is encouraged to  ensure that the members of the group include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following: (A) Teachers who teach computer science, including mathematics and science teachers, in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. (B) Schoolsite principals. (C) School district or county office of education administrators. (D) University professors. (E) Representatives of private sector business or industry. (2) The Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall ensure that one-half of the members of the group are teachers as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). (c) The content standards may be used by school districts to develop computer science programs and course assessments but are not mandatory.