California Assembly Bill AB2296 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2296AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to amend Section  17515   60810  of the Education Code, relating to  school districts   pupil assessment  . LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2296, as amended, Hagman.  Public schools: school facilities.   Pupil assessment: English learners: assessment of English language development.   Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review existing tests that assess the English language development of pupils whose primary language is a language other than English. Existing law requires pupils in kindergarten and first grade to be assessed in English listening and speaking, and, once an assessment is developed, early literacy skills. Existing law requires an early literacy assessment to be administered for a period of 4 years beginning after the initial administration of the assessment or until July 1, 2014, whichever occurs first.   This bill would instead require this early literacy assessment to be administered for a period of 4 years beginning after the initial administration of the assessment or until July 1, 2017, whichever occurs last.   Existing law authorizes a school district to enter into leases and agreements relating to real property and buildings to be used jointly by the district and any private person, firm, local government agency, as defined, or corporation, pursuant to specified provisions.   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that 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 60810 of the   Education Code   , as amended by Section 5 of Chapter 478 of the Statutes of 2013, is   amended to read:  60810. (a) (1) The Superintendent shall review existing tests that assess the English language development of pupils whose primary language is a language other than English. The tests shall include, but not be limited to, an assessment of achievement of these pupils in English reading, speaking, and written skills. The Superintendent shall determine which tests, if any, meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). If any existing test or series of tests meets these criteria, the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, shall report to the Legislature on its findings and recommendations. (2) If no suitable test exists, the Superintendent shall explore the option of a collaborative effort with other states to develop a test or series of tests and share test development costs. If no suitable test exists, the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may contract to develop a test or series of tests that meets the criteria of subdivisions (b) and (c) or may contract to modify an existing test or series of tests so that it will meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c). (3) The Superintendent and the state board shall release a request for proposals for the development of the test or series of tests required by this subdivision. The state board shall select a contractor or contractors for the development of the test or series of tests required by this subdivision, to be available for administration during the 2000-01 school year. (4) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated to enable school districts to meet the requirements of subdivision (d). The state board shall establish the amount of funding to be apportioned per test administered, based on a review of the cost per test. (5) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per test is not valid without the approval of the Director of Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per test shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature with accompanying material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature of the decision. (b) (1) The test or series of tests developed or acquired pursuant to subdivision (a) shall have sufficient range to assess pupils in grades 2 to 12, inclusive, in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Pupils in kindergarten and grade 1 shall be assessed in English listening and speaking, and, once an assessment is developed, early literacy skills. The early literacy assessment shall be administered for a period of four years beginning after the initial administration of the assessment or until July 1,  2014   2017  , whichever occurs  first   last  . Six months after the three administered assessments are collected, but no later than June 30, 2013, the department shall report to the Legislature on the administration of the kindergarten and grade 1 early literacy assessment results, as well as on the administrative process, in order to determine whether reauthorization of the early literacy assessment is appropriate. (2) In the development and administration of the assessment for pupils in kindergarten and grade 1, the department shall minimize any additional assessment time, to the extent possible. To the extent that it is technically possible, items that are used to assess listening and speaking shall be used to measure early literacy skills. The department shall ensure that the test and procedures for its administration are age and developmentally appropriate. Age and developmentally appropriate procedures for administration may include, but are not limited to, one-on-one administration, a small group setting, and orally responding or circling a response to a question. (c) The test or series of tests shall meet all of the following requirements: (1) Provide sufficient information about pupils at each grade level to determine levels of proficiency ranging from no English proficiency to fluent English proficiency with at least two intermediate levels. (2) Have psychometric properties of reliability and validity deemed adequate by technical experts. (3) Be capable of administration to pupils with any primary language other than English. (4) Be capable of administration by classroom teachers. (5) Yield scores that allow comparison of the growth of a pupil over time, can be tied to readiness for various instructional options, and can be aggregated for use in the evaluation of program effectiveness. (6) Not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender. (7) Be aligned with the standards for English language development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60811. (8) Be age and developmentally appropriate for pupils. (d) The test shall be used for the following purposes: (1) To identify pupils who are limited English proficient. (2) To determine the level of English language proficiency of pupils who are limited English proficient. (3) To assess the progress of limited-English-proficient pupils in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in English. (e) (1) A pupil in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, shall not be required to retake those portions of the test that measure English language skills for which he or she has previously tested as advanced within each appropriate grade span, as determined by the department in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision (c). (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a pupil in any of grades 10 to 12, inclusive, shall not be required to retake those portions of the test that measure English language skills for which he or she has previously tested as early advanced or advanced. (3) This subdivision shall not be implemented until the test publisher's contract that is in effect on January 1, 2012, expires. (4) This subdivision shall not be implemented unless and until the department receives written documentation from the United States Department of Education that implementation is permitted by federal law. (f) This section shall remain in effect only until the Superintendent reports to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 60810 as added by the chapter that added this subdivision during the 2013-14 Regular Session, and as of January 1 of the following year, this section is repealed.  SECTION 1.   Section 17515 of the Education Code is amended to read: 17515. (a) Any school district may enter into leases and agreements relating to real property and buildings to be used jointly by the district and any private person, firm, local governmental agency, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 4420 of the Government Code, or corporation pursuant to this article. As used in this article, "building" includes onsite and offsite facilities, utilities and improvements that, as agreed upon by the parties, are appropriate for the proper operation or function of the building to be occupied jointly by the district and the private person, firm, or corporation. It also includes the permanent improvement of school grounds. (b) Any building, or portion thereof, that is used by a private person, firm, local governmental agency, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 4420 of the Government Code, or corporation pursuant to this section shall be subject to the zoning and building code requirements of the local jurisdiction in which the building is situated. (c) Section 53094 of the Government Code does not apply to uses of school district property or buildings authorized by this section, except in the case of property or buildings used solely for educational purposes.