California Assembly Bill AB252 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 252AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Holden FEBRUARY 9, 2015 An act to add and repeal Section 52245 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 252, as amended, Holden. Advanced placement program:  grant program: STEM curriculum.   Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program.  Existing law contains legislative findings and declarations stating that advanced placement courses, among other things, help to improve the overall curriculum at schools where they are provided and provide a cost-effective means for high school pupils to obtain college-level coursework experience.  Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually update the information on advanced placement available on the Internet Web site of the State Department of Education to include current information on the various means available to school districts to offer or access advanced placement courses, and to annually communicate with high schools that offer advanced placement courses in fewer than 5 subjects and inform them of the various options for making advanced placement courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who may benefit from them.  This  bill, until July 1, 2021,   bill  would establish  a grant program overseen by the department   the Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program, to be administered by the State Department of Education,  for purposes of awarding grants  of up to $8,000 to eligible school districts  to cover the costs  associated with a high school   of  establishing or expanding  its   a high school  advanced placement STEM curriculum, as defined.  The bill would require the Superintendent to submit on or before July 1, 2021, a specified report to the Legislature describing the effectiveness of the grant program.   The bill would specify that the program is to be implemented only if moneys are made available to the department from state and nonstate funding sources for purposes of the program. The bill would establish the Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program Account within the State Treasury for purposes of awarding grants pursuant to the program. The bill's   provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2022.  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.  (a)    The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:  (1)   (a)  According to a 2009 report "Technical Difficulties: Meeting California's Workforce Needs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Fields," there is a large disparity between the continued workforce demands for degrees in the STEM fields and a continued shortfall of STEM degrees conferred to California's minority population.  (2)   (b)  Fifty-nine percent of California's African American pupils who have potential to thrive in an advanced placement STEM course do not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they have potential.  (3)   (c)  Fifty-eight percent of California's American Indian and Alaska Native pupils do not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they have potential.  (4)   (d)  Fifty-five percent of California's Hispanic or Latino pupils do not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they have potential.  (5)   (e)  Forty-one percent of California's female pupils do not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they have potential.  (6)   (f)  More than ninety percent of colleges and universities across the country offer college credit, advanced placement, or both, for qualifying advanced placement examination scores. These credits can potentially save pupils and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition, fees, and textbook costs.  (7)   (g)  Research shows that pupils who take advanced placement courses are much more likely than their peers to complete a college degree on time. Pupils have the opportunity to dig deeper into subjects that interest them, develop advanced research and communication skills, and learn to tap their creative, problem-solving, and analytical potential.  (8)   (h)  Advanced placement courses give pupils access to rigorous college-level work. Advanced placement pupils build confidence and learn the essential time management and study skills needed for college and career success.  (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an advanced placement STEM Access Grant Program to expand diversity in the STEM field in regards to socioeconomic standing, gender, and race.  SEC. 2. Section 52245 is added to the Education Code, to read: 52245. (a) For purposes of this section, "STEM curriculum" means courses in any of the following subject areas: (1) Biology. (2) Calculus. (3) Chemistry. (4) Computer science. (5) Environmental science. (6) Physics. (7) Statistics. (b)  There   The   Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program is hereby  established a grant program   established, to be administered by the department,  for the purpose of awarding moneys to cover the costs associated with a high school establishing or expanding its advanced placement STEM curriculum.  Grants   (c) (1) The Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program Account is established in the State Treasury, to be used solely for purposes of the program. Funds in the account may be used to fund grants and for administrative costs of implementing this section. Notwithstanding any other law, the State Treasury is authorized to receive and deposit into the account any gifts, grants, or donations received for purposes of this section from private persons or entities.   (2) The amount of the grant awarded by the department shall be matched by the participating school district on a dollar-for-dollar basis, or the equivalent value in services or resources.   (d)     The program  shall be administered in accordance with  both   all  of the following: (1) Grant funds may be used for one-time costs of establishing or expanding advanced placement STEM courses, including, but not limited to,  teacher recruitment,  professional development, instructional materials,  and  laboratory materials and  supplies, and facilities remodeling.   supplies.  (2) The grant amount shall be determined based on the cost of the type of advanced placement course in the STEM curriculum, not to exceed eight thousand dollars ($8,000) per grant application.  (c)   (3)  A school district may apply to the department for a maximum of one grant per high school and  ten  10  grants per school district  pursuant to this section  if all of the following conditions are met:  (1)   (A)  The high school  or school district  meets either of the following criteria:  (A)   (i)  Does not offer advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum.  (B)   (ii)  Offers advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum, but those courses are oversubscribed. "Oversubscribed" means demand for the course exceeds enrollment by at least one-half of the number of pupils required for a full class.  (2)   (B)  The high school has identified pupils from populations that are underrepresented in STEM courses who have demonstrated they have high potential to be successful in one or more advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum. The high school may identify pupils using any means it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, a pupil's score on the preliminary SAT.  (d) Grant applications shall be submitted on a form developed by the Superintendent and shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, an itemized budget for the establishment or expansion of the advanced placement STEM course and an agreement to provide the Superintendent with the data needed for the report required pursuant to subdivision (f).   (e) In awarding grants, the department shall give first priority to applicants with no advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum.   (f) (1) On or before July 1, 2021, the Superintendent shall submit a report to the Legislature describing the effectiveness of the grant program established pursuant to this section. The Superintendent is encouraged to consult with the College Board in preparing the report pursuant to this subdivision. The report shall include   the increase in the number of pupils in total, and the number of pupils by gender and pupil subgroup, as defined in Section 52052, enrolled in advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum.   (2) A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.   (g) The department shall implement this section only to the extent that moneys are   (e)     The program shall be implemented only if moneys are made  available to the department  and the Superintendent for the purposes of this section.   to fund the program.  The moneys may be derived from any source, including, but not limited to, state  funding, federal funding,  and nonstate funding sources.  (h)   (f)  This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2021, and, as of January 1, 2022, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.