BILL NUMBER: SB 201	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu

                        FEBRUARY 7, 2013

   An act to add Section 60211 to the Education Code, relating to
instructional materials.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 201, as introduced, Liu. Instructional materials: academic
content standards: language arts and English language development.
   Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt basic
instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8,
inclusive, for governing boards, as specified. Existing law also
requires the state board to adopt and approve academic content
standards for language arts and for English language development for
pupils whose primary language is a language other than English.
   This bill would authorize the state board to adopt basic
instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8,
inclusive, that are aligned to those standards for language arts and
English language development by no later than November 30, 2015. The
bill would, among other things, require the State Department of
Education, before conducting an adoption of basic instructional
materials for language arts and English language development, to
provide notice, as specified, to all publishers or manufacturers that
each publisher or manufacturer is required to pay a fee, as
specified, to offset the cost of conducting the adoption process.
   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) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting
this act, to continue the implementation of the common core academic
content standards by ensuring the adoption of instructional materials
that are aligned to the common core academic content standards for
language arts and by providing local educational agencies flexibility
in their use of instructional materials.
   (b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that this adoption
of instructional materials will meet the needs of English learners
by requiring alignment of the materials to the English language
development standards adopted pursuant to Section 60811 of the
Education Code.
   (c) It is further the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
school districts have access to as many high-quality
standards-aligned instructional material options as possible, so that
educators may have as many rigorous options in choosing the best
instructional materials that meet the needs of all pupils, including
English learners and pupils with disabilities, and that ensure that
their pupils are able to master the academic content standards
adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605.8
of the Education Code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 60211 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   60211.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 60200 and
Section 60200.7, the state board may adopt basic instructional
materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that are
aligned to the language arts content standards adopted pursuant to
Section 60605.8 and the English language development standards
adopted pursuant to Section 60811 by no later than November 30, 2015.

   (b) For purposes of conducting an adoption of basic instructional
materials pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall
apply:
   (1) (A) The department shall provide notice, pursuant to
subparagraph (B), to all publishers or manufacturers known to produce
basic instructional materials in language arts and English language
development, post an appropriate notice on its Internet Web site, and
take other reasonable measures to ensure that appropriate notice is
widely circulated to potentially interested publishers and
manufacturers.
   (B) The notice provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall specify
that each publisher or manufacturer choosing to participate in the
adoption shall be assessed a fee based on 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.
   (2) The department, before incurring substantial costs for the
adoption, shall require that a publisher or manufacturer that wishes
to participate in the adoption first declare the intent to submit one
or more specific programs for adoption and specify the specific
grade levels to be covered by each program.
   (3) 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, the department shall assess a fee that shall be payable
by the publisher or manufacturer even if the publisher or
manufacturer subsequently chooses to withdraw a program or reduce the
number of grade levels covered.
   (4) The fee assessed pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be in an
amount that does not exceed the reasonable costs to the department in
conducting the adoption process. The department shall take
reasonable steps to limit costs of the adoption and to keep the fee
modest.
   (5) A submission by a publisher or manufacturer shall not be
reviewed for purposes of adoption until the fee assessed pursuant to
paragraph (3) has been paid in full.
   (6) (A) Upon the request of a small publisher or small
manufacturer, the state board may reduce the fee for participation in
the adoption.
   (B) For purposes of this section, "small publisher" and "small
manufacturer" mean 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.
   (7) If the department determines that there is little or no
interest in participating in an adoption by publishers and
manufacturers, the department shall recommend to the state board
whether or not the adoption shall be conducted, and the state board
may choose not to conduct the adoption.
   (8) Revenue derived from fees assessed pursuant to paragraph (3)
shall be budgeted as reimbursements and subject to review through the
annual budget process, and may be used to pay for costs associated
with any adoption and for any costs associated with the review of
instructional materials, including reimbursement of substitute costs
for teacher reviewers and may be used to cover stipends for content
review experts.