The California Department of Education ("CDE") has two publications available to help schools and students with the transition to the Common Core State Standards ("CCSS"). This week the CDE announced that these publications are now available in print form, in addition to the previously available electronic formats.
The publications are:
California Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy)
California Common Core Standards: Mathematics (CA CCSSM)
Additionally, Tom Torlakson released a video explaining the importance of the transition to assessments based on the new CCSS.
The CCSS are a set of standards for English and math that are consistent across the 45 states that have adopted them since 2010. More information on California's implementation of the CCSS can be round on the CDE's website, here.
For more information, please see the CDE's August 26, 2013 News Release available here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
50 Years After "I Have a Dream"
Fifty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. capped the March on Washington with his influential "I Have a Dream" speech given at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The progress this nation has made in the past 50 years is undeniable. Today, our first African-American president will mark Dr. King's historic speech with a speech of his own. However, the struggle to obtain equal rights is ongoing. Equitable access to education, racial and gender equality, and LGBT rights all remain pressing issues today. Reflecting on Dr. King's words spoken 50 years ago highlight both the progress we have made and the ground we have yet to cover.
Below is an excerpt from Dr. King's speech. The complete speech is available at the National Archives by clicking here.
"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood...
"I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream. I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers..."
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963
Meghan Covert Russell
The progress this nation has made in the past 50 years is undeniable. Today, our first African-American president will mark Dr. King's historic speech with a speech of his own. However, the struggle to obtain equal rights is ongoing. Equitable access to education, racial and gender equality, and LGBT rights all remain pressing issues today. Reflecting on Dr. King's words spoken 50 years ago highlight both the progress we have made and the ground we have yet to cover.
Below is an excerpt from Dr. King's speech. The complete speech is available at the National Archives by clicking here.
"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood...
"I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream. I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers..."
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963
Meghan Covert Russell
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Legal Alert Series: Education Legislation
KMTG will be publishing a series of Legal Alerts summarizing pertinent legislation to the education community.
In the first round, we examine AB 226 (school police workweek), AB 643 (student records), AB 1266 (sex-segregated programs and activities), SB 546 (layoff hearing terminology), SB 581 (bond accountability), and SB 292 (sexual harassment). To read about these recently passed bills, check out our Legal Alert.
In the first round, we examine AB 226 (school police workweek), AB 643 (student records), AB 1266 (sex-segregated programs and activities), SB 546 (layoff hearing terminology), SB 581 (bond accountability), and SB 292 (sexual harassment). To read about these recently passed bills, check out our Legal Alert.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Hughes Bill Repealed as Part of Trailer Bill AB 86
Another component of the budget trailer bill, AB 86, repeals the “Hughes Bill” mandate imposed on Local Educational Agencies (“LEAs”) to provide specific behavioral assessments and interventions for special education students exhibiting serious behavioral problems, beyond those required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). AB 86 revises Education Code sections 56520 through 56525 to more closely resemble the requirements of the IDEA. AB 86 also provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction must repeal regulations set forth at 3001 (d)-(g) and (ab) and 3052 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. The new statutory provisions found in the Education Code are “intended to provide the clarity, definition, and specificity necessary for local educational agencies to comply with the [IDEA]” and must be implemented by those “agencies without the development by the Superintendent and adoption by the state board of any additional regulations.”
For more information on the repeal of the Hughes Bill, see KMTG's Legal Alert.
For more information on the repeal of the Hughes Bill, see KMTG's Legal Alert.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Legislature Extends Requirement to Offer Surplus Facilities to Charter Schools
A law requiring school districts to offer surplus property to charter schools, which was set to expire at the end of June, has been extended until July 1, 2016.
Education Code section 17457.5, as originally enacted, was set to become inoperative on June 30, 2013 and repealed as of January 2014. However, as part of the budget trailer bill, AB 86, this section was extended through July 1, 2016.
Several other changes were also made, including that the offer only needs to be made to a charter school with projections of at least 80 students at the time of the offer and that property sold or leased to a charter school must be exclusively used to provide direct instruction or instructional support (the revisions remove the requirement that the property be used for instruction for not less than 5 years). Additionally, facilities that are built by the charter school on property acquired through this process must be Field Act compliant. Finally, if a charter school decides to sell property obtained via this process, it can only use the proceeds for capital outlay, maintenance, and other facilities related costs.
The full budget trailer bill, AB 86, is accessible here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Education Code section 17457.5, as originally enacted, was set to become inoperative on June 30, 2013 and repealed as of January 2014. However, as part of the budget trailer bill, AB 86, this section was extended through July 1, 2016.
Several other changes were also made, including that the offer only needs to be made to a charter school with projections of at least 80 students at the time of the offer and that property sold or leased to a charter school must be exclusively used to provide direct instruction or instructional support (the revisions remove the requirement that the property be used for instruction for not less than 5 years). Additionally, facilities that are built by the charter school on property acquired through this process must be Field Act compliant. Finally, if a charter school decides to sell property obtained via this process, it can only use the proceeds for capital outlay, maintenance, and other facilities related costs.
The full budget trailer bill, AB 86, is accessible here.
Meghan Covert Russell
Monday, August 19, 2013
Senate Bill 73: Implementation of Proposition 39 Funding for Energy Efficiency Projects and Clean Energy Jobs
On June 27, 2013 the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 73 (“SB 73”), implementing Proposition 39, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, approved by the voters on November 5, 2012 to provide funds to improve energy efficiency and create clean energy jobs. SB 73 provides that for five fiscal years, commencing with the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year, up to $550,000,000 annually will be transferred from the General Fund to the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund. Of that amount, for the upcoming 2013-2014 Fiscal Year, $28,000,000 will be transferred from the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund to the Education Subaccount for low-interest and no-interest revolving loans for eligible projects and technical assistance made available to local educational agencies or “LEAs” (school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, or state special schools) and community college districts. Funds will also be available to develop and implement a competitive grant program for eligible community-based and training workforce organizations serving disadvantaged youth and veterans. The balance of the Clean Energy Job Creation funds will be allocated 89% to LEAs and 11% to community college districts. For LEAs, allocation of such funds will be based on average daily attendance and students eligible for free and reduced-price meals for the prior year. Further guidelines will be developed and promulgated in consultation with the Department of Education and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, including how LEAs will submit energy project expenditure plans to the California Energy Commission for approval and how the California Department of Education will disburse funds. Please note that the deadline for LEAs with 1,000 or less ADA to receive the current and subsequent year Proposition 39 funding entitlements has passed.
The full text of SB 73 can be found here.
More detailed information on the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) can be found here and here.
The Coalition on Adequate School Housing ("CASH") has also provided information regarding Proposition 39 Implementation Program -- Funding Allocation for Energy Products.
Stacy Toledo
The full text of SB 73 can be found here.
More detailed information on the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) can be found here and here.
The Coalition on Adequate School Housing ("CASH") has also provided information regarding Proposition 39 Implementation Program -- Funding Allocation for Energy Products.
Stacy Toledo
Friday, August 16, 2013
AB 1266 Clarifies Existing California Law Regarding Access to Programs and Facilities by Transgender Students
This week Governor Brown signed AB 1266, which adds section 221.5(f) to the Education Code. It provides "A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records."
News outlets pounced on the new law, some sides celebrating the law and others criticizing it. However, what most stories failed to mention was that AB 1266 didn't grant transgender students any new rights, it merely clarified existing laws. Education Code section 220 already provides that "No person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of ... gender, gender identity, gender expression, ... sexual orientation, ... in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid." (emphasis added)
The new law clearly provides that students are to be allowed to participate in sex-segregated athletic teams and use sex-segregated facilities, such as locker-rooms, based on their gender identity. This is consistent with the provisions of Section 220 which prohibit discrimination of students in any school activity based on their gender identity or gender expression.
The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2014.
Meghan Covert Russell
News outlets pounced on the new law, some sides celebrating the law and others criticizing it. However, what most stories failed to mention was that AB 1266 didn't grant transgender students any new rights, it merely clarified existing laws. Education Code section 220 already provides that "No person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of ... gender, gender identity, gender expression, ... sexual orientation, ... in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid." (emphasis added)
The new law clearly provides that students are to be allowed to participate in sex-segregated athletic teams and use sex-segregated facilities, such as locker-rooms, based on their gender identity. This is consistent with the provisions of Section 220 which prohibit discrimination of students in any school activity based on their gender identity or gender expression.
The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2014.
Meghan Covert Russell
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