California State PTA Legislation Action Alert – Master Plan for Education
July 26, 2004 THE ISSUE
Five bills that would implement recommendations in the Master Plan for Education have been referred by the Legislature to a conference committee for resolution. The conference committee is scheduled to meet throughout the month of August, the final month of the current two-year legislative session. The five bills referred to the conference committee are AB 56 (Steinberg), AB 242 (Liu), AB 1550 (Goldberg), SB 6 (Alpert), and SB 550 (Vasconcellos).
BACKGROUND
The California State PTA has supported the development of the Master Plan for Education since the idea was conceived by the Legislature in 1999. PTA strongly believes that a Master Plan for Education is essential for the planning and coordination of California’s complex educational system and should serve as a guide to future decisions of the Legislature and policy makers. PTA members participated in several of the working groups that were responsible for the development of Master Plan for Education. Since the development of the Plan, PTA has prepared and submitted written analysis of the Master Plan recommendations, testified before the Joint Committee to Develop the Master Plan, and most recently, assisted the committee in preparing a public statement of support for the Master Plan for Education. ACTION REQUESTED The Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education Pre-K through University is asking for comment from interested organizations and individuals on these bills. Comments must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, and should be addressed to: Stephen Blake, Chief Consultant Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education 1020 N Street, Suite 560 Sacramento, CA 95814 Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to: master.plan@sen.ca.gov Your comments should include a statement of PTA support for the Master Plan for Education (see background information above). You may also include comments on each of the five bills to be considered by the conference committee. The bills, and PTA’s position on each bill follows. If you would like to include further information on the rationale for PTA’s position on each bill, please refer to the PTA convention resolutions
and/or position statements that provide the authority for PTA’s position. This authority is also listed below. Copies of the position statements and a list of resolutions can be found in the California State PTA Toolkit, or online at www.capta.org. For further information, please contact the California State PTA’s Legislative Office at PTAAdvocacy@aol.com, or (916) 442-5667. If you decide to submit comments to the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education, please send a copy to the California State PTA at 550 N Street, Suite 26, Sacramento, CA 95814, or PTAadvocacy@aol.com. The comments of our members will help us to refine PTA’s positions on the Master Plan bills.
MASTER PLAN BILLS
Language for each of the bills that will be considered by the Conference Committee is not yet in legislative bill form. Links to the draft language have been provided by EdSource and can be found on the EdSource Website at www.edsource.org. AB 56 (Steinberg) states the intent of the Legislature to establish voluntary access to preschool for ALL children from three to four years of age by the year 2015. PTA Position: SEEK AMENDMENTS PTA Resolution: Early Childhood Development and Education (2000) PTA Position Statements: Education: The Early Years, Ages 3 to 6; Responsibility of Society to the Family; Family Accountability and Responsibility PTA supports efforts to ensure that all children will have opportunities, including access to high-quality developmentally appropriate preschool programs, to develop the readiness skills they need to become successful academic learners. AB 242 (Liu) addresses licensure requirements for teacher candidates, professional development and teacher preparation, and beginning in 2006 repeals the ability of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue or renew emergency permits incompliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. PTA Position: WATCH PTA Resolution: Teacher Quality: Recruitment, Retention and Resources (2001) PTA Position Statement: Credentialed School Personnel PTA supports and advocates for state and local policies, programs and practices that promote the recruitment, hiring and retention of well-prepared, fully credentialed teachers, and that reduce California’s dependence on emergency teaching permits and waivers. AB 1550 (Goldberg) requires the Department of General Services to annually prepare estimates for school facility funding needs for grades K-12, and to submit these estimates to the Department of Finance. PTA Position: WATCH PTA Resolution: School Facilities and Public Planning (1991) PTA Position Statement: Safe and Positive School Climate
PTA works for legislation to secure financing for public education which will be sufficient to provide optimum educational opportunity for all students, including state aid to school districts for building purposes. SB 6 (Alpert) states the intent of the Legislature to revise and realign the functions of the appropriate state officers and agencies to clearly define a structure of governance for the public education system. PTA Position: SEEK AMENDMENTS PTA Position Statement: Public Involvement in School Governance The California State PTA believes that roles and responsibilities of each component in the state’s education governance structure must be clearly defined, and not overlapping or contradictory. SB 550 (Vasconcellos) states the intent of the Legislature to provide all pupils with a curriculum and coursework that includes the knowledge, skills, and experiences that will enable every pupil to attain mastery of oral and written expression in English, have a foundation for future mastery of a second language by the end of elementary school, and attain oral proficiency and full literacy in both English and at least one other language by the end of secondary school. PTA Position: WATCH PTA Position Statements: Basic Education; Education: Support of Public Education; Education: The Elementary Years, Ages 6 to10; Education: The Middle Years, Ages 10 to 14; Education: The High School Years, Ages 14 to 18; Education of English Language Learners. PTA works for legislation to provide the most comprehensive and diversified education possible for all children and youth: education that will achieve quality and excellence, encourage maximum individual development, and provide equal educational opportunity for each student.