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Changes in Law 2021 – Curriculum and Instruction

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Curriculum

Changes to Independent Study included in 2021-22 budget

This year’s budget contained significant changes to current Independent Study (IS) law including making IS the sole alternative to in-person instruction in the 2021-22 school year. Originally designed as a program for students for whom traditional, in-person instruction did not work, the changes made to the program by AB 130 have made IS more about compliance and less about providing a mode of instruction designed to meet the needs of individual students. Changes include requiring daily live interaction or synchronous instruction and weekly synchronous instruction, depending on the grade, requiring a parent-teacher conference before signing an IS written agreement if requested by the parent, and requiring a local educational agency (LEA)  to develop tiered reengagement strategies for students struggling to meet the requirements of IS. A full overview of the changes made to Independent Study Programs can be found here.

Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement for Class of 2030

AB 101 by Assembly Member Jose Medina (D-Riverside) requires LEAs serving grades 9-12 to offer at least a one-semester course in ethnic studies beginning in the 2025-26 school year. In addition, the bill adds the completion of at least one semester of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement for the Class of 2030. Pupils can fulfill the requirement by completing any of the following: a course based on the ethnic studies model curriculum adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE), an existing ethnic studies course, an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A-G requirements, or a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of a school district or charter school.

You may recall that Assembly Member Medina carried a nearly identical bill last session, AB 331. That legislation was vetoed by Governor Newsom who implied the bill was premature given that, at that time the bill was before him, there were questions and concerns over the appropriate K-12 model curriculum for ethnic studies. Upon direction from the Governor, his staff worked with SBE President, Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), Tony Thurmond, and a revised model curriculum was approved by the SBE this past March, opening the door for AB 101 to become law.

The 2021-22 Budget also included $5 million for CDE to provide professional development and resources to support LEAs offering new and expanded ethnic studies courses and $50 million to the SPI for allocations to LEAs to support the creation or expansion of ethnic studies course offerings.

Financial aid application completion a state priority

AB 132, the Postsecondary  Education Budget Trailer Bill, requires an LEA to ensure, beginning in the 2022-23 school year, that a grade 12 pupil, who has not opted out, completes and submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or, if the pupil is exempt from paying nonresident tuition under existing law, completes and submits a form for purposes of determining eligibility for the California Dream Act (CADAA). The bill requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), on or before July 1, 2022, to adopt regulations that include model opt-out forms and acceptable use policies for the purpose of providing LEAs with guidance. An LEA is required to exempt a pupil, or the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, from completing a form if the LEA determines the pupil is unable to complete it and if failure to complete the form would prohibit a pupil’s ability to graduate. These new requirements were first introduced in AB 469 by Assembly Member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace); however, when the language was included in the state budget, AB 469 was amended to be a companion bill.

Signed by Governor Newsom, AB 469 now requires, on or before September 1, 2022, CSAC and CDE to facilitate the completion of the FAFSA or CADAA by requiring CDE to share the current school year’s student roster with CSAC and requiring CSAC to match the roster with pupil application status based on the FAFSA and CADAA data possessed by CSAC.

The Governor signed the following curriculum and instruction bills

Adult Education

Career Technical Education

Curriculum and Instruction

Graduation Requirements

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