BILL NUMBER: AB 427	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Weber

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2015

   An act to amend Section 8970 of the Education Code, relating to
early childhood education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 427, as introduced, Weber. Early primary programs.
   Existing law provides various legislative declarations concerning
early primary programs, including, among others, that it is the
Legislature's intent that school districts that establish an early
primary program coordinate that program, whenever possible, with the
Demonstration in Restructuring of Public Education program and, where
applicable, with the county interagency children's services
coordinating council.
   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 8970 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   8970.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The Superintendent  of Public Instruction 
convened a Task Force on School Readiness that prepared a report
 which   that  included the following
findings and recommendations:
   (1) Preschool and kindergarten programs have become more
academically oriented with an emphasis on paper and pencil "seat work"
and a decreased emphasis on other essential age-appropriate
curricular elements such as language development; familiarity with
stories, music, and oral language experiences; artistic exploration;
social interaction; and large muscle development.
   (2) Assessment tests of questionable validity and reliability are
being used to delay children's entrance to kindergarten or to place
them in a two-year kindergarten.
   (3) An appropriate, integrated experiential curriculum should be
provided for children in preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3,
inclusive.
   (4) Programs should meet the special needs of our culturally and
linguistically diverse pupils as well as the needs of exceptional
children.
   (5) Classroom organization and teaching methods should reflect the
heterogeneous skills and abilities of children in early primary
programs.
   (6) School districts should be encouraged to develop communication
about linkages between programs for four-year-olds, early primary
programs, and the primary and intermediate grades of elementary
schools.
   (7) The staff of early primary programs should receive appropriate
education, training, and remuneration.
   (8) Programs should be offered full-day and also should provide
before- and after-school care.
   (9) Assessment methods of children in early primary programs
should be drastically altered.
   (10) Parental involvement should be encouraged.
   (11) A public awareness campaign should be launched describing
appropriate learning practices for children in preschool,
kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.
   (b) The Superintendent  of Public Instruction 
issued a Triennial Report on Publicly Funded Child Development
Programs that documents the increasing numbers of low-income families
eligible but unserved by limited preschool and child care funds, and
that presents policy implications for staffing and funding issues.
   (c) National studies show future benefits of early intervention
programs to society and immediate advantages to California employers
in the form of reduced absenteeism, improved worker morale, and
increased productivity.
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that activities initiated
as a result of this chapter shall continue without regard to fiscal
year depending, when necessary, on continued funding.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts that
establish an early primary program coordinate that program, whenever
possible, with the Demonstration  in   of 
Restructuring  of   in  Public Education
program, established pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
58900) of Part 31 and, where applicable, with the county interagency
children's services  coordinating   coordination
 council, established pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 18986.10) of Chapter 12.8 of Part 6 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.