Improving California’s Educational Standards

In 2010, California adopted the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics so curriculum from pre-kindergarten through 12th Grade will prepare students to apply rigorous academic content knowledge to real life situations. The adoption will finally give California internationally benchmarked standards so that we will know how California students are performing compared with other students around the globe.

AB 250 establishes a structure for developing and adopting curriculum frameworks, professional development and assessments that are adjusted to the new standards. The bill also extends the operative date of the state’s assessment system by one year so California can examine and adapt to potential changes in federal law anticipated in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Encouraging Students to Learn Multiple Languages

AB 815 establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy to recognize high school graduates who achieve a very high proficiency in reading, writing and speaking a second language. There are 57 school districts that implement a Seal of Biliteracy program, each with a different design and different standards for the award.

AB 815 establishes a uniform seal and statewide set of criteria to serve as a statement of significant accomplishment for future employers or college admissions. I feel this is especially important because employers around the globe are requiring workers with language skills that allow them to communicate and collaborate with others overseas.

Eliminating School Delays for Foster Care Youth

AB 709 helps foster care youth who need to enroll in a new school, but can’t locate their immunization records. Quite often, foster youth get moved from school to school but their immunization records lag behind, forcing some youth to get reimmunized. Enrollment delays too often exacerbate interruptions in their studies, making it hard for them to keep up academically. I introduced AB 709 to make the law clear that school districts must enroll foster care youth without delay when they change schools.  I am proud to add this bill to a list of bills on behalf of foster youth I have carried in the legislature.

Holding Doctors Accountable for Medical Care

The Medical Board of California investigates complaints against physicians to ensure best practices for patients.  Physicians are asked to present themselves for an interview with the Board during the initial investigation of a complaint, to determine whether the case warrants a formal accusation or dismissal, but failure to appear results in few consequences. In the last three years, the Board has issued 338 subpoenas (representing nearly 10 percent of all cases) to compel negligent physicians to participate, wasting valuable staff time and resources.

AB 1127 gives the Board another tool to encourage cooperation by stating that failure to attend and participate in Board inquiries will constitute unprofessional conduct.

Improving Audits of Public Retirement Benefits

CalPERS audits contracting agencies to make sure they are complying with state laws regulating retirement benefits and health benefits. Sometimes CalPERS encounters employers who are uncooperative or have done a poor job of recordkeeping, resulting in excessive time and cost to CalPERS staff conducting the audits. For example, in one recent audit CalPERS staff spent hundreds of hours sorting through 30,000 documents an employer provided them, only to find the documents they needed weren’t provided.

AB 782 allows CalPERS to recoup administrative expenses when an audit takes an excessive number of hours to complete, placing responsibility for the increased costs on the employer instead of spreading the costs among all employers.

Restoring Oversight over Finance of College Facilities
The California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) finances public and private university and college facilities with tax-exempt bonds. In 2007, the California Supreme Court issued new criteria for determining whether the use of the bonds by private facilities violated the state or federal constitutions. The action made CEFA’s bond language more restrictive so educational facilities bypassed the CEFA and got their bonds from someplace else. The state no longer had oversight over who got tax-exempt bonds in California.

AB 1163 aligns CEFA bond language with the court ruling and restores state oversight over the financing. It also eliminates the need to seek new legislation every time there is a new court ruling on the issue.