Academic content standards: implementation: study.

Existing law, until July 1, 2014, establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission and requires the commission to develop internationally benchmarked academic content standards in language arts, and mathematics, at least 85% of which are required to be the common core academic standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium or another specified interstate collaboration. Existing law requires the commission to present its recommended academic content standards to the State Board of Education and requires the state board by August 2, 2010, to either adopt the standards proposed by the commission or reject them. Existing law also requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the state board to present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation plan for integrating these academic content standards into the state educational system. This bill would require the State Department of Education, with the approval of the state board, to contract for a multiyear independent study, as specified, of those academic content standards and any subsequent common core academic content standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium, or other interstate collaboration, and adopted by the state board for the purpose of informing policymakers, parents of pupils, and the public about the extent to which newly adopted common core state standards are being effectively and equitably implemented in the state public school system and increasing the ability of policymakers to improve the timely implementation of the standards. The bill would require that the study examine and publicly report on the progress of the implementation of the academic content standards with respect to the actions taken by state-level entities and by a representative sample of schools and school districts across the state, as specified. The bill would require the independent evaluator who conducts the study to report his or her findings to the Governor and the Legislature on or before February 1, 2014, and then on a biennial basis in each even-numbered year, as specified. The bill would require the department to use specified available federal funds to conduct the study.