Postsecondary education: instructional strategies.

Existing law provides for the establishment and maintenance of subject matter projects by the Regents of the University of California with the approval of the Concurrence Committee. Existing law provides that these subject matter projects are to create opportunities for researchers, higher education faculty, and elementary and secondary school faculty to work together to identify exemplary teaching practices, examine and develop research on learning, knowledge, and educational materials, and provide support to teachers to develop and enhance content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Existing law requires the Concurrence Committee to provide a final report to the Governor and to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2011, including specified information relating to the subject matter projects. This bill would add 2 areas of emphasis for the subject matter projects. The first would provide teachers with instructional strategies for delivering career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content in a manner that is linked to high-priority industry sectors identified in the California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards as adopted by the State Board of Education. The Concurrence Committee, in consultation with specified entities, would determine the priority of industry sectors. The 2nd would provide teachers with instructional strategies for ongoing collaboration on the delivery of career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content. The bill would enlarge the Concurrence Committee by adding a representative appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and make other changes. The bill would repeal the requirement of the January 1, 2011, report and, instead, require a report on or before January 1, 2016. This provision would be inoperative on January 1, 2018. This bill would add the goal of providing teachers with support in the implementation of career-oriented, integrated academic and technical courses that meet course requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University, and align with high-priority industry sectors, as specified. Existing law authorizes 6 topical subject matter projects. This bill would add physical education, arts, and world language, as specified, as topical subject matter areas. Existing law establishes a project advisory board within each subject matter project. This bill would make various changes to the board structure, including decreasing representation of specified groups, and adding a representative selected by the advisory board who is from an industry sector that principally utilizes the discipline addressed by the project. Existing law requires the project advisory board of each statewide subject matter project to use specified criteria in recommending funding for local project sites. This bill would add a criterion for local project sites that serve middle or high school teachers and would require the project advisory board to give special consideration to sites that utilize or are preparing to utilize instructional strategies to deliver career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content. Existing law repeals the article relating to instructional strategies on January 1, 2013, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends the date on which it becomes inoperative. This bill would extend that date until January 1, 2018. This bill, except for a specified provision, would become operative only if an appropriation is made in the annual Budget Act, or if federal funds are appropriated, or both, for the purposes of this bill.