BILL NUMBER: AB 252	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Holden

                        FEBRUARY 9, 2015

   An act to add and repeal Section 52245 of the Education Code,
relating to pupil instruction.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 252, as amended, Holden. Advanced placement program: 
grant program: STEM curriculum.   Advanced Placement
STEM Access Grant Program. 
   Existing law contains legislative findings and declarations
stating that advanced placement courses, among other things, help to
improve the overall curriculum at schools where they are provided and
provide a cost-effective means for high school pupils to obtain
college-level coursework experience.  Existing law requires
the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually update the
information on advanced placement available on the Internet Web site
of the State Department of Education to include current information
on the various means available to school districts to offer or access
advanced placement courses, and to annually communicate with high
schools that offer advanced placement courses in fewer than 5
subjects and inform them of the various options for making advanced
placement courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who
may benefit from them. 
   This  bill, until July 1, 2021,   bill 
would establish  a grant program overseen by the department
  the Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program, to
be administered by the State Department of Education,  for
purposes of awarding grants  of up to $8,000 to eligible school
districts  to cover the costs  associated with a high
school   of  establishing or expanding  its
  a high school  advanced placement STEM
curriculum, as defined.  The bill would require the
Superintendent to submit on or before July 1, 2021, a specified
report to the Legislature describing the effectiveness of the grant
program.   The bill would specify that the program is to
be implemented only if moneys are made available to the department
from state and nonstate funding sources for purposes of the program.
The bill would establish the Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant
Program Account within the State Treasury for purposes of awarding
grants pursuant to the program. The bill's   provisions
would be repealed on January 1, 2022. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.   (a)    The
Legislature finds and declares all of the following: 
   (1) 
    (a)  According to a 2009 report "Technical Difficulties:
Meeting California's Workforce Needs in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM) Fields," there is a large disparity
between the continued workforce demands for degrees in the STEM
fields and a continued shortfall of STEM degrees conferred to
California's minority population. 
   (2) 
    (b)  Fifty-nine percent of California's African American
pupils who have potential to thrive in an advanced placement STEM
course do not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they
have potential. 
   (3) 
    (c)  Fifty-eight percent of California's American Indian
and Alaska Native pupils do not take the advanced placement STEM
course for which they have potential. 
   (4) 
    (d)  Fifty-five percent of California's Hispanic or
Latino pupils do not take the advanced placement STEM course for
which they have potential. 
   (5) 
    (e)  Forty-one percent of California's female pupils do
not take the advanced placement STEM course for which they have
potential. 
   (6) 
    (f)  More than ninety percent of colleges and
universities across the country offer college credit, advanced
placement, or both, for qualifying advanced placement examination
scores. These credits can potentially save pupils and their families
thousands of dollars in college tuition, fees, and textbook costs.

   (7) 
    (g)  Research shows that pupils who take advanced
placement courses are much more likely than their peers to complete a
college degree on time. Pupils have the opportunity to dig deeper
into subjects that interest them, develop advanced research and
communication skills, and learn to tap their creative,
problem-solving, and analytical potential. 
   (8) 
    (h)  Advanced placement courses give pupils access to
rigorous college-level work. Advanced placement pupils build
confidence and learn the essential time management and study skills
needed for college and career success. 
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an advanced
placement STEM Access Grant Program to expand diversity in the STEM
field in regards to socioeconomic standing, gender, and race.

  SEC. 2.  Section 52245 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   52245.  (a)  For purposes of this section, "STEM curriculum" means
courses in any of the following subject areas:
   (1) Biology.
   (2) Calculus.
   (3) Chemistry.
   (4) Computer science.
   (5) Environmental science.
   (6) Physics.
   (7) Statistics.
   (b)   There   The   Advanced
Placement STEM Access Grant Program is hereby 
established a grant program   established, to be
administered by the department,  for the purpose of awarding
moneys to cover the costs associated with a high school establishing
or expanding its advanced placement STEM curriculum.  Grants
 
   (c) (1) The Advanced Placement STEM Access Grant Program Account
is established in the State Treasury, to be used solely for purposes
of the program. Funds in the account may be used to fund grants and
for administrative costs of implementing this section.
Notwithstanding any other law, the State Treasury is authorized to
receive and deposit into the account any gifts, grants, or donations
received for purposes of this section from private persons or
entities.  
   (2) The amount of the grant awarded by the department shall be
matched by the participating school district on a dollar-for-dollar
basis, or the equivalent value in services or resources. 
    (d)     The program  shall be
administered in accordance with  both   all
 of the following:
   (1) Grant funds may be used for one-time costs of establishing or
expanding advanced placement STEM courses, including, but not limited
to,  teacher recruitment,  professional
development, instructional materials,  and  laboratory
materials and  supplies, and facilities remodeling. 
 supplies. 
   (2) The grant amount shall be determined based on the cost of the
type of advanced placement course in the STEM curriculum, not to
exceed eight thousand dollars ($8,000) per grant application.

   (c) 
    (3)  A school district may apply to the department for a
maximum of one grant per high school and  ten 
10  grants per school district  pursuant to this section
 if all of the following conditions are met: 
   (1) 
    (A)  The high school  or school district  meets
either of the following criteria: 
   (A) 
    (i)  Does not offer advanced placement courses in the
STEM curriculum. 
   (B) 
    (ii)  Offers advanced placement courses in the STEM
curriculum, but those courses are oversubscribed. "Oversubscribed"
means demand for the course exceeds enrollment by at least one-half
of the number of pupils required for a full class. 
   (2) 
    (B)  The high school has identified pupils from
populations that are underrepresented in STEM courses who have
demonstrated they have high potential to be successful in one or more
advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum. The high school
may identify pupils using any means it deems appropriate, including,
but not limited to, a pupil's score on the preliminary SAT. 
   (d) Grant applications shall be submitted on a form developed by
the Superintendent and shall include, but not necessarily be limited
to, an itemized budget for the establishment or expansion of the
advanced placement STEM course and an agreement to provide the
Superintendent with the data needed for the report required pursuant
to subdivision (f).  
   (e) In awarding grants, the department shall give first priority
to applicants with no advanced placement courses in the STEM
curriculum.  
   (f) (1) On or before July 1, 2021, the Superintendent shall submit
a report to the Legislature describing the effectiveness of the
grant program established pursuant to this section. The
Superintendent is encouraged to consult with the College Board in
preparing the report pursuant to this subdivision. The report shall
include  
    the increase in the number of pupils in total, and the number of
pupils by gender and pupil subgroup, as defined in Section 52052,
enrolled in advanced placement courses in the STEM curriculum.
 
   (2) A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
 
   (g) The department shall implement this section only to the extent
that moneys are 
    (e)     The program shall be implemented
only if moneys are made  available to the department 
and the Superintendent for the purposes of this section. 
 to fund the program.  The moneys may be derived from any
source, including, but not limited to, state  funding,
federal funding,  and nonstate funding sources. 
   (h) 
    (f)  This section shall become inoperative on July 1,
2021, and, as of January 1, 2022, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2022,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.