An act to amend Section 99200 of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.
Section 99200 of the Education Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 632 of the Statutes of 2011, is amended to read:
99200.
(a) With funds appropriated therefor, and with the approval of the Concurrence Committee, the Regents of the University of California are requested to establish and maintain cooperative endeavors designed to accomplish the following:
(1) Develop and enhance teachers’ subject matter and content knowledge in the subject matter areas specified in Section 99201.
(2) Develop and enhance teachers’ instructional strategies to improve pupil learning and academic performance as measured against State Board of Education standards adopted pursuant to Sections 60605 and 60605.8 and, where applicable, to standards adopted pursuant to Section 60811 and any subsequently adopted standards.
(3) Provide teachers with instructional strategies for working with English learners.
(4) 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 the appropriate state entities, industry leaders, representatives of organized labor, educators, and other parties, shall determine the priority of industry sectors.
(5) Provide teachers with access to and opportunity to examine current research that is demonstrably linked to improved pupil learning and achievement as measured by performance levels on state tests administered pursuant to Section 60605, or any successor assessment system, or on English language development assessments developed, pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2, or any successor assessments, for English language learners.
(6) Maintain subject-specific professional communities that create and encourage ongoing opportunities for teacher collaboration, learning, and research.
(7) Develop and deploy as teacher leaders, teachers with demonstrated levels of expertise in the classroom and certifiable levels of content knowledge.
(8) Provide teachers with instructional strategies for ongoing collaboration on the delivery of career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content.
(9) Conduct a feasibility study to determine the appropriate grade level and subject area and potential cost for a pilot program to develop standards-aligned content and instructional software for use on portable electronic devices.
(b) The duties of the Concurrence Committee shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Ensuring that the statewide and local subject matter projects comply with requirements of this chapter.
(2) Developing rules and regulations for the statewide subject matter projects.
(3) On or before January 1, 2016, providing a report on the subject matter projects to the Governor and to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following information, compiled for a four-year period:
(A) The number, and level of experience, of participants in each subject matter project.
(B) The total amount of funds expended, on an annual basis, for each subject matter project.
(C) An explanation of the type of professional development activities offered pursuant to each subject matter project, including the extent to which teachers were provided professional development focused on delivering career-oriented, integrated academic and technical content.
(D) A list of the name and location of each school affiliated with a subject matter project.
(c) Grants to establish local sites of statewide subject matter projects shall be available to institutions of higher education, county offices of education and school districts, or any combination thereof, with a subject matter proposal approved pursuant to this article. Once established, each subject matter project shall be administered by the University of California in cooperation with the Concurrence Committee. Local sites of statewide subject matter projects shall be distributed throughout the state so that elementary, secondary, and postsecondary school personnel located in rural, urban, and suburban areas may avail themselves of subject matter projects.
(d) The Concurrence Committee shall be composed of individuals who are affiliated with leadership, management, or instruction in education or education policy entities, including educational expertise on instructional strategies for English learners and academic language acquisition. They shall be selected as follows:
(1) One representative selected by the Regents of the University of California.
(2) One representative selected by the Board of Trustees of the California State University.
(3) One representative selected by the State Board of Education, who has significant experience with direct classroom instruction.
(4) One representative selected by the Governor.
(5) One representative selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(6) One representative selected by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(7) One representative selected by the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission.
(8) One representative of the California Community Colleges selected by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.
(9) One representative of an independent postsecondary institution selected by the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
(e) (1) The requirement for submitting a report pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) is inoperative on January 1, 2018, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall be in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

Summary: Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that the University of California constitutes a public trust administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. Existing law requests the Regents of the University of California, with the approval of the Concurrence Committee, to establish and maintain cooperative endeavors designed to accomplish specified purposes.
This bill would add to these purposes conducting a feasibility study to determine the appropriate grade level and subject area and potential costs for a pilot program to develop standards-aligned content and instructional software for use on portable electronic devices.