Assembly Standing Committee on Education

Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. We are starting. Good afternoon. We are gonna start this committee as a subcommittee. Thank you all for being here. I would like to welcome committee members and members of the public to today's hearing.

We have 18 bills on file today. Eight of them are on consent, and they are AB 1569 with amendments, AB 2071 with amendments, AB 2206 with amendments, AB 2298, AB 2467, AB 2580 with amendments, AB 2652 with amendments, AB 2726.

As a reminder, for each bill, we will have up to two witnesses in support and opposition, each of whom may speak for up to two minutes. Members of the public in the hearing room will have an opportunity to state their position. When you come up to the microphone, please state your name, affiliation, and position on the bill only.

Members of the public are also welcome to provide comment through the position letter portal on the committee's website. Before we begin, I have a statement to read regarding conduct at our hearings. We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so that we can have effective deliberation and decisions on the critical issues facing California.

As we proceed with the witnesses and public comment, I wanna make sure that everyone understands that the assembly has rules to ensure we maintain order and run an efficient and fair hearing. We apply these rules consistently to all people who participate in our proceedings regardless of the viewpoint that they express.

In order to facilitate the goal of hearing as much from the public within the limits of our time, we will not permit conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of legislative proceedings. We will not accept disruptive behavior except for the occasional sneeze or behavior that insights or threatens violence. The rules for today's hearing include no talking or loud noises from the audience. Public comment may be provided only at the designated time and place as permitted by the chair.

Public comment must relate to the subject being discussed today, and no engaging in conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing.

Please be aware that violations of these rules may subject you to removal or other enforcement actions. Thank you all for your patience as we read through those ground rules. We will now begin our first author in sign in order. Today's first author is Assemblymember Muratsuchi who has file item number four, and it's AB 2148. Please come forward. And you may begin when ready.

Thank you very much, madam chair. I am here to present, assembly bill 2148. A simple measure, that seeks to prohibit artificial intelligence from replacing education workers. We know that we're in the midst of an AI revolution and that so much of the technology is rolling out in real time where we really don't fully understand the full implications of what its impact is going to be on the future of education.

This is a simple but important first step in addressing this AI revolution that we are experiencing in real time.

And before I go any further, I I'd like to accept the committee amendments. With me to testify and support the bill is Jeff Freitas, the president of the California Federation of Teachers, and Catherine Brackman, representing the California School Employees Association.

Thank you. Thank you, madam chair and committee. I thank you for guiding me to the right room. Good afternoon. As I was as was stated, my name is Jeff Reyes, president of CFT.

I happen to also be the chair of the leadership council for AFT's AI Academy. If you have not read that in the news, it's something they created this past year. Today, the CFT is asking you to vote yes on the committee's recommended amendments to AB 2148. But I wanna be clear, this cannot be where we stop. AI in education is moving at lightning speed.

It is unproven. It is unknown. And without legislative guardrails, it is already causing harm to children. The Brookings Institute recently reported on an AI on AI in education and came to this conclusion. AI can benefit students or harm them.

Two paths. It depends entirely on how we choose to use it. Overreliance on these tools pay puts kids' ability to learn at risk, their social and emotional well-being, their privacy, and their safety. We're also watching the courts. Meta was recently ordered to pay $375,000,000 after being found liable on a child exploitation case in New Mexico.

While not directly an AI education case, it is a warning about what happens when we allow powerful technology companies to operate without accountability. That is why CFT is sponsoring bills like this one to prevent harm to students, to protect educators, real professionals who show up every day to do the work of teaching and to protect our education system for the long haul. AB 2148 is a beginning step, but we also need legislative guardrails to include teacher agency.

With teacher agency, educators, not algorithms or companies, must decide how curriculum is taught and what technology belongs in their classroom. And we need to we need you to give us that agency because we have tried in negotiations and districts are refusing to treat us like the professionals we are.

Your vote today is part of the agency you have. As the Brookings Institute put it, to move us towards AI enriched learning or allow AI diminished learning. CFT asked you to vote yes on AB 2148 and to commit acting with urgency on further legislative guardrails that are greatly needed.

Thank you.

Afternoon, madam chair and members of the committee. Kat Rekman, on behalf of the California School Employees Association. We're proud cosponsors of AB 2148. School employees, not just teachers, but paraeducators, psychologists, and nurses are supportive adults that are trusted to help students through challenging times. Educators tailor lesson plans to their students based on real world experience and a professional understanding of childhood development.

Your time.

Nearly every industry is facing the threat of human jobs being replaced by AI. Last year, artificial intelligence replaced over 50,000 jobs in The US, and some reports estimate that AI could replace up to 30% of jobs in education. Reliance on AI can impact students' learning capacity, their social and emotional skills, and their relationships with peers and educators. The replacement of humans in any facet of our education system could have far reaching and unforeseen consequences on future generations' ability to learn and communicate.

Education is one area where a human touch is necessary.

An algorithm can't understand each student's unique needs or help a child to regulate complex emotions. AB 2148 will implement the necessary safeguards to guarantee that our students are getting the personalized, humane education we know they deserve. And for these reasons and many more, we respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

At this time, we'll take any, public comments in support. Please sign up to the microphone. State your name, affiliation, and position on the bill only. Thank you.

Thank you, chair members. Elmer Lazardi here on behalf of the California Federation of Labor Unions in strong support.

Good afternoon, chair committee members. Brian Mariamontes with California Teachers Association in support.

Good afternoon. Leah Griffin with the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees in support.

My name is Ariane Adams Chikova, a 24 human high school Spanish teacher. Been teaching for twenty four years. I still use paper and pencil and face to face communication, so my students

name affiliation. posiyion

Aria Adam Chikova And high school Spanish teacher and a member of CTA, and I strongly, strongly support humanizing education.

Thank you. Seeing no further, public comment, let's go to opposition witness. Are there any opposition witnesses? Please step forward.

Good afternoon, Christina Martin.

please take A seat.

Any Oh, I'm sorry. We're just doing me too. Yeah.

Any opposition witnesses?

Dorothy Johnson, behalf of the Association of California School Administrators, we are grateful for the work with the author and the committee to address our deepest concerns, and this removes our opposition that was expressed previously. So I'm kind of that Tweeter position. Thank you for the grace.

Thank you. Then we'll take any public comments in opposition.

Christina Marcellus, on behalf of the Small School Districts Association, look forward to reviewing the amendments, and we'll cert we appreciate the work, and we'll certainly be back in touch once we've had a chance to see them in print. Thank you.

Thank you.

Lucy Salcedo Carter with the Alameda County Office of Education. We're in a similar position waiting to see the amendments in in print, but have been opposed.

Thank you. That seems to conclude our public comment in opposition. Let's bring it back to the, committee for discussion. Before we begin discussion, I do have a brief statement I wanna read. I wanna acknowledge that emerging technology, including AI based tools, presents both benefits and risks to public education.

As we consider how to safely bring new technology into the classroom, it's critical that we center the needs of our educators and allow their expertise to guide us. I wanna thank the author specifically and sponsors for bringing attention to this important issue at this time.

The timing is quite critical, and I look forward to working with you on future legislation that really protects the safety, autonomy of teachers, protects the safety of students and the autonomy of teachers in this new emerging world where we're submersed in AI. So bringing it back to the committee, are there any questions for the author at this time? Assembly member Hoover.

Thank you. Just wanna thank the author for bringing this forward. I think, you know, with the amendments, we're definitely striking a good balance. I guess my question is, you know, it's interesting we had a Spanish teacher test or not testify, but speak in support as well. But one of the challenges we're having in education right now is a shortage, right, of a lot of qualified teachers.

And I just wanna make sure that as technology sort of improves that we're not creating roadblocks to using it to supplement, certainly not replace certificated qualified teachers. I just wanted to kinda hear your thoughts on that, and how you view this bill and maybe future legislation as as interacting with that challenge.

Thank you. Maybe I'll start and see if our supported witnesses want to to jump in. But vice chair Hoover, as as you and I know, we we have seen the the the the pendulum swing on education technology. And and as parents, I think we've been seeing growing evidence about the the the impacts of of technology on on our children. We we we know that as the chair stated, we're we're still seeing all of the technology being developed.

And while there's promises of of of, you know, great potential in terms of supporting our our our teachers, supporting our educators, there there's also the the the very real fear as as we're seeing in industries, across our society where where job losses are already, being seen at this early stage of the AI Revolution.

But I I I I think one clear theme that we're we're seeing even at this early stage is the importance of the human connection that that our children need to be taught by human beings, that they need to interact with human beings, you know, at at the school front office, you know, paraeducators.

I mean, on on in identifying so many different categories of of Skoll employees, I I think we all can intuitively recognize the the importance of ensuring that that AI doesn't replace that human contact, that human relationship. As long as we're human beings, we're going to need that human relationship. And so, you know, the while much of the bill has been stripped out, the the principle that an educator needs to be a natural person, I I I think is is at the heart.

Again, this is a a modest but important first step in in recognizing that our educators need to be natural persons, but in the terms of how specific technologies are are are can gonna continue to be developed and implemented, that is where we we need to spend more time to to address and how do we make sure that we are taking advantage of AI as a tool while at the same time making sure that it's not harming our students as well as our staff.

Appreciate that. Oh, yeah. Sorry. If if

I may add and if I can bring up legislation that you've actually supported before, I think the the scarcity issue is something that we aren't just here hearing from your question. We have I I communicate with several international organizations. We brought the education National Education Union from England here. That was part of the effort to discover what we needed to carry in legislation. They're carrying that same letters.

That's a creation that we create, that scarcity. And I know we talk about what we're it's hard to hire people, but we need to create solutions that aren't AI driven. Because once we open that door, it's just gonna propagate and then start erasing that opportunity. Look at go to a fast food restaurant. We now no longer order if you don't if you do or not.

But we no longer order from humans. We order from a a screen. And that's it will propagate even further. So we need to avoid that type of argument, and I appreciate that argument, and I appreciate your vote to increase salaries 50% to not have that scarcity. And there is that connection that we need to make sure we provide the professionalism for all educators, and we won't have that scarcity issue.

But I I think we need to avoid that question, but I appreciate it.

No. And and I agree with that. I think largely, there there are solutions there. Right? And and I do wanna address that issue, but it is sort of a separate issue.

Right? So I think the goals of the bill are are really good. I appreciate, you know, your work with the committee. And and and I do largely support, right, this idea of, the, you know, the critical need of humans in the classroom and also maybe even a, a relook at, down the road at, technology in the classroom as a whole and how we can maybe readjust some things there to help create more social interaction and engagement as well.

Look, we'll be supporting Bill Today and, be happy to to be a co author if if if you are looking for those.

Thanks.

Absolutely. Thank you.

Before we proceed, I would like the secretary to call roll.

Patel?

I or here.

Patel here. Hoover?

Here.

Hoover here. Alvarez? Alvarez present. Bonta? Present.

Present. Castillo?

Here.

Castillo here. Garcia, Lowenthal, Keller and Seberg.

Excellent. So next, any other commit committee members? Questions? Do I have a motion? Mister Assemblymember Marisucci, would

you like to close?

Thank you very much. Respectfully ask for Ivan.

So we do have a motion and a second. Secretary, can you call the roll?

File item four, AB 2148. The motion is do pass as amended to higher education. Patel. Aye. Patel, Aye, Hoover.

Hoover, Aye, Alvarez. Aye. Alvarez, Aye, Bonta. Aye. Bonta, Aye, Castillo.

Aye.

Aye. Castillo, Aye, Garcia, Lowenthal, Helen, Suburr. The

The bill has five votes, and it is out. Thank you. Next, we have file item seven, AB 2202. Assembly member, you may proceed when ready.

Thank you. I'm here to, now present AB 2202, a bill to establish the Closing the Achievement Gap Commission, an advisory body to the State Board of Education. We know that closing the achievement gap has been the holy grail of public education for many, many years.

And while we have many programs and billions of dollars being devoted to closing the achievement gap, we need to do a better job in making sure that, that our statewide systems are designed to improve the support that the state is providing to local educational agencies, to promote their local efforts to close the achievement gap. And so that is the core proposal of this bill.

And as you know, madam chair, this is part of a larger package of of bills of which you and other members of this committee are are are carrying to focus on this critical issue of closing achievement gaps. With me to testify in support of the bill today is the sponsor of the bill, the California School Board Association, represented by Carlos Machado, as well as Tristan Brown representing the California Federation of Teachers.

Good afternoon, madam chair and and committee members. Carlos Machado here on behalf of the California School Board Association, the proud sponsor of AB 2202. CSP represents nearly a thousand school districts and county boards of education tasked with local stewardship of the state's nearly 6,000,000 students. While our locally elected trustees are held to a high standard of public accountability through elections, audits, and state the school dashboard, they often find themselves operating within an uncoordinated state level architecture.

For too long, local leaders have had to navigate a series of disconnected mandates and ad hoc reforms that, while well intentioned, often conflict with one another at the local level. AB twenty-two two provides the State Board of Education with a vital mechanism to bridge this system systematic gap. By establishing the Closing the Achievement Gap Commission, the bill creates a structured feedback loop between the local leaders and educators and state policy makers.

The commission will provide a an important local perspective for the State Board of Education, including ground level experience necessary to refine and update state programs, so they act as a strategic partner and local success rather than a source of regulatory friction.

For CSBA members, AB twenty-two two is about governance coherence. The bill addresses the dueling state and local priorities created by a fragmented state mandates that often dilute a board's ability to focus on student outcomes. By requiring the state board to consider the commission's recommendations. The bill ensures a local a level of transparency and shared responsibility that matches what is expected of our local boards. AB 2202 will help us move toward a state system that is organized for results.

On behalf of, California schools and county trustees, CSB, asked for your aye vote on AB 2202.

Good afternoon, madam chair and members. Tristan Brown with the CFT, Union of Educators and Classified Professionals. Emphatically in support of this idea because, while we do have many, over a thousand school districts that are implementing this vital program, we've always known that education is a net is a issue of state concern. Even in the founding of our country, those folks who were putting together our constitutions understood that public education was something that had to be administered for the good of all, by the good of all.

And this helps align that sort of 30,000 foot view as to the overall program of how we're doing rather than relying on individual districts to helpfully submit program.

This is not a rebuke of local control. In fact, it's something that could help assist where local control may have blind spots or be unable to see beyond their borders, and as we move into more worlds of interdistrict transfers, dual enrollment, and other ways in which our students and families are more interconnected than ever before, it makes all the more sense for school for the state of California to be able to take a look and see how this system is doing on that level.

So for those reasons, we really appreciate what's gonna happen with this policy, and we look forward to how it can really bolster all of our goals to improve education in every district. So we ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Assembly member, just to clarify, I may have missed it. Are you accepting committee amendments?

Yes. Thank you.

At this time, we will take witnesses or public comment in support. Please line up to the microphone. Name, affiliation, and position only, please.

Madam chair and members, Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Madam chair, Bryan Easter, superintendent of the Maple School District and school board member for the Panama Buena Vista School District in support of this bill. Thank you.

Madam chair, Rob Effa, superintendent principal of North Cow Creek Elementary School District in Northern California in support of this bill.

Madam chair, Susan Markarian, Pacific Union Elementary School District board member. I'm in support of this bill.

Madam chair, Sabrena Rodriguez, Ventura Unified School District and in support of this.

Madam chair, Melanie Mata, superintendent principal at Hope Elementary School District, in full support.

Madam chair, Debra Schade, Solana Beach School District, in full support.

Thank you. This time, if there are any witnesses in opposition, it's time to step forward. Seeing no witnesses in opposition, any public comment in opposition? Alright. That bring, thank you. There's a motion.

Is there there's a motion in a second? Are there any comments or questions from Assembly Member Bonta?

Thank you. Appreciate you bringing this bill forward. Thank you to the author. I did have a question around the composition of the of the commission. The analysis aptly points to the need to make sure that we're focused on early learning opportunities and early learning gaps that exist.

We know that kindergartners, and now even four year olds, t-kers, are coming into our schools, our TK-12 school system, with a differential opportunity gap. So, I don't believe that there's anyone on the commission that is focused more on the disparities that exist within the early learning fields, and your quick response might be to say that you're offering opportunities for LEAs that have TK-12 systems to be able to participate.

I would I would ask you to not offer me that response because I the response of TK-12 LEAs participating in the commission because I think that there's a world of work around early childhood learning that happens before a child hits four years old that isn't encompassed in this composition of the commission.

Yes. And Miss Bonta, thank you for calling that out, especially given your long background in early childhood education. I I think you're absolutely right. You know, the committee analysis correctly points out that the the data shows that so much of the achievement gap begins in the first zero to to four years, if not zero to five years, and and that is also a important fact that that supports your point.

You know, while certainly the current composition may allow for the representation of of someone with expertise in early childhood education, I I would like to have the conversation with with the sponsor of the bill, you know, as to whether we should, whether we need to get more specific in terms of requiring representation from early childhood education. So I appreciate your comment.

Do we have any further questions or comments from committee members? Assembly member, would you like to close?

Thank you very much. Respectfully I ask for your aye vote.

Excellent. Secretary, will you call the roll?

File item seven, AB 2202. The motion is due pass as amended to appropriations. Patel?

Aye.

Patel, aye. Hoover? Alvarez?

Aye.

Alvarez, aye. Bonta?

Aye.

Bonta, aye. Castillo?

Aye.

Castillo, Aye. Garcia? Lowenthal?

Aye.

Lowenthal, Aye. Pellerin? Zbur?

The vote is five-zero. The bill is out.

The vote is five-zero.

We're gonna jump to the consent calendar and get a motion on consent.

We're gonna now jump to the consent calendar and get a motion on the consent. Is there a second?

The motion and a second. Secretary, please call the roll on consent.

The consent calendar motions are as follows. AB 1569, do passes amended to transportation. AB 2071, do passes amended to appropriations. AB 2206, do pass as amended to higher education. AB 2298, do pass to appropriations.

AB 2467, do pass to military and veterans affairs. AB 2580, do pass as amended to higher education. AB 2652, do passes amended to appropriations, and AB 2726 do passed to higher education. On the consent calendar, Patel? Aye.

Patel, I Hoover, Alvarez.

Aye.

Alvarez, Aye. Bonta. Aye. Bonta, Aye. Castillo.

Aye. Castillo, Aye. Garcia Lowenthal.

Aye.

Lowenthal, Aye. Pellerin Seber. The vote is five zero. The consent calendar is out.

The vote is five zero. The consent calendar is out. At this time, we're gonna take up a bill on special order due to a witness needing to leave.

The vote is five zero. The consent calendar is out. At this time, we're gonna take up a bill on special order due to a witness needing to leave.

The bill is file item

what was it?

File item 15AB2555.

Doctor Patel, welcome.

Thank you.

We'd like to have you, present your bill, and then we'll follow with your witnesses afterwards.

Thank you. Thank you, mister chair, acting chair, and members. I will open my statement by saying I accept all the committee amendments. California's goals for education for English learners is articulated in the English learner roadmap, and they are that, these learners attain high levels of English proficiency, mastery of grade level standards, and have opportunities to develop proficiency in multiple languages. California system for reclassifying students as fully English proficient is a critical part of realizing this vision.

Fifty years ago, California established its system for reclassifying English learners as fully English proficient. It has not materially changed since that time. Over the years, evidence has mounted that the current system is inconsistent, redundant, subjective, complex, and highly influenced by educator mindsets about reclassification.

Concern has also grown over the outcomes of this system. Research has shown that roughly half of all English learners who are not reclassified by the end of elementary school are in fact proficient in English.

On average, it takes two hundred and twenty six days for a student who has scored proficient in English to reclassify, with some students waiting years before reclassification. Many students score proficient year after year before they are reclassified. It's time for a comprehensive reform of this system.

Research has also found significant gaps in reclassification rates by home language with Spanish speaking students significantly less likely to reclassify than other students even when they are just as proficient as their peers.

strengthening the monitoring of reclassified students, and reframing reclassification as a milestone on the pathway to biliteracy, this bill will create a fair and efficient system, one worthy of our students' true potential.

A B 2555 will establish a coherent, consistent, efficient, and transparent reclassification system By streamlining reclassification criteria, making reclassification automatic, better engaging parents,

With me today to testify in support are Mariana Kham Khamz? Khamz? Khamz? Khamz? Second year law student at UCSD UC Davis School of Law, and Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, cosponsor of AB 2555.

Thank you.

Thank you. We'll take the first witness.

Good afternoon, chair and members. My name is Mariana Kames, and I'm a second year student at UC Davis School of Law. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq and came to The United States at 12 years old as a United Nations refugee.

On my first day of middle school, I did not speak any English. I was placed in an English learner program where we were taught 20 vocabulary words per week.

For nearly two years, I was not allowed to take any substantive math or science classes. As my English improved, I noticed that many of my classmates also spoke English well, yet we all remained in this class.

Over time, I began to worry that I had fallen behind in other subjects and would not be able to take advanced classes. I was stuck relearning material I had already mastered. My English continued to improve, but I could not move into regular classes.

During public comment, I shared my story and asked for help. The following year, in eighth grade, I was reclassified.

I asked my teacher about the reclassification process, but it was never explained to me. I later heard about a meeting where decisions about schools were being made, and I asked my mom to take me. Years later, I learned that it was a school board meeting.

By the time I began college at San Diego State University, I had already completed 21 college units.

That year, I was placed in honors English. Nothing changed, but I went from being an English learner to an honors student over the summer. I earned an A in that class. In high school, I took as many AP classes as I could, primarily in English and history as those subjects naturally became my strengths.

After graduating, I became a fellow in the Assembly Fellowship program. I worked in the office of Assembly member Lisa Calderon, first as a fellow and then a legislative aide. Today, I am nearly done with my second year of law school at UC Davis.

Within six years of being out of the English learner program, I was appointed by governor Gavin Newsom to serve as a student trustee on the California State University Board of Trustees, where I represented almost half a million students across the state.

I often think about how easily my trajectory could have been different, how my reclassification began a chain reaction of opportunities, and what happened to other students in my class who remained stuck in the system with their potential unrealized.

Today, being multilingual is an asset that makes me more competitive in the workforce. AB 2555 ensures that reclassification is based on objective criteria focused on English proficiency.

I share my story because I'm one of many students who were held back by a complicated reclassification process that is neither objective nor culturally competent. For years, while I was learning English, I was told not to speak my home language.

It involves parents like my mother who wanted to be part of the process from the very beginning.

Finally, it ensures that students receive the support they need after reclassification, so they don't fall through the cracks. No student should have to beg to be reclassified. When English learners work hard to become proficient, they deserve the opportunity to move forward. For these reasons, I urge you to support AB 2555. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next witness.

And we are proud cosponsors of AB 2555. I bring forty two years in California public education, including thirty years as a site district and county administrator, where I have seen firsthand the challenges and the consequences of our current reclassification system.

Good afternoon, chair and members. I am Martha Hernandez, the executive director of Californians Together. We are a coalition of 40 organizations that champion English learner success.

I do wanna begin by thanking the author and this bill is long overdue. Because at its core, this is about students and the opportunities that we either open or close for them. For fifty years, California has relied on a reclassification system that is inconsistent, complex, and too often inequitable.

We are the only state in the nation that uses four criteria and then applies those criteria differently across districts. I have seen the consequences of this system up close.

I have seen students in my forty two year career reclassified too early, struggling because they lacked sufficient language proficiency to succeed. But I have also seen students reclassified too late, denied learning opportunities, and separated, segregated from their peers, and underestimated. And we have to be clear that reclassification is not the finish line, but a milestone on a student's journey toward full biliteracy.

As 2555 moves us toward assist, AB 2555 moves us toward a system that reflects what we know is right, a system that is fair, where all students are evaluated consistently, a system that supports success so students can fully access learning opportunities and thrive, a system that ensures accountability so we can improve outcomes for all multilingual learners. We know what works.

The question is whether we will align our systems to reflect reflect that knowledge.

Thank you.

And AB 2555 does just that.

Thank you very much. Appreciate your testimony. Now we'll take a public comment that is in support. If you are in support of this item, please come forward. Please state your name, affiliation of any, and, again, just state your that you are in support of this measure.

Christina Marcellus on behalf of the San Diego County Office of Education in support.

Thank you.

Deborah Bautista Zavala on behalf of the California Suburban School District in support.

Thank you.

Michelle Warshaw on behalf of the California Teachers Association in strong support.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Englekin on behalf of the SELPA Administrators of California and Sonoma County SELPA in strong support.

Thank you.

Patrick McGrew, representing SELPA Administrator for California in strong support.

Thank you.

Christina Salazar on behalf of the Riverside Riverside County Superintendent Of Schools in strong support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Manuel Buenrostro with Californians Together in strong support. Also doing a me too on behalf of Ettrust West and the California Association for Bilingual Education who are also Kaveh is also a cosponsor. Thank you.

Sara Vachis with children now in support.

Thank you.

Sarah Lillis with Teach Plus California in support.

Thanks. Sierra Cook with the San Diego Unified School District in support, also speaking today on behalf of the Association of California School Administrators in support.

Thank you.

Lucy Salcedo Carter with the Alameda County Office of Education in support.

Thank you.

Ana Ioakimedes on behalf of Los Angeles Unified School District in support.

Tristan Brown on behalf of the ELD practitioners of the CFT, enthusiastic support.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Derek Lennox on behalf of the California County Superintendents. Our legislative committee meets tomorrow, but we look forward to formalizing our support after that.

Thank you.

Arian Adam Chakova, Spanish, Japanese, multilingual language, newcomer English high school teacher in San Mateo County in support. Thank you.

Anna Cordero, eighth grade history teacher for seventeen years, CTA member in strong support.

Thank you.

Rachel Murphy with Public Advocates in support.

Good afternoon. Kelly Makashi, school board member from Pleasanton Unified School District, delegate assembly from the California School Board Association, and an employee from Fremont Unified School District in support.

Thank you.

Melanie Mata, Hope Elementary School District superintendent principal, absolute full support.

Thank you. Anyone else in support? Seeing no other witnesses in support or testimony in support, we'll take opposition witnesses. If there are any opposition witnesses, please come forward. Seeing no opposition witnesses, are there any public comment in opposition?

We don't see any. Thank you. We have a motion, and a second on the bill. Do we have any committee member questions or comments?

Yes, miss Bonta.

Welcome home, Mariana. Great to have you back. It's wonderful to hear your story as well. Thanks so much.

Thank you. It's always great to see talent from the Assembly Fellowship here. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your story. It is very it was done very eloquently as an English language learner, and now we call them English learners. Myself, I I saw my my story reflected in yours, and and I wanna thank doctor Patel.

You probably, like me, did a lot of reading over the course of the recess, and I read the article or read the research that was presented. I'm at the moment. I'm not forgetting who it was. You may remember, but on this issue of reclassification. And I remember thinking we should do something about this.

And I'm glad you are because clearly, as was so well presented by your by your witness here, it's about opening opportunities if you're not reclassified, which is really shocking for me to learn when I was reading about this because as a parent also of English learners,

we taught our children Spanish first, and they learned English, in the education system. Reclassification at our elementary school was a big deal. We celebrated that, and it was important for kids to achieve that.

So to come to learn that it often does not happen, was really, eye opening for me. So you are taking on an issue that is very real, that is limiting opportunities for students.

And so, I'm I'm thankful to you for doing that. And would you like to make excuse me, any closing remarks?

I would. At this time, I I just wanna say thank you to my witnesses, especially to hear the stories from a first person narrative. I also had my own reclassification issues even though felt that I was fully bilingual as a kid, and

I lost my mother language because I was told not to speak it. So, there are stories that, students have gone through over the years, and I think it's time to end that pain and to move forward in a new chapter.

I also wanna extend extend a deep gratitude to committee staff, specifically Tanya Lieberman, for having worked on this issue for many, many years to bring us to a place where we can bring this bill forward in a way that has no opposition.

So thank you.

Well done. It speaks to your work and your diligence and to your staff as well. Yep. So with that, we do have a motion and a second. We'll have to ask the secretary to call.

File item 15, AB 2555. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. Patel. Hi. Patel, I Hoover Alvarez.

Hi. Alvarez I Bonta. Hi. Bonta I Castillo. Hi.

Castillo, I Garcia. Hi. Garcia, I Lowenthal. Hi. Hello, I Patella.

Hello, Randall. Is here. You said.

Oh, I said. Yes. Okay. Not here.

Six to zero. The bill is out. We'll have the next.

Oh, miss McKenna is here. Welcome, miss McKenna. Come on up. We'll give the gavel back to the chair.

How are you doing? See you. See you.

We will allow members to add on to

muted?

We will allow members to add on to all bills as as we wrap up this meeting. Assembly member McKenner, you may proceed when ready.

Yeah.

I would like to begin by accepting the committee's amendments and thank the Chair and committee staff for their work on the bill. AB 1860 would authorize design build and progressive design build for county offices of education.

Align COE authority with k-12 districts and community colleges, and approve project coordination, reduce delays, and increase efficiency. This bill would also preserve all applicable prevailing wage and labor standards, such as public works contractor registration, apprenticeship utilization, and the use of skilled and trained workforce.

County office of education are responsible for building and maintaining some of the most complex and specialized educational facilities in the state. However, COE currently lacks access to modern project delivery tools widely used across public education.

Without design build authority, COE faces delays, higher costs, and fragmented oversight projects. As COE construction needs grow, there is a risk that some contractors could exploit gaps in procurement authority to undercut wages, safety standards, and apprenticeship standards.

I appreciate the constructive conversation my office and I have had with stakeholders on this bill to ensure language that secure labor standards and recognizes county superintendent's authority.

Here to testify in support is Mike Greenlee, Director of Communication with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trade, District Council 16, and Adam Cortez with the Work Preservation Fund, a joint labor management committee for labor compliance. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My name is Michael Greenlee. I'm the Political and Communications Director for District Council 16 Painters and Allied Trades. AB 1860 is about making our school construction rules clearer and more consistent.

For more than 20 years, the legislature has recognized a design build when paired with the best value selection, helps deliver projects faster, at a lower cost, and with better outcomes for students.

But right now, the county offices of education are treated differently from school districts in our statutes. Even though COEs manage complex facilities and serve some of the most vulnerable student populations, that difference has created a gap in the law.

And that gap has led to confusion, uneven practices, and in some cases, the belief that COEs can award design build contracts without following the same safeguards that districts have followed for years. AB 1860 closes that gap in a straightforward, practical way.

The bill updates the design build and alternative design build statutes so that school districts and county superintendents offer under one clear, unified framework. It aligns definitions, best value criteria, conflict of interest protections, and procurement authority.

And it ensures that when COEs use design build, it follows the same transparent, accountable process that has served districts well for decades. The bill also clarifies who has authority under authority. Under AB 1860, the county superintendent, not the county board, is responsible for awarding design build and alternative design build contracts.

That clarity helps avoid conflicting decisions and ensures that the entity delivering the project is also responsible for meeting all the compliance obligations. AB 1860 simply ensures that when COEs choose to use these tools, they do so within the framework that protects taxpayers and maintains the integrity of public contracting. It's about fairness, consistency, and responsible stewardship of public dollars, and that's why I'm asking for an aye vote.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Adam Cortez, and I'm the Deputy Director for Work Preservation Fund Incorporated, a labor management cooperative committee, or LMCC. I've also been in the trades for 13 years and have a passion for the labor movement.

As an LMCC, Work Preservation believes this bill is needed because county offices of education are currently utilizing design build contracting without statutory authority to do so. That gap in the law means these agencies are awarding design build projects outside the framework that ensures accountability and labor standards.

The design build contracting method is meant to include a skilled and trained workforce, which ensures high quality construction, enhances safety, protects taxpayer investment, and verifies that workers are qualified, often through state approved apprenticeship programs. These requirements promote a qualified workforce, preventing construction defects, and ensuring structural longevity.

When Work Preservation investigates these types of projects, we are routinely told by county offices of education that, because superintendents are not specifically called out in statute, the skilled and trained workforce requirement does not apply to their design build projects.

Assembly Bill 1860 will close this loophole for superintendent of schools and ensure that design build contracts will require the utilization of a skilled and trained workforce without redefining what a school district currently is.

This bill will bring those design build contracts up to the same standards as any other agency using them and will promote fairness and equality across public agencies when contracting. I appreciate your time and ask for support on the AB 1860. Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, we will have public comment in support. Name, affiliation, and position only, please.

Madam Chair and Members. Mike West on behalf of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, co-sponsors of the bill. Thanks to the committee for their work on this.

Thank you. Elmer Lizardi on behalf of the California Federation of Labor Unions in support.

Good afternoon. Gabriela Cervantes here on behalf of the American Council of Engineering Companies of California in support.

Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California State Association of Electrical Workers, California State Pipe Trades Council, and Western States Council Sheet Metal Workers in support.

Bob Giroux on behalf of Painters District Council 36, which is every county lower than Bakersfield.

Alright. Seeing no further public comment. Are there any witnesses in opposition? Please step forward. Seeing no witnesses in opposition. Any public comment in opposition?

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Derick Lennox with the California County Superintendents. Wanna start by appreciating the Member and her office for the work on the bill. With the amendments that were adopted today, we're gonna remove our opposition and go to neutral and express appreciation. Thank you very much.

Madam Chair and Members. Rebekah Kalleen on behalf of the County School Facilities Consortium. We previously adopted an opposed unless amended position, but with the amendments that are being taken today, we are looking forward to removing that opposition. We wanna thank the committee and the author for working through those concerns. Thank you.

Cristina Salazar on behalf of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. With the amendments, we remove our opposition. Thank you.

Lucy Salcido Carter with the Alameda County Office of Education, and we are in the same position as our California County Sups and Riverside colleagues.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members. Pamela Gibbs representing the Los Angeles County Office of Education. We did not have a position on the bill, but we wanna thank the author, sponsors, and staff for their work on the amendments. And just wanted to thank you for that and considering our position or interest.

Thank you. Seeing no other public comment, we'll bring it back to the committee. Are there any questions for the author? No? Assembly Member McKinnor, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Do we have a motion at this time? Motion, second. We have a motion and a second. Secretary, can you please call the roll?

File item two, AB 1860. The motion is do pass as amended to Appropriations. [Roll Call]

The vote is six zero. The bill is out, and we will leave the roll open for add ons. Thank you. Next up, we have file item 14. That is AB 2514, Assembly member ransom.

You may proceed when ready.

Hi, Graham. How are you? I'm welcome. Thank you.

Alright. Thank you. Good afternoon, madam chair and members. I wanna start by thanking your committee for your commitment and your work on this bill, and I appreciate and accept the amendments that, we've previously discussed, so thank you for that. I'm here today to present Assembly Bill twenty five fourteen.

And though districts have well adopted and well intentioned programs, large gaps persist across social, economic, geographic, and ethnic lines. These disparities are realities that are affecting our classrooms, our schools, and the future of millions of California students.

This is one of four bills in the comprehensive legislative package that's working to close the achievement gap in the state of California. Our achievement gaps are simply unacceptable.

Progress has been slow, and one of the largest barriers in improving student outcomes is the fragmented governance approach that lacks a coherent and unifying state level plan to help school districts and county offices of education close achievement gaps.

We see some districts doing well while others struggle, and we're making investments across the state, and we need to make sure that we level the playing field and find out what works for California.

AB 2514 would create a statewide dashboard known as the state of achievement gap dashboard. This state can use this as a tool to provide the public with a clear way to measure the state's progress in closing the decision gap and making informed decisions about our statewide plans.

This dashboard will allow educators, policymakers, and communities to see how state agencies, legislature, and the administration is doing in meeting the goals established in our plans.

And measuring this progress and being transparent about results will help inform decisions to create conditions at the state level that set our schools up for success at the local level for decades to come.

introduce my witnesses today. I have in support of the bill Sabrina Rodriguez, Ventura Unified School District board member, and California School Board Association president-elect, and mister Brian Easter, the superintendent of Maple Elementary School District. Thank you.

AB 2514 does this by ensuring our work to to close the achievement gap is backed by clear data and public accountability. I respectfully ask for your aye vote when the time comes. And with that, I'm going to

I've spent twenty years in public education as a teacher, a coach, a superintendent, and a school board member. I'm here today representing superintendents and Board Members across California, especially those leading small districts in support of AB 2514.

Good afternoon, chair and committee members. My name is Brian Easter, superintendent of the Maple School District, and also school board member for the Panama Buena Vista Union School District in Kern County.

Something that makes this burden heavier than it should be is a state system that lacks clarity in what's in what's actually helping and what's getting in the way. While certainly some state programs help, others overlap, and many, unfortunately, can decrease positive outcomes.

Let me start with this. In my role, data and results drive every decision I make. If students aren't improving, programs aren't working, and families aren't being served based on the need, that burden is squarely on my shoulders as it should be.

There's no clear statewide picture of what legislative efforts are working and those that are not. This is a problem you can correct by passing AB 2514.

Our state has spent decades adding new mandates and compliance requirements for schools with rare look backs. To see if student performance has improved or the achievement gaps have closed.

AB 2514 would finally let us see how the state is performing in supporting one of its biggest investments, our school districts, by creating a state level operations and support dashboard.

Currently, we measure schools, we measure districts. With no current clear and transparent state level reporting, it is nearly impossible to have confidence in whether the state's own decisions, investments, and programs are delivering results for kids.

From the classroom to district leadership, clarity is critical. When the system is clear, we can move faster, we can be more effective, and hold ourselves and our partners accountable. An effective educational system has mutual accountability.

If our state is serious about improving student outcomes and closing the student achievement gap, then our district leaders should be confident

Your time is up.

That the system of our state, I'm almost done, has built is actually working. On behalf of superintendents and school Board Members across California, I respectfully ask you to support AB 2514. Thank you, madam chair.

Two minutes.

Good afternoon, madam chair and members of the committee. My name is Sabrina Rodriguez, and I'm honored to represent my colleagues around the state as president-elect of the California School Board Association and a trustee with Ventura Unified School District.

As trustees, our role is to set direction, monitor progress, and ensure our decisions lead to better outcomes for our students.

We operate where state policy meets local practice, and what we consistently see is that strong local efforts can be undermined by a state system that isn't properly aligned to support us. School districts manage complex systems while simultaneously navigating numerous state and federal programs.

Each program may make sense individually, but viewed as a group, their independent requirements and timelines place an extraordinary burden on our staff. California has made a significant investment in education for which we are truly grateful. But without alignment and transparency, this investment fails to generate the necessary return on investment.

This is precisely what AB 2514 is designed to address. Twenty five fourteen creates a state level operations and support dashboard providing visibility into how well the state is performing and supporting student outcomes.

Local school boards rely on data to set goals, track progress, and adjust course where we need to. We monitor to evaluate whether the decisions we make are having the desired outcomes for our students.

Locally, we measure schools and we measure district performance. What's missing right now is a way for you and the public to evaluate whether state level decisions are having their intended outcomes. From a governance perspective, that step is essential.

The state should be doing the same, and use outcomes and not inputs to measure your success. AB 2514 gives us the clarity we need about what is working and how we can better align our local strategies. Time.

You are out of time. Thank you.

Thank you.

Alright. At this time, we'll take any, public comment in support. Please step forward to the microphone. State your name, affiliation, and position on the bill only. Thank you.

Thank you, madam chair and members. First, around CFT here in support.

Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Madam chair, Deborah Shea, board member of Solana Beach School District, support.

Susan Markarian, board member, Pacific Union Elementary, strongly support.

Melanie Mata, superintendent principal, Hope Elementary, strong support.

Madam chair, Rob Effa, superintendent principal, North Cow Creek Elementary School, in support.

Hello again. Kelly Makashi, school board member from Pleasanton Unified School District, delegate assembly from the California School Board Association, and an employee from Fremont Unified in support.

At this time, we'll take witnesses in opposition. If there are any, please step forward.

It's a bill.

Thank you. Any, public comment in opposition? Alright. We'll bring it to the dais. Any comments or questions from our members?

Assembly member Bonta.

Thank you. And, I suppose this is the second of four, a package of four that we are hearing. So my question might be ill placed. Forgive me if it is to the author. One is in the committee analysis, there is some comment about the use and existence of of a new dashboard when we already have existing dashboards that provide some of this kind of information.

So hoping that you can speak to that as and I will reserve my question to the chair around why there is going to be a working group as well as a commission. Perhaps you'll round this all out with the entirety of it.

So that's just one question I have about this. And then also given the fact that we had a very robust hearing about the proposed governance structure that I believe CSBA was a supporter of.

How would you imagine this dashboard, the work of these series of of commissions and work groups working in concert with that proposal.

So thank you, assembly member. So I'm happy to start with answering, your question regarding this bill, which is, for the achievement gap dashboard. And so, yes, the state currently has, multiple dashboards, where you can pull data. But if you ever try to pull that data, it's very fragmented. I actually went to play around with it.

And so we wanna be able to have the comprehensive data when you go to the dashboard and you're able to see where a district is doing well and if a program or an investment is doing well in one district.

It goes city by city. It goes school by school. There's no way to see if a district is making progress collectively. The state makes a lot of mandates and we're making large investments, and some districts are doing other better than others.

you can pull up the school district and then you have to go school by school. You cannot see how the progress is is happening. We have, like, a bunch of different colors.

Because ultimately, if things are going well in one area, we would like to be able to apply similar things in another district that may not be doing as well. So when you look at the current dashboard,

So this is really an an opportunity for us to fine tune this so that we can actually pull usable data.

It's one thing to have a dashboard, but we wanna have data that is going to be able to be analyzed and used so that we can improve the outcomes, across the entire state. So this there

is a dashboard, but this is an enhancement, so that we can evaluate the effectiveness of our own policies and programs and investments in boosting the, student achievement. And I will, allow CSBA to answer the question about the working groups because that's not part of this bill.

Or just in regards to the dashboard as well and and the working groups. One of the things that we did talk about in that hearing was the need to streamline the multiple reports Visualizations of progress that school districts are required to produce in order to be able to give us a picture. How is this not and that 1,001.

To the chair, Chris Riefe on behalf of the California School Boards Association. Appreciate the questions and definitely, I just wanna piggyback on what is my my ransom had said in the definitely in terms of the enhancement side of of the dashboard.

The dashboard, we understand this can be confusing because we do have a school dashboard, right, that measures student achievement and it measures schools and districts in that fashion.

This would be separate and apart from that approach in that it would create a a measurement by which the state projects or works towards greater alignment and coherence of its governance structure, if you will, across public education as a whole. Right?

I think to your question, if we look at state government as a whole when we're talking about public education, we could name upwards of eight to 10 different entities that all play an oversight role, some form or fashion of public education. How much do those entities work in in to coalesce together in in coherence and in terms of alignment?

And that's what the dashboard really would be measuring and to provide the public a facing to a public facing tool for them to be able to see that. It's not dissimilar to what, the current administration, the current state administration is doing for other agencies. We have dashboards that exist at other departments to measure how they measure and and track their goals and expectations.

So it becomes a public becomes a public facing tool by which the state the public can see that progress. And so it's very similar to that approach. It shouldn't be necessarily coalesced with or compared to the the the student dashboard, which would be completely different, if that's helpful.

Are there any other questions at this time? Alright. Do we we have a motion and a Sec.

We need a second.

We need a second. Okay. So we have a motion and a second. The second? Would you like to close?

Absolutely. So first of all, I wanna again thank your committee and staff for the support on this bill. I wanna thank miss Rodriguez and mister Easter for their testimony and all of those who joined in from all the school districts to support this bill on behalf of students across California.

Again, assembly bill twenty five fourteen is about create creating a coherent ecosystem in our education to better serve students and make substantive progress in closing the achievement gap.

And with I with that, I with that, I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you very much for that. We have a motion and a second. Secretary, would you please call the roll?

File item 14, AB 2514. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. Patel. Aye. Patel, I Hoover.

Aye.

Hoover, I Alvarez. Fanta. Aye. Fanta, I Castillo. Aye.

Castillo, Aye, Garcia.

Aye.

Garcia, I Lowenthal.

Aye.

Lowenthal, Aye, Patel. Or excuse me, Pellerin. Aye. Pellerin, Aye, Zibur.

The bill has seven votes. It is out, and we will hold the roll open for add ons.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next, we have file item 13. That is AB 2490. Do we have the author? Alright. So then we'll move on to file item five.

Assembly member Garcia, are you ready to present? So we'll take AB 2149. Assembly member Garcia. And you may proceed when ready.

Yes.

You may proceed when ready. Thank you.

Thank you, madam chair. Good afternoon, everyone. I I wanna thank you for the opportunity to present AB 2149. And I just wanna state that I am accepting the committee amendments. AB 2149 is a bill that requires the legislative analyst office to assess and publicly report the state's process in closing pupil achievement gaps and to provide recommendations of actions that the state can take to meet its performance targets.

For decades, state of California has held local governing boards accountable for closing the achievement gap through various mechanisms, but has never held its agencies or policy making bodies accountable for supporting the improvement of student achievement. California's achievement gaps are stubborn and the status quo is unacceptable when more than a million California students fail to reach proficiency every year. Fewer than four fewer than four in 10 students are proficient in math and only about half meet standards in English language arts. Achievement gaps in education remains stark.

The state's black students and Latino students far underperform their white and Asian peers.

Along with the racial achievement gap, the social economic achievement gap also ticked upward as the scores of one students continue to pull away from those recorded by students in low income families. The issue is not a lack of state efforts, but rather the absence of a coherent and cohesive plan to support LEAs in closing achievement gaps.

AB 2149 requires the legislative analyst office as a component of the assessment of the state budget to assess and publicly report to the legislature and the governor the state's process in closing people achievement gaps and to include recommendations of actions that the state can take to meet its performance targets. And so with me today to testify in support, is mister Carlos Machado from CSBA and Tristan Brown from CFT.

Good afternoon, Chair Patel and members of the committee. Carlos Machado representing California School Board Association. CSB urges support for AB 2149 as the local locally elected officials responsible for the success of California's nearly 6,000,000 students. School Board Members understand accountability. Our members live through it every election audit and local dashboard report.

However, local governments cannot succeed in a vacuum. Currently, our LEAs are navigating a fragmented state policy landscape characterized by volatile, short term funding streams and disconnected mandates. While LEAs are held accountable for rigorous standards, the state's overarching strategy often lacks the same objective scrutiny. AB 2149 closes this governance gap, enhancing the legislature's oversight authority. It does this by through the report, which will serve as a vital tool during the budget and legislative processes.

It will serve to validate, program impact, and moves us towards measuring genuine progress, ensuring that state directed initiatives are are yielding a return for, our students. Who also ensure fiscal integrity. The LAO will provide a nonpartisan assessment of whether the state's, budget is truly optimized to support local success. For our school boards, this isn't about creating more work. It's about operational clarity.

It provides a transparency necessary to ensure that the state's policy intentions match the operational realities of our school districts. On behalf of the state's nearly 1,000 school districts and county office of education, CSBA urges your aye vote on this bill.

Thank you, madam chair and members. Tristan Brown of CFT. No doubt you can tell that the CFT is a big supporter of these this package of legislation to bring some more coherence is how the state handles our public education system. Makes all the sense of the world to have our policy analysts, our expert policy analysts also provide their input into what we're doing. Unlike Prop 98, I do view the two minute rule of this committee as a ceiling, not a floor.

So with that, I would ask for an aye vote.

I think at this time, we will take public comment in support. Step up to the mic. Name, affiliation, and position. Thank you.

Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Yeah.

Deborah Shea, Trustee, Solana Beach School District in support.

Sabrina Rodriguez, Ventura Unified School District in support.

Susan Markarian, Pacific Union Elementary board member support.

Brian Easter, superintendent of the Maple Elementary School District and board member of Panama Buena Vista Union School District in strong support.

anna iota meetings on behalf of Los Angeles Unified in support.

Rob Effa from North Cow Creek Elementary School in support.

Melanie Mata, superintendent, Hope Elementary, full support.

Thank you. At this time, are there any witnesses in opposition? Please step forward. Any public comment in opposition? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the dais, committee members.

Are there any questions or comments? Assembly member Hoover.

I'll make a brief comment. Just wanna thank the author for, bringing this bill forward. I cannot think of a more, important goal, right, than closing the achievement gaps that we have in California, to lift up all students. I appreciate the approach you're taking here and and the entire package of bills, and and also appreciate the the wide coalition of support that it gets because I think this is something that we can all agree on.

The only point that I would I would mention is I think the funding piece is really critical and I think your bill points that out.

Also, really want to make sure we're focusing, and this is more of comments for the committee as a whole, on the accountability side as well. Right? And making sure that when we're not hitting the mark, what is our response, right, as state lawmakers and as legislators to holding accountable school districts and and employees and who whatever may be, you know, need to be held accountable for getting better results and, and that that would be my the only thing that I would add.

But I really do appreciate, all the work that you've done on this and and everyone involved in this working group because, I think it's really critical we close these achievement gaps for our students. So thank you.

Thank you, mister Bir.

Seeing no other comments from the dais, Assemblymember Garcia, would you like to close?

It it's a really important issue, and I I just respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you.

I'm in.

It's a motion It's a motion and a second. Secretary, will you please call the roll?

File item five for AB 2149. The motion is do pass as amended. Patel. Aye. Patel, aye, Hoover.

Aye. Hoover, aye, Alvarez. Fanta. Aye. Vonta, aye Castillo.

Aye. Castillo, aye, Garcia. Aye. Garcia, aye Lowenthal.

Aye.

Lowenthal, aye, Pellerin. Aye. Pellerin, aye, Zipper.

Vote is seven zero. Your bill is out. We will hold the roll open for add ons.

Thank you, madam chair and members. Thank you.

The vote is six zero. Your bill is out. We will hold the roll open for add ons.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, mister Hoover.

Our next bill that we're hearing is file item six, AB 2158. Assembly member Hoover, you're up. And you may proceed when ready.

I'll sit over here if you wanna work. Thank you, madam chair. Members, I appreciate the opportunity to present AB 21, 58, the Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Act of 2026. I wanna start by accepting the committee amendments and thanking the chair and committee staff for their thoughtful consideration.

As we are all aware, our students and young people face increasing pressures and dangers associated with more time indoors, on our devices, and alone.

AB 2158 provides those alternatives. The bill recognizes outdoor learning as an effective and developmentally appropriate instructional method.

I and other legislators have introduced, a collection of legislation, targeting digital wellness, online safety, screen time, social media use. But when we ask our students to spend less time looking at their screens, it's also important that we provide them with opportunities for better alternatives.

It encourages LEAs to integrate outdoor learning into instruction and requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain on their website statewide guidance on outdoor learning.

It also paves the way for the department to provide resources to LEAs for the advancement of outdoor learning and would establish the statewide outdoor learning pilot program.

With me today, in support of the bill, to share their experience is Mackenzie Weiser, CEO of Sacramento Splash, and Craig Strange, associate director emeritus at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. And I would like to pass it to them.

Thank you.

Hello. I'm Craig Strang. For thirty two years, I was the associate director of the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. I now work with ten Strands, the the bill sponsor, where I lead the California campaign for outdoor learning, which is powered by dozens of pediatricians,

epidemiologists, mental and physical health professionals, LEAs, and a wide array of science, environmental, and outdoor learning organizations. Our children are suffering from an epidemic of learning and mental health crises that have accelerated since the pandemic.

We all see this and our observations are confirmed by a growing body of alarming research. There's also an impressive body of educational and clinical trial medical research showing that time learning outdoors accelerates learning attention and concentration,

significantly decreases symptoms from ADHD, hypertension, depression, anxiety, and even myopia, decreases screen time and exposure to toxic social media, and promotes pro social behavior.

California is rich in green spaces on school campuses and nearby parks and open spaces in our regional state national parks and in our amazing network of residential outdoor schools that provide an immersive memorable week at science camp.

We need to make experiences outdoors available to all our students, but most urgently to those in communities furthest from the opportunity. This bill will establish outdoor learning as a recommended instructional strategy, provide guidance to schools, and launch a statewide pilot to gather evidence about the benefits.

We may not be able to make the world less stressful for our children, but we still can build their capacity to live healthy lives despite the stresses. AV twenty one fifty eight will help ensure the health of our two most precious California resources, our spectacular open spaces, and our children, and I hope that you'll vote in favor of it. Thank you.

Good afternoon, chair and committee members. My name is Mackenzie Weezer, and I'm the CEO of Sacramento SPLASH. We're a local Sacramento based environmental education nonprofit that connects over 20,500 Sacramento area students to the outdoors through outdoor field trip experiences.

Our mission is simple, and it's to help children understand and value our natural world through hands on and outdoor education. But before leading SPLASH, I spent nine years as a governor's office appointee under governor Brown m Newsom working on climate policy.

And as the mother of three kids, these experiences helped me realize that many young people do not have access to outdoor experiences. Many have little connection to nature at all, and in fact,

eighty five percent of students that come on field trips with us tell us they've never stepped off of concrete like they are with us on a hike in fourth grade. That's unacceptable to us. They aren't comfortable being in the outdoors.

And in schools post COVID, kids spend 75% of their day on their Chromebooks, and then they go home to even more screen time because their parents are working two and three jobs.

However, working at Sacramento SPLASH, I see something incredibly powerful every single day. When students are given the opportunity to spend even half a day outside exploring their local wetlands, rivers, and ecosystems right in their own community, they actually change.

Their minds are drastically improved. They become engaged in learning and curiosity. They ask questions, and they're genuinely happy, and they feel connected.

That connection is the foundation to stewardship, and it's that spark of wanting to disconnect to the noise that we hear every day on screens. It makes them want to spend more time exploring, engaging, and learning.

Your time is up. Please wrap

it up. Help us. So I hope you I urge you to support this bill.

Thank you. At this time, we will take public comment in support, name, affiliation, and position. Thank you.

Lucy Salcido Carter with the Alameda County Office of Education in support.

Good afternoon, chair and members. Derek Lenox with California County Superintendents. We look forward to, bringing our, support position to our members tomorrow and formalize them, getting sent in. Thanks.

Thank you, madam chair and members. Tristan Brown, CFT in support.

Caitlin Lavenstrom, executive director of Oakland Goes Outdoors, which is embedded in Oakland Unified School District, and we are in strong support of this bill.

James Riddell with the Catherine Robert Riddell Fund and advisory council to Oakland Goes Outdoors in very strong support.

Hi I'm Jackson on behalf of Orange County Department of Education in support.

Good afternoon. Marissa Cooper, chief executive officer of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors. On behalf of my organization and the outdoor industry that we support, we strongly urge your support on this bill.

Hi, everyone. My name is Sierra Mathias. I'm the director of movement building and advocacy at Justice Outside, and we are in very strong support of this bill. Thank you.

Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Before we move on to bringing opposition witnesses forward, assembly member Hoover, I did not hear. Can you please clarify if whether you'll be accepting committee amendments?

I I I will. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.

Sorry for not hearing that. Just clarify. Thank you.

There's a motion and a second. At this time, we'll take any witnesses in opposition. Seeing none, any, public comment in opposition? Alright. Let's bring it back to the dais.

Any questions or comments for the author? Yeah. Assembly member?

I wanna thank the author for bringing this forward. This is an incredible bill. It is timely. I'm proud to to join you on this bill. I I hope that's made its way into officially into into the system.

Young people are spending on average five hours a day. On social, seven and a half hours a day on screens. Every day, including weekends. That's on average. So let's consider those that don't have supportive home environments or other activities that they're already engaged in that are spending ten, twelve longer hours online.

And when you stop to think about that, that's significantly more time than spend in school. Think about the oversight that we have over schools, the access that we have as stakeholders in our system, the ability to contact teachers, administrators, school Board Members.

We're notified when our students are are tardy to class. We know about their grades on a real time basis, on a weekly basis, what's going on with them.

And if we have concerns, we can we can discuss those concerns with so many relative to overall policy and certainly relative to what's happening with our children.

We don't have any of those things in digital life. We We don't even have anybody that we can call. It is so critically important while the the sector that is engaging and and and putting those products forward with our children that are refusing to hear us, that we actually invest public resources into, riding that ship. And this is the way.

I really, you know, firmly believe and I think honestly that this is a drop in the bucket that we're gonna have to be incredibly intentional about this, in the decades ahead.

And we're gonna have to think about measuring effectiveness and how that's working over time. And I'm just proud to be on this journey with you, and I thank you for bringing this forward.

Thank you. Seeing no other comments or questions from the dais, Assemblymember Hoover, would you like to close?

Thank you. And, yes, would love to, have you as a joint author if we could note that with the committee, as well. Appreciate your, support of the bill. I I think we have a real opportunity here. Obviously, I'm working on a number of pieces of legislation to help reduce harms.

I think this bill has the opportunity to do the opposite, which is increased benefits, right, for our kids. You know, some of the benefits highlighted in the committee analysis, which I really appreciate, is, you know, getting outside really will help reduce stress,

encourage student engagement, improve cognitive function, improve self esteem, conflict resolution, relationships, problem solving. These are all things that we can do if we can get our kids outside more often.

I really wanted to call this bill the touch grass act, but that Kinda gets mad.

And so I just wanna close by saying at a time when our kids are spending more and more times on their screens, AB 2158 is going to give schools a practical way to help students reconnect with the natural world while strengthening their focus in academic success.

But we want something with something a little more professional. But but I really do wanna encourage our kids to get outside, and so would appreciate your support. Thanks.

There are many types of grass.

It's a fair point. Fair point.

We have a motion and a second. Madam secretary, can you call the roll?

File item six, AB 2158. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. Patel. Aye. Patel, Aye.

Hoover.

Aye.

Hoover. Aye. Alvarez.

Aye.

Alvarez. Aye. Bonta. Aye. Bonta.

Aye. Castillo. Aye. Castillo. Aye.

Garcia. Aye. Lowenthal.

Aye.

Pellerin. Pellerin. Pellerin. Pellerin. Pellerin.

Pert.

The vote is eight zero. Your bill is out. We will hold the roll open for add ons.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Alright.

Thank you. Madam chair, please present. We're on file item nine, a B2225. Please present when ready.

Thank you. Waiting for my witnesses. Good afternoon. Towards the end of a very long hearing, mister chair and colleagues. I'd like to start by stating that I'm happy to accept the committee amendments as presented to clarify members of the working group in our proposal.

I'm here to present AB 2225, which convenes educators, families, researchers, policymakers to develop a comprehensive statewide plan with clear goals, benchmarks, and annual performance targets to close the achievement gap and evaluate how well our state education programs are supporting our students and their success. California is home to extraordinary public schools and incredibly dedicated educators, but we also know something that should concern every one of us.

Too many students across all social dimensions, income levels, race, ethnicity, language background, and foster status are just being left behind. And while schools and districts are working hard every day to support students, progress has been uneven and too slow to meet students' needs or maintain a high quality workforce. To maintain a strong economy or to maintain an informed citizenry that can fully participate in our democracy.

How do we change this trajectory? This is not a new question. It's one I've grappled with for many years as a parent, a school board member, and now as a legislator. It's a question that stakeholders have been trying to answer in their own silos, whether it be in classrooms, in school districts, in research institutions, and communities across our state.

The conversation has persisted for decades decades in part because California does not have a clear and aligned operations and support plan to help local schools close these achievement gaps.

Often, these discussions again are done in silos at an individual school or in a particular district without examining the underlying issues, the conditions and systems that complicate efforts to improve our students and their outcomes.

These barriers are reflected initially in test scores, graduation rates, and college readiness, and eventually lost potential, diminished career opportunities, and fractured communities. For a state like California, one that prides itself on innovation, opportunity, and leadership, this is not acceptable and it's not sustainable.

No single organization or institution can close these gaps alone. To truly accelerate progress, our state systems must better coordinate policy, funding, and oversight.

Because of these reasons, I urge your aye vote today. With me to testify in support are Deborah Shade, CSBA president, and and Solana Beach School District School Board Member, and Melanie Mata, superintendent for Hope Elementary School District in Porterville. Thank you.

Our member school districts and county offices of education are working hard to boost student performance. Educators are committed.

Alright. Good afternoon, chair and members of the committee. I am doctor Deborah Shade, president of California School Board Association and a long time school board member representing more than 5,000 locally elected trustees across the state.

Boards are focused, but achievement gaps persist, and progress remains too slow. We find ourselves in this position not because of a lack of effort, but because of a lack of planning at the state level.

In the absence of a coherent state plan to support and amplify local efforts, we are left with a fragmented system of well intentioned but disconnected state programs that often make our work harder. As a board member, I can tell you, we do not need more programs. We need a plan.

We need aligned support, and we need shared accountability. Local leaders are held accountable in every possible way by voters, parents, audits, public meetings, media coverage, and state dashboards.

Yet there is no comparable accountability for whether the state's own policies and systems are aligned to help us succeed. That is the accountability gap of AB 2225 seeks to close.

This is a bill this bill is part of CSBA's SOS for student achievement bill package, which holds that the path to universally high quality education is rooted in partnership, alignment, coherence, and reciprocal accountability, not mandates and red tape disconnected from local needs.

Accordingly, AB 2225 shifts the focus from compliance to support. So instead of asking, did the district meet the requirement? The state should ask, did the state provide the conditions for success? It brings educators, Board Members, researchers, and policymakers together to create a clear statewide operation and support plan, one that aligns existing efforts and evaluates what's actually working. On behalf of CSBA

Thank you.

I respectfully urge you to your support for AB 2225 and the SOS bill package. Thank you.

Thank you.

In small districts like mine with 237 students, that fragmentation has real consequences for our students.

Good afternoon. I'm Melanie Mata, and our mission is really clear, improve outcomes for every student and close the achievement gaps. But the system that we operate in wasn't organized to help us do that. At the local level, we're navigating a fragment and often constrained system.

that were developed in a vacuum without consideration for the impact, they would have on other initiatives. Instead of building an integrated plan, we're forced to layer programs that don't always work together.

We manage multiple funding streams that cannot easily be aligned into one single coherent strategy. And one program supports literacy, another tutoring, another extended learning, and on and on, and each comes with its own set of rules, its own timelines, and its own requirements

A district may be implementing a multiyear strategy only to receive a new program with different metrics and different expectations. And rather than reinforcing what works, the system can disrupt it.

And while school districts are held fully accountable for results, the responsibility we wholeheartedly accept, accountability must be shared and not one-sided.

At the same time, staff staff are stretched thin, managing overlapping reporting requirements, pulling the focus away from student learning, and and it's especially straining in small school districts like mine.

A B 225 helps establish that bound balance by creating a coherent state level operations and support plan that aligns California's plethora of programs, policies, and funding streams under a unified framework that helps school facilities navigate school success.

When the system is aligned, we can focus on students, and this bill will help align state agencies, policies, and resources toward a clear goal, which is implementing overall student outcomes and closing achievement gaps faster.

On behalf of student superintendents across the state of California, I respectfully urge your support for AB 2225.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. We will now move to public comment and support, name, affiliation, and position on the bill only, please.

Adam Keigwin on behalf of the California Charter Schools Association in support.

Susan Markarian, board member, support.