MORE EDUCATION BILLS BECOME LAW vs

THE GOVERNOR SIGNED A NUMBER OF EDUCATION BILLS INTO LAW TODAY: SB 550 & AB 2727 ESTABLISH MINIMUM THRESHOLDS REGARDING SCHOOL FACILITIES, TEACHER QUALITY, AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND AN ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURE TO ENFORCE THEM. AB 1550 PUTS AN END TO THE SHORTENED SCHOOL-YEAR CALENDAR FOR SOME OF THE MOST OVER CROWDED SCHOOLS, BY PUTTING AN END TO THE YEAR-ROUND ACADEMIC SCHEDULE BY JULY 1, 2012. AB 3001 ENSURES PLACEMENT OF QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS AND ENHANCES AN EXISTING OVERSIGHT MECHANISM TO ENSURE TEACHERS ARE APPROPRIATELY QUALIFIED TO TEACH THE SUBJECT MATTER TO WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED. ADDITIONALLY IT STREAMLINES THE PROCESS FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS FROM OUT-OF-STATE TO OBTAIN JOBS IN CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOLS. SB 6 PROVIDES UP TO $800 MILLION BEGINNING WITH THE 05'-06' FISCAL YEAR FOR DISTRICTS TO ADDRESS EMERGENCY FACILITY REPAIR PROJECTS, AND PROVIDES ABOUT $25 MILLION FOR FACILITY ASSESSMENT.