SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today commented on the Governor's veto of two bills designed to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap.

"If California's economy is to remain one of the largest in the world, we need to help prepare all students in our schools today with skills that will help them be successful in an ever more competitive global marketplace. With the Governor's vetoes of these two measures, we are missing important opportunities to improve instruction and target the achievement gap that persists in California schools."

SB 1142, by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), would have established the Science Teacher Development Act to provide high-quality professional development training for science teachers in California. This program would have added science to the teacher professional development program already established for reading and math teachers. The professional development training in science instruction will be based on our state content standards.

"As the global economy grows increasingly competitive and technology based, it is critical that our students have strong skills in math and science," O'Connell said. "Students in our schools today will be competing for jobs with people from all over the world. This measure was designed to help improve the skills of California's science teachers so that they can better prepare our students to thrive in this new economy. It is unfortunate that Governor Schwarzenegger did not show leadership in this area by signing this bill or including funding for the professional development of science teachers in the state budget. I would like to commend Senator Alquist for introducing this legislation and for her hard work to improve professional development programs for science teachers."

AB 2248, by Assembly member Joe Coto (D-San Jose), would have extended the eligibility of schools to receive Reading First grants and provided a process to improve the accountability, monitoring, and inclusion components in the California Reading First Plan in order to improve the effectiveness of reading instruction to students in kindergarten through the third grade.

"Reading is a fundamental gateway skill," O'Connell said. "Once a child learns to read, the whole world of learning opens up. This bill would have allowed districts to receive continued Reading First funding for an additional two years, conditioned on significant progress. It also would have provided important additional safeguards to ensure that the program meets the needs of the 25 percent of our student population who are English learners. I want to thank Assembly member Coto for carrying this important legislation and his work with the wide array of stakeholders who provided input. Assembly member Coto recognizes how important it is that we help students learn to read so that they can read to learn. Unfortunately, the Governor's veto message demonstrates a misunderstanding of the federal law's requirements related to accountability for this program. The federal law requires that states develop and implement accountability. As a result of this veto, there will be fewer safeguards ensuring that the money will be used for its intended purpose: that all students will learn to read well by the end of third grade."