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[Notice published March 28, 2008]

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the State Board of Education (SBE) proposes to adopt the regulations described below after considering all comments, objections, or recommendations regarding the proposed action.

PUBLIC HEARING

California Department of Education (CDE) staff, on behalf of the SBE, will hold a public hearing beginning at 1:30 p.m. on May 21, 2008, at 1430 N Street, Room 1101, Sacramento, California. The room is wheelchair accessible. At the hearing, any person may present statements or arguments, orally or in writing, relevant to the proposed action described in the Informative Digest. The SBE requests, but does not require, that persons who make oral comments at the hearing also submit a written summary of their statements. No oral statements will be accepted subsequent to this public hearing.

WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD

Any interested person, or his or her authorized representative, may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to:

Debra Strain, Regulations Coordinator
LEGAL DIVISION
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5319
Sacramento, California 95814

Comments may also be submitted by facsimile (FAX) at 916-319-0155 or by e-mail to regcomments@cde.ca.gov. Comments must be received by the Regulations Coordinator prior to 5:00 p.m. on May 21, 2008.

AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT

Following the public hearing and considering all timely and relevant comments received, the SBE may adopt the proposed regulations substantially as described in this Notice or may modify the proposed regulations if the modifications are sufficiently related to the original text. With the exception of technical or grammatical changes, the full text of any modified regulation will be available for 15 days prior to its adoption from the Regulations Coordinator and will be mailed to those persons who submit written comments related to this regulation, or who provide oral testimony at the public hearing, or who have requested notification of any changes to the proposal.

AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE

Authority: Sections 60050, 60206, and 60227, Education Code.

Reference: Sections 60040-60044, 60048, 60200.5, and 60200.6, Education Code.

INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW

The Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content, 2000 Edition, was approved by the SBE on January 13, 2000. These standards apply to all instructional materials used in California’s classrooms, adopted and non-adopted. While instructional materials are reviewed for social content standards during the adoption process, non-adopted instructional materials still need to be reviewed at the state or local level.

SB 734 (enacted January 2008), requires the CDE to conduct social content reviews for non-adopted instructional materials and to adopt regulations to govern the reviews (California Education Code (EC) sections 60050 and 60227).

SB 734 also requires the CDE to charge publishers or manufacturers a fee for the social content reviews. The fee schedule in the proposed regulations is calculated to reimburse the CDE for the cost of conducting this review of non-adopted instructional materials.

The SBE proposes to add sections 9800, 9810, 9820 and 9830 to the California Code of Regulations, title 5, to establish the procedures for the social content review of non-adopted instructional materials including the fee assessed publishers and manufacturers for conducting the review and adding approved instructional materials to the list of instructional materials in compliance with social content requirements.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

One document is also incorporated by reference in the proposed regulations:

• Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content, 2000 posted on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/lc.asp

DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE PROPOSED REGULATION

The SBE has made the following initial determinations:

Mandate on local agencies or school districts: None

Cost or savings to state agencies: None

Costs to any local agencies or school districts for which reimbursement would be required pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with section 17500) of division 4 of the Government Code: None

Other non-discretionary cost or savings imposed on local educational agencies: None

Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: None

Significant, statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states: None

Cost impacts on a representative private person or businesses: The SBE is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or business would necessarily incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed action.

Adoption of these regulations will not 1) create or eliminate jobs within California; 2) create new businesses or eliminate existing businesses within California; or 3) affect the expansion of businesses currently doing business within California.

Effect on housing costs: None

Effect on small businesses: The statute requires payment of a fee by a publisher or manufacturer for social content reviews. However, it also provides for a reduction of the fee for small publishers and manufacturers. This reduction of the fee lessens the impact on small business.

CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES

The SBE must determine that no reasonable alternative it considered or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the SBE, would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, or would be as effective and less burdensome to affected private persons than the proposed action.

The SBE invites interested persons to present statements or arguments with respect to alternatives to the proposed regulations at the scheduled hearing or during the written comment period.

CONTACT PERSONS

Inquiries concerning the content of this regulation may be directed to:

Patrice Roseboom, Education Programs Consultant
California Department of Education
Instructional Resources Unit
1430 N Street, Suite 3207
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: 916-319-0509
E-mail: proseboo@cde.ca.gov

Inquiries concerning the regulatory process may be directed to the Regulations Coordinator or Connie Diaz, Regulations Analyst, at 916-319-0860.

INITIAL STATEMENT OF REASONS AND INFORMATION

The SBE has prepared an initial statement of reasons for the proposed regulation and has available all the information upon which the proposal is based.

TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATION AND CORRESPONDING DOCUMENTS

Copies of the exact language of the proposed regulation and of the initial statement of reasons, and all of the information upon which the proposal is based, may be obtained upon request from the Regulations Coordinator. These documents may also be viewed and downloaded from the CDE’s Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/rr.

AVAILABILITY AND LOCATION OF THE FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS AND RULEMAKING FILE

All the information upon which the proposed regulations are based is contained in the rulemaking file which is available for public inspection by contacting the Regulations Coordinator.

You may obtain a copy of the final statement of reasons once it has been prepared, by making a written request to the Regulations Coordinator.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY

Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, any individual with a disability, who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in a public hearing on proposed regulations, may request assistance by contacting Patrice Roseboom, Instructional Resources Unit, 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814; telephone, 916-319-0509. It is recommended that assistance be requested at least two weeks prior to the hearing.