Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Senate Education Committee, 1850-2009 Senate Interim Committee on Education Senate Select Committee on Education Senate Subcommittee on Child Development and Child Care Programs Senate Subcommittee on Educator Evaluation Senate Subcommittee on Education Reform Senate Subcommittee on Education Vouchers Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education Senate Subcommittee on the Relationship of the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Senate Subcommittee on School Finance
- Abstract:
- The Senate Education Committee was created by the first legislature of California on December 21, 1850. The Senate Education Committee records consist of 106 cubic feet of records reflecting the committee's activities, along with those of its antecedents, in studying and analyzing primary education related legislation as well as higher education issues.
- Extent:
- 106 cubic feet
- Language:
- Languages represented in the collection: English
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Senate Education Committee records consist of 106 cubic feet of records reflecting the committee's activities, along with those of its antecedents, in studying and analyzing primary education related legislation as well as higher education issues.
The bulk of the collection consists of bill files, which date from 1964 through 2006. Second in size to the bill files is the hearing files series, which dates from 1965 through 2005. The collection's large volume and date range of hearing files from the education standing, interim, and subcommittees provide researchers with clear insight into the concerns and issues being addressed by the committee and its antecedents.
Education is an integral part of California's structure. The legislation addressed and passed with the recommendation of this committee has the potential to affect every citizen of the state as they move through the public, private, and higher education system in California.
The remainder of the collection includes subject files, reports, and correspondence (see series descriptions for complete list of dates). These three series can provide researchers with an idea of the wide range of topics that the Senate Education Committee has dealt with since its creation in the early years of statehood. These topics include adoption of new textbooks, year round school operations, and appropriating money to aid incorporated colleges.
One consistent issue that has been a priority for the Senate Education Committee is that of school safety. In 1997 the legislature passed the Michelle Montoya School Safety Act, which requires a school district to obtain a fingerprint check prior to hiring any person for any position that does not require a credential. This bill, AB1610, arose out of the murder of a high school student by a non-credentialed employee before his fingerprints revealed his prior felony conviction (Chapter 588, Statutes of 1997). Additionally, in 1999 AB1136 was passed requiring any new or modernized school funded by the state to include a telephone connection in each classroom or equivalent wireless technology (Chapter 709, Statutes of 1999). The committee considered many letters from teachers who found themselves in dangerous situations with no way to get help.
Safety is a concern in institutions of higher education as well. AB1088 requires community college districts and the Trustees of California State University to provide educational and preventative information about sexual violence and requests that the Regents of the University of California do the same (Chapter 647, Statutes of 2005). Additionally, this bill provides that victims of on-campus violence receive information and treatment.
The collection also contains several issues the committee dealt with continually over the past three decades. School district bailouts consistently appear in the Senate Education Committee's collection. In the 1991-1992 legislative session, the Richmond Unified School District (RUSD) filed bankruptcy and the schools were ordered closed, putting 31,000 students out of their classrooms two months early. In order to keep the schools open, parents sued and the legislature stepped in, passing AB129 that loaned 29 million dollars to RUSD. The board of education for RUSD turned its power over to a state appointed administrator, who prepared fiscal and educational reports as well as program requirements the district had to meet.
Due to a rise in hate crimes that spread across the United States in the 1990's, bills passed through the Senate Education Committee that proposed curriculum dealing with teaching tolerance and non-biased education. AB2543, introduced in 1994, addresses reducing hate violence in schools by educating students from young ages about tolerance for people of all ethnicities, races, and lifestyles (Chapter 1198, Statutes of 1994). Name the California Schools Hate Violence Act of 1995,this bill encourages teachers to impress upon the minds of pupils the meaning of equality and human dignity, including the encouragement of harmonious relations. Schools are also directed to work to prevent hate violence by creating an environment free from discriminatory attitudes. Additionally, in 2000 AB1945 added the development of tolerance programs to the statutory objectives that a school site staff development plan should address (Chapter 960, Statutes of 2000).
Because of its far-reaching scope of influence on society and the role it often plays as leader in the field of education related solutions, the legislation assigned to the Senate Education Committee captures the attention of a large and wide variety of groups and individuals. These records are valuable to those researching the development and transformation of California's public education system.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Education has been an important issue for the state legislature since it's beginning in 1850. The Committee on Public Schools was the first Senate committee that addressed education in California. This committee was created by the first legislature of California on December 21, 1850. In the next session the name was changed to the Committee on Education and it was resolved that any bill relating to education and common schools be referred to this committee.
When California officially became a state in 1850, the United States government appropriated 500,000 acres of land to be used for the establishment and support of common schools. The Senate Education Committee was called upon to report on the proper apportionment of money derived from the sale of this land. The committee found that any money made by sale of that land should only fund education. In the first decades of statehood, the committee also dealt with fundamental issues that accompanied creating the state school system. This three-member committee addressed the possibility of incorporating into the state school system institutions of higher education that were previously privately run.
As the realm of education expanded in California, the committee expanded as well. Over the years the committee has averaged 11 members, reaching a high of 14 members in the 1999-2000 legislative session. In 1951 the committee heard bills that amended the education code or were related to the University of California and any uncodified legislation relating to either. By 1970 the committee's scope changed to include bills relating to education, higher education, and educational personnel other than noncertificated state employees. As the population in California grew, so did the need for more funding for public schools. The committee heard bills that dealt with school districts facing bankruptcy, which would have left many children without education. They also dealt with issues regarding aid for incorporating secondary and higher education institutions into the state school system.
The chairpersons of this committee from 1962 - 2008 were as follows:
Donnelly, Hugh P. (Dem), 1962-1966
Rodda, Albert S. (Dem), 1967-1976
Dunlap, John F. (Dem), 1977-1978
Carpenter, Paul B. (Dem), 1979-1980
Sieroty, Alan (Dem), 1981-1982
Hart, Gary K. (Dem.), 1983-1994
Greene, Leroy F. (Dem.), 1995-1998
Alpert, Deirdre (Dede) (Dem.), 1999-2000
Vasconcellos, John (Dem.), 2001-2004
Scott, Jack (Dem.), 2005-2008
- Acquisition information:
- The State Archives received these records in accordance with California Government Code 9080(b) which requires legislative committees to transfer their records to the State Archives when they are no longer needed by the committee.
- Accruals:
-
Further accruals are expected.
- Physical location:
- California State Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
1020 "O" StreetSacramento, CA 95814, US
- Contact:
- (916) 653-2246