The legislature rejected Governor Brown’s proposal to eliminate the state mandate requiring a second year of high school science. On June 27, the legislature passed the education trailer bills (AB 1476 and SB 1016). The bills contained no language to modify the high school science graduation requirement as proposed by Governor Brown in his January and May budget proposals. Our most sincere thanks goes out to all of you who contacted their legislators and let them know that diminishing the high school science graduation requirements was a step in the wrong direction for California’s future. (more…)

The state budget vote that occurred on June 15 did not include this issue. The topic of the second year science graduation requirement is still being discussed and we are not out of the woods yet on this issue.

Because the issue remains fluid, and until such time as the governor signs the budget and the anticipated education trailer bill (expected early this week) CSTA urges you to continue to bring awareness around this issue by sharing this information broadly and signing the petition to Save Science. Click here to find the contact information for your representatives at the state level. Clcik here for talking points. Please urge your reresentative to oppose the proposal to dilute the high school science graduation requirement.

In his May revision of the 212-2013 budget, the governor made several changes to his education block grant proposal (designed to reform the education mandate system, of which the graduation requirement is a part). One thing he did not change was his proposal to eliminate the “Graduation Requirement” mandate, which requires high school students to complete two years of science to fulfill their graduation requirements. (more…)

The California Legislature has successfully protected the existing funding mechanism for the second year science class graduation requirement. The state budget vote that occurred today did not include this issue.

Because the issue remains fluid, and until such time as the governor signs the budget and the anticipated education trailer bill (expected early next week) CSTA urges you to continue to bring awareness around this issue by sharing this information broadly and signing the petition to Save Science. (more…)

by Dean Gilbert

Science education is about more than a body of knowledge, about more than the accumulation of facts and formulas. It is about how we understand the world around us, how we learn to be problem solvers, and about developing skills essential in a changing world. Not only skills of science and engineering, but skills of an engaged, thoughtful, and efficacious citizenry.

Governor Brown’s proposal to eliminate the second year laboratory science high school graduation requirement, as a means of saving 250 million dollars annually, will have devastating consequences for our schools and the nation.  It contradicts every message being sent across the airwaves, at every level of government and industry, that science education is critical to the future economy of the United States. (more…)

On June 7, CSTA president Rick Pomeroy was a featured guest on KQED’s Forum which addressed Governor Brown’s proposal to eliminate the second year science graduation requirement.

(Our apologies for the ad, there was nothing we could do about that.)

You’ll notice an error which the news crew inserted:

In reviewing the Intel literature the reporter thought the “E” in STEM was for Education instead of Engineering.

For more information on this issue, click here.

by Carolyn Holcroft and Marian Murphy-Shaw

In recent months, CSTA has been working to keep members informed about the status of the high school science graduation requirement. Under title 5 section 51225.3, California high school students must complete a minimum of one biological science course and one physical science course in order to graduate, and that second year of science is estimated to cost the state upwards of $200 million annually. Since the state is currently facing its most dire financial situation in decades and state leaders are exploring all options for cost savings, perhaps it’s not surprising that the second-year science mandate has been targeted in Governor Brown’s 2012-2013 budget proposal. At this time it is unclear whether his ultimate objective would be to eliminate only the mandate (and thus absolve the state’s financial obligation going forward) and keep the requirement via statutory change, or if the requirement for the second year of science would be eliminated altogether. (more…)

by Rick Pomeroy

Governor Brown’s most recent budget proposal contains a number of recommendations designed to reduce the California budget deficit and bring more order and consistency to the state budgeting process. Unfortunately, one of those recommendations is the elimination of the state mandate that high school graduation requires two years of science. In the language in the current proposal, Governor Brown recommends the elimination of many state mandates as a way of providing school districts with greater flexibility and greater local control. It also has the effect of  reducing the financial burden that education places on the state budget. (more…)