SECTIONS 52950-52951 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 52950-52951

52950. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that improved science
education in elementary and secondary schools contributes to
improvements in student performance. The Legislature further finds
that the California Writing Project and the California Mathematics
Project are exemplary training programs which were established to
improve student competence in writing and mathematics through
effective in-service education and training programs for teachers in
these subject areas. The Legislature recognizes that the California
writing and math projects provide effective models which could be
utilized in providing staff development for teachers in science.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Regents of the
University of California consider establishing the California Science
Project, to be administered jointly by the Regents of the University
of California and the Trustees of the California State University in
cooperation with the State Department of Education. The purpose of
this project shall be to provide in-service education to elementary
and secondary teachers in public schools.
It is also the intent of the Legislature that projects be
distributed throughout the state so that elementary and secondary
school personnel located in rural, urban, and suburban areas may
benefit from the in-service education opportunities. It is further
the intent of the Legislature that participating school districts,
colleges, and universities coordinate these projects with staff
development programs and activities currently administered by the
State Department of Education, including, but not limited to, teacher
education and computer centers established in the same geographic
area. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the scientists
in the community be contacted in order to determine their interest
in participating in the projects.

52951. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) California is a national and international leader in
scientific and technological development. California employs 45
percent of the nation's computer specialists and 21 percent of its
engineers. The economic growth of California and the nation will
depend in a large part upon its ability to remain competitive with
other states and with foreign nations. Maintaining our preeminence
will be dependent upon persons who have a solid foundation in
science.
(b) There is growing concern about science illiteracy within the
state's adult population. A National Science Foundation Report shows
that less than half of all high school juniors and one-third of high
school seniors take a science course. As a result, American high
school students receive only one-half to one-third the exposure to
science as their counterparts in other developed countries, such as
Japan, West Germany, East Germany, and the Soviet Union.
(c) California has an insufficient number of teachers trained in
science and mathematics. There were 1,400 positions filled by
teachers not trained in science or mathematics in 1985, and there is
a projected shortage of 2,000 to 2,500 positions being filled by
teachers not trained in science and mathematics in 1986.
(d) Due to the higher entry level salaries provided by the private
sector for college graduates trained in science and mathematics, the
growing shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers will
continue.
(e) There are exemplary programs in California that upgrade the
training of science teachers and train science teachers.
(f) Complex problems must be overcome if science education is to
advance students to a level of competence appropriate for an
increasingly technological society. The decline in science
achievement of students in schools, colleges, and universities in
California affects all students, but is particularly acute for women
students, minority students, and students from lower income groups.
The problems related to this situation include, but are not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) A lack of understanding of the fundamental principles of
science and their implications for everyday life.
(2) Inadequate mastery of knowledge of science by students and
many teachers, resulting in poor comprehension of college coursework
and high attrition rates for those students who have these
deficiencies.
(3) A tendency among girls and young women to avoid taking science
courses in high school, which limits their choice of educational
options, and screens them out of future careers in science,
engineering, and other science-related professions.
(4) Lack of science instruction at the elementary school level to
enable all students, including female, minority, and low-income
students, to develop skills and attitudes which will enable and
encourage them to pursue science successfully in later grades.
(5) A critical shortage of qualified teachers, with significant
numbers of science teachers leaving the classroom for nonteaching
jobs, and few students training to take their places.
(6) Lack of teachers' training in the use of laboratory equipment
and procedures, as well as the lack of laboratory-based facilities in
schools, thereby reducing the opportunity for students to receive
"hands-on" science instruction.
(7) Staffing of more than 25 percent of science classes by
teachers not certified to teach science.
(g) While some colleges and universities are improving courses in
the teaching of science, this will not fully address the problem,
since the number of new teacher candidates is relatively small.
Therefore, the Legislature recognizes the need to assist existing
teachers in gaining the knowledge necessary to improve science
education for all students.
(h) The science problem is shared by all segments and levels of
California education, and the problem can best be addressed by
cooperatively planned and funded efforts.
(i) Appropriate models for cooperative, intersegmental approaches
to solving the science problem should address the findings of state
and national science associations, including, but not limited to, the
National Science Foundation and National Association of Science
Teachers. The comprehensive approach will give special attention to
providing in-service training of classroom teachers, defining more
clearly those standards of science knowledge required at each school
level, and developing curricula and instructional strategies to meet
these standards. Whenever possible, existing resources shall be
pooled to support this comprehensive program. Models for the program
may include the California Writing Project; the California
Mathematics Project; the EQUALS Project; the MESA Project; the
University of California at Irvine's Summer Science Institute; the
Lawrence Hall of Science's Programs for Schools; and the Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory's Science Education Center, Summer Science
Institute, and Lesson In-service Science Workshop for Elementary and
Middle School Teachers.