44780-44787

EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 44780-44787




44780.  The Legislature finds that there has been a significant
decline in knowledge and skills related to international affairs and
other cultures. This has serious consequences, in view of the growing
interrelation of nations and people, and the increasing impact that
international factors have on our society in political, economic, and
cultural terms. Many occupations require a knowledge of the
histories, languages, and traditions of other cultures and the
ability to analyze and interpret complex international issues. Our
society requires citizens who understand the role of our state and
our nation in a rapidly changing world.
   The Legislature further finds that many factors contribute to this
decline, but that a primary cause is the lack of adequate
preparation of teachers in international studies. Few teachers have
ever taken an international studies course, and teachers already in
the classroom have few opportunities to improve their competence in
this field. Although some colleges and universities are now requiring
more courses in international studies and foreign languages, this
will not fully address the problem since current teachers will
provide the bulk of instruction for many years to come. Therefore,
the Legislature recognizes the need to assist current teachers to
gain the skills and knowledge necessary to increase the international
studies competence of their students. The Legislature further finds
that this competence problem is shared by all segments and levels of
California education, and that it can best be addressed by
cooperatively planned and funded efforts.
   An international studies project should therefore be created, to
be modeled after the Bay Area Global Education Project, a publicly
and privately funded curriculum and staff development project that
has earned national acclaim since 1979.



44781.  (a) The California International Studies Project is hereby
established to provide a cooperative, intersegmental approach to
solving the international studies skills problem in California's
schools. This project shall be administered by a public or private
institution of higher education in this state, selected pursuant to
Section 44782, and shall consist of international studies resource
centers operated throughout the state by four-year colleges or
universities, or by nonprofit agencies in conjunction with four-year
colleges and universities.
   (b) The project shall include the following elements:
   (1) The preparation by world affairs specialists of instructional
materials on international issues and cultures appropriate for use in
elementary and secondary school classrooms.
   (2) In-service training of classroom teachers.
   (3) The training of a group of highly skilled and knowledgeable
teachers to serve as leading international studies resource
practitioners in curriculum and staff development projects. The
primary role of these teachers shall be to train other teachers in
the knowledge, curriculum, and skills associated with the project.
   (4) The development of a support system for teachers learning new
international skills, including content training, curriculum
demonstrations, instructional resource services, information sharing,
and individual assistance and counseling.
   (5) Collaboration between elementary and secondary teachers and
international teaching and research personnel and colleges,
universities, and nonschool international organizations.
   (6) Collaboration in colleges and universities between
international specialists in history, economics, international
relations, foreign languages, and related fields, and specialists in
teaching methods and strategies.
   (7) Cooperation between schools, regional or county educational
agencies, and colleges and universities.
   (8) Development of an evaluation process to assess the following:
   (A) The attitudes of project site participants toward the
effectiveness of the local resource center.
   (B) The international skills and knowledge of students in
participating schools.



44782.  The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall contract, no
later than 75 days after the enactment of this chapter, with a public
or private institution of higher education in this state for the
administration of the project. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, this contract shall be for a term of five years, subject to the
availability of funding for this purpose. The superintendent shall
select for this purpose the institution that is best able to
demonstrate a history of all of the following:
   (a) Successful experience directing a comprehensive international
studies curriculum and staff development program for elementary and
secondary teachers. The institution shall submit documentation from
local school districts that clearly indicates their willingness to
cooperate in the project by providing payment for a portion of the
costs of release time for teacher training.
   (b) Obtaining private and public financial support for the
development and operation of curriculum and staff development
programs.
   (c) Developing and operating interdepartmental programs within
higher education.
   (d) Developing and operating collaborative programs involving
colleges, universities, and nonschool organizations having
international resources.


44783.  (a) The institution selected under Section 44782 shall
select international studies resource centers from applicant
colleges, universities, and nonprofit agencies to establish and
operate the centers throughout the state. The programs to be operated
by the centers shall be subject to the review and approval of the
administering institution, pursuant to consultation with the advisory
committee established under Section 44784.
   (b) The program operated by any resource center shall further, as
the primary objective of the project, the enhancement of the quality
of elementary and secondary school instruction in courses that
satisfy the high school graduation requirements set forth in Section
51225.3, with particular emphasis on world history and cultures,
economics, and foreign languages. The resource center program shall
include, but not be limited to, the following elements:
   (1) The preparation by world affairs specialists of instructional
materials on international issues and other cultures appropriate for
use in elementary and secondary school classrooms.
   (2) In-service training of classroom teachers.
   (3) The training of a group of highly skilled and knowledgeable
teachers to serve as leading international studies resource
practitioners in curriculum and staff development projects.
   (4) The development of a support system for teachers learning new
international skills, including content training, curriculum
demonstrations, instructional resource services, information sharing,
and individual assistance and counseling.
   (5) Collaboration between elementary and secondary teachers and
international teaching and research personnel in colleges,
universities, and nonschool international organizations.
   (6) Collaboration in colleges and universities between
international specialists in history, economics, international
relations, foreign languages, and related fields, and specialists in
teaching methods and strategies.
   (7) Cooperation between schools, regional or county educational
agencies, and colleges and universities.
   (8) The development of an evaluation process to assess the
following:
   (A) The attitudes of project participants toward the effectiveness
of the local resource center.
   (B) The international skills and knowledge of students in
participating schools.
   (9) Systematically improving the international skills of project
participants, the teachers to be trained by participants, and,
ultimately, students attending elementary, secondary, and
postsecondary schools.
   (10) Comprehensive planning for curricular revision or enhancement
and instructional change.
   (11) Integrating the international studies project with any staff
development programs provided by staff development and resource
centers established in the same geographic area pursuant to Chapter
3.1 (commencing with Section 44670).
   (12) Providing financial and personnel support for the
international studies project that supplements but does not supplant
existing support.


44784.  (a) The institution selected under Section 44782 shall be
assisted by an advisory committee, the function of which shall be:
   (1) To review and comment on plans for the establishment of the
resource centers.
   (2) To assist in determining criteria for local and private
funding matches to be required for the operation of each resource
center.
   (3) To advise the project on the selection of proposals for
funding.
   (b) The advisory committee shall contain the following members:
   (1) Ten members appointed by representatives of higher education,
two each to be selected by the President of the University of
California, the Chancellor of the California State University, the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Association of
Independent California Colleges and Universities, and the California
Postsecondary Education Commission. At least one of the appointees of
each of these appointing entities shall be an elementary or
secondary school classroom teacher with classroom experience in
international studies instruction.
   (2) Four public members with special interest or competence in
international affairs, representing business, community, and subject
area educational organizations, one each to be selected by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Governor, the Speaker of
the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules.
   (3) Three certificated school teachers, or other educators, with
classroom experience in international studies instruction, to be
designated by the institution selected to operate the project.



44785.  The Legislature recognizes that evaluation of the project,
which may be accomplished by such methods as teacher attitude surveys
and pretesting and posttesting of the international skills and
knowledge of the students reached by the program, can serve as a
useful tool for self-assessment and improvement of the resource
centers.
   Each resource center shall conduct an annual evaluation to measure
the international skills of students reached by the site program,
the attitudes of project site participants toward the effectiveness
of the project, the rate of participation by teachers, the
application by teachers of training materials and techniques to
instructional purposes, the dissemination of training materials and
techniques to other teachers, and other information the site
directors deem appropriate.



44786.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the project operate
18 resource centers distributed geographically throughout the state,
with reference to the cultural and ethnic diversity of the state,
six of which centers would be established in the 1985-86 fiscal year,
six in the 1986-87 fiscal year, and six in the 1987-88 fiscal year,
provided that the evaluations provided for under this chapter are
found to justify these increases.



44787.  State funding for each resource center shall be not less
than forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) but not more than
sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000) per fiscal year, which shall be
matched by local and private funds in cash or in-kind equal to at
least 50 percent of state funding. The institution administering the
project, in consultation with the advisory committee, shall determine
the level of state funding for each resource center and the required
funding matches.