Bill Text: CA AB2999 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Pupil instruction: homework policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 751, Statutes of 2024. [AB2999 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2999-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 29, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 21, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly (Coauthors: Assembly Members Jackson and Blanca Rubio) |
February 16, 2024 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a)In light of the current mental health crisis, it is critical that local educational agencies, while in keeping with local control, act with intention regarding homework, which, studies show, is the highest cause of stress for pupils.
(b)Additionally, homework has a heavier burden on low-income pupils, influencing equity in education.
(c)In the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of School Experiences, administered to over 11,500 high school pupils in the 2022–23 school year, 45 percent selected “overall workload and homework” as a major sources of stress in their lives right now, and of the more than 11,500 pupils that answered this question, 56 percent indicated grades, tests, and other assessments as a major source of stress, 45 percent indicated workload and homework as a major source of stress, 42 percent indicated procrastination or time management as a major source of stress, 40 percent indicated lack of sleep as a major source of stress, 33 percent indicated a specific class as a major source of stress, 33 percent indicated a lack of time to spend with friends or as downtime as a major source of stress, and 32 percent indicated getting into college/university as a major source of stress.
(d)Lack of access
to a computer and internet may further tax pupils from lower income families, especially as the homework load increases. A 2018 analysis of United States Census Bureau data, in combination with research from authors from the Pew Research Center, found that one in five teens cannot regularly complete their homework due to a lack of necessary technology, and that these pupils are disproportionately Black and Latinx.
(e)
(f)
SEC. 2.
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 52000) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:CHAPTER 6. Homework Policies
52000.
(a)(b)
(1)Consider recent research on homework’s impact on each of the following:
(A)Pupil mental health.
(B)Pupil physical health.
(C)Equity in education.
(D)Appropriate uses of homework at each grade level that allow for experimentation or preparation, along with being beneficial to pupils and that enhance the educational program.
(2)Consider all of the following:
(A)The meaningful input with shared leadership of teachers, educators, administrators, parents, school counselors and social workers, and pupils.
(B)The reasonable amount of time spent on homework per pupil that should not be exceeded.
(C)The lack of universal access to the internet, computers, and learning tools.
(D)Language barriers.
(E)Pupils with learning disabilities.
(F)The significant investment of staff time on homework.
(G)Using homework strategically when it is most impactful.
(H)Whether homework should be assigned or required in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or in any elementary school grade, inclusive, with appropriate exceptions.
(I)Whether homework should be optional and not graded.
(J)Appropriate accommodations, if needed, to address the mental health impacts of homework.
(c)The homework policy shall be publicly discussed, with public comment, and considered for adoption at a minimum of two separate regularly scheduled public meetings conducted pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
(d)
(e)Each private school is encouraged to adopt a homework policy with guidelines consistent with this section.
(f)