Chapter 3.7. California International Studies Project of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 25. >> Chapter 3.7.

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.

(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.

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.

(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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.