Overview
Williams v. State of California is a statewide class action suit regarding sufficiency of instructional materials, adequacy of facilities and the qualification of teachers. During September 2004, the Williams Settlement Legislation was signed into law to help ensure that all districts within the State of California uphold the state's duty to provide sufficient instructional materials in core subject areas; maintain clean, safe facilities in good repair; and take measures to guarantee all students have qualified teachers.
Requirements of the legislation affect all schools in the district. In addition, district schools identified as Academic Performance Index (API) 1-3 in 2006 will be subject to an additional requirement in the form of an annual visit by the San Diego County Office of Education (the "County" or "SDCOE"). The purpose of the annual visits is to verify the adequacy of instructional materials, condition of facilities and information reported on the School Accountability Report Card (SARC).
Requirements for All Schools
Instructional Materials
Every school in the district is required to provide sufficient textbooks, or other instructional materials, for all students in core subject areas. Core subject areas include English Language Arts, mathematics, history/social science and science for elementary, and all of the foregoing plus health and world language for secondary schools. "Sufficient" instructional materials are required that each pupil, including English learners, has a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home. Note that this does not mean that each student be issued two sets of instructional materials, only one set to be used for both purposes.
Facilities
Regarding facilities, "good repair" means that each facility is maintained in a manner that assures that it is clean, safe and functional in accordance with a permanent evaluation instrument developed by the Office of Public School Construction. A final state standard for good repair was adopted into legislation in 2006. No conditions should exist in structures or systems that pose a threat to the health and safety of pupils or staff while at school. Examples of such conditions include:
| • | Gas leaks |
| • | Nonfunctional heating, ventilation, fire sprinklers, or cooling |
| • | Electrical power failure |
| • | Major sewer line stoppage |
| • | Major pest or vermin infestation |
| • | Broken windows or exterior doors and gates that do not lock and pose a security risk |
| • | Abatement of hazardous materials previously undiscovered that poses an immediate threat to pupils or staff |
| • | Structural damage creating a hazardous or uninhabitable condition |
Emergency facilities needs do not include any cosmetic or nonessential repairs.
Classroom Notices
All schools in the district are required by law to post the following notices as indicated:
| • | Notice to
Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Students English  | Spanish | Cambodian | Lao | Somali |
Tagalog | Vietnamese Must be posted in every classroom in the district. The legislation requires that for classrooms where the native language of 15% or more of the students is a language other than English, the notice must also be posted in this language. SDUSD has provided schools with English, Spanish, Somali, Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese versions of the notice to be posted in all of their classrooms. Principals are responsible for ensuring that the notices are posted. |
Additional Requirements for API 1-3 Schools
Annual Visits
Every school identified in API 1-3 in 2006
will be subject to an annual visit by the County to verify compliance with the requirements of the law. Beginning with the 2007-08
academic year, schools scoring in deciles 1-3 on the 2006 base Academic Performance Index (API) must be visited and
reviewed by county superintendents. A list of eligibility will be updated every three (3) years.Annual visits will include an instructional materials inspection as well as a facilities inspection. SDCOE will make every effort to minimize disruptions to teaching and learning while conducting facilities and materials inspections during the school day. The County intends to visit 20% of the classrooms at each elementary school, subject to a minimum of one classroom per grade, to verify:
| 1) | that each student has textbooks and/or instructional materials, at his or her desk or in the classroom; and |
| 2) | that no emergency conditions exist in the classroom based on a visual and sensory examination. |
For secondary schools, 20% of the classrooms in each of the four core subject areas plus world language and health classes will be visited in the same manner. All student and staff restrooms, drinking water fountains and common areas (including cafeterias, auditoriums, and playing fields) will also be inspected. Lastly, SDCOE will verify the adequacy of data reported on the most recent School Accountability Report Card during the visit.
The visits will be conducted by teams of four to six people, including employees of the County as well as representatives from other districts to ensure a review by peers. The legislation specifies that visits must occur within the first four weeks of the school year. The visitation schedule and site notification will be provided by the County two weeks before the commencement of the first visit. In addition, the County's visits to 25% of the schools will be unannounced.
Resources for Annual School Visits
| • | Elementary Class Roster:
PDF
| Doc  |
| • | Facility Inspection Tool |
| • | Facility Evaluation Tool |
| • | Verification of Inventory |
| • | Teacher Vacancy Verification |
| • | UCP Prinicpal Verification |
| • |
Science Lab Materials Survey |
| • | Site Visit Checklist |
| • | SDUSD Sufficiency Survey: |
Facilities Assessments
Under the Williams legislation, the School Facilities Needs Assessment Grant Program (SFNAGP) requires that every API 1-3 school facility be assessed by a third party prior to January 2006. SDUSD previously contracted with 3D/I, a firm specializing in assessment, design and construction, which conducted needs assessments on all sites in the district. These assessments, the scope of which was greater than that required for the SFNAGP, will form the basis of the district's compliance with this requirement.
Reporting of Teacher Assignments and Vacancies
In addition to documenting teacher misassignments and vacancies on SARCs, the district will be required to report this information more frequently to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for API 1-3 schools. Currently, the district reports this information for all schools every four years. Misassignments related to English Language Learner certification will also be reported.
Additional District Requirements:
School Accountability Report Card
The district's Standards, Assessment and Accountability department prepares the School Accountability Report Card (SARC) for each school in the district. Beginning for the 2003-2004 school year, SARCs will include confirmation that each school has provided every student with sufficient instructional materials in the four core subject areas, plus health and world language for secondary. Information regarding the availability of science and laboratory equipment, as appropriate, must be included in SARCs for grades 9-12.
The SARC will also document the number of teacher misassignments, including those for English learner teachers, and the number of vacant teacher positions at each school. One year of this information will be included in the 2003-2004 SARC, building to three years of information by 2005-2006, as required.
Reporting of Teacher Assignments and Vacancies
In addition to documenting teacher misassignments and vacancies on SARCs, the district will be required to report this information more frequently to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for API 1-3 schools. Currently, the district reports this information for all schools every four years. In addition, the district will be required to provide CCTC with additional information concerning teachers of English learners for all schools.
Board Resolution on Sufficiency of Instructional Materials
The Williams legislation requires that districts certify the sufficiency of instructional materials at their schools through a Board resolution by the end of the eighth week of the school year. Annually, district staff bring forward for Board approval the "Resolution in the Matter of Certification of Sufficient Textbooks or Instructional Materials," affirming that each pupil in the district has sufficient materials that are consistent with the content and cycles of the curriculum framework adopted by the State Board of Education. This resolution certifies the sufficiency of instructional materials based on enrollment levels in the year of the adoption when the materials were provided. In the years following an adoption, the district provides growth and replacement allocations to each school for the principal to oversee and make purchases as necessary to ensure sufficient materials are available for each student.
Uniform Complaint Procedure
The district's Uniform Complaint Procedure outlines complaint and appeal procedures for alleged violations of federal or state laws or regulations governing its educational programs. Because of the new legislation, SDUSD revised its Uniform Complaint Procedure to incorporate insufficient instructional materials, facility conditions that pose an urgent or emergency threat, violation of the Clean Restroom Act, and teacher misassignment and vacancy issues as grounds for complaints by an individual, agency or organization. In connection with the new Uniform Complaint Procedure, the district is also required to post notices in every classroom throughout the district to inform parents and guardians of the opportunity and where to register a complaint regarding instructional materials and facilities issues.
Related Resources
| • | Uniform Complaint Form: English | Spanish |
| • | Fax Transmittal Cover Sheet |
| • | California Department of Education |
| • | Key Requirements of the Williams Settlement Legislation: English | Spanish |
| • | San Diego County Office of Education |
Contact Information
Instructional Materials
2441 Cardinal Lane, Building 1
San Diego, CA 92123-3798
(858) 627-7564 - Phone
| Responsibility: | Contact: |
| Williams Coordinator | Denise Hankins Manager, Instructional Materials dhankins@sandi.net (858) 627-7564 |
| Instructional Materials Supervisor | Chris Woehler cwoehler@sandi.net (858) 496-8461 |
| Facilities |
James Watts Director, Architecture and Planning jwatts@sandi.net (858) 627-7241 |
| Teacher Assignments | David Lee Human Resources Supervisor dlee@sandi.net (619)725-8056 |
| SARC (School Accountability Report Cards) | Mara Bernd Educational Research Specialist mbernd@sandi.net (619) 725-7164 |
| Uniform Complaint | Sandra Chong Assistant General Counsel schong@sandi.net (619) 725-5639 |