Two of the three bills proposed by Senator Jack Scott as part of the "Math and Science Initiative" earlier this year have been enrolled, and one has been signed into law as of press time:

SB 112 (chaptered) exempts retired teachers who return to service from basic skills proficiency requirements and specifies that retired teachers do not need to participate in induction programs for new teachers. The intent is to help districts address their local staffing needs by reducing the barriers for retired teachers who are willing to work part-time as classroom teachers, or to provide support and assistance to new teachers.

SB 859 authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue or renew visiting faculty permits authorizing instruction in math or science to individuals who satisfy specified requirements, including having a minimum of 6 years of full-time teaching experience in an accredited California community college.

Both of these bills are intended to streamline the procedures to bring more well-prepared teachers into the classroom. They are a supplement to the traditional teacher preparation system. The Math Science Initiative package of bills was proposed following the release of the March 2007 report Critical Path Analysis of California's Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation System.

The third bill, SB 858, is being held over to the second year of the legislative session. This bill encourages experienced teachers and retiring professionals to become qualified to teach mathematics and science and provides incentive funding of up to $2,500 per teacher to school districts and county offices of education to assist teachers to acquire math or science content knowledge. The bill was postponed because of the costs associated with the incentive funding (approximately $5 million/year) which were incompatible with the budget situation. The Governor cut $700 million from the final budget in order to meet legislative approval, making the addition of new programs very unlikely.

Funding to develop the architecture for the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), which required the creation of unique student identifiers and the creation of a longitudinal database on student achievement, has been continued at $2.5 million, but funding for the districts to supply the data has not. "School district participation in CALPADS is vital for the program's success," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell in a statement following the passage of the final budget. "I will continue to advocate for funding to support local data collection and maintenance to improve the accuracy of student data." Funding to continue developing CalTIDES, a similar database to track teachers, has also been continued at $1 million, though it is not scheduled for implementation yet.

The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES Act), HR 2272, passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Bush on August 9. The $43 billion Act will essentially double federal investment in science and technology over the next seven years. It is a response to the National Academies' 2005 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. The report forecast that America risks losing its scientific pre-eminence, and the associated economic benefits of remaining the world's high-tech leader; the document has been widely credited with moving the issue of high-tech competitiveness to the top of Congress's agenda and generating bipartisan support for a response. The focus of HR 2272 is to improve America's competitiveness by boosting investment in innovation and science and math education. Senator Dianne Feinstein cited CCST's work in supporting the bill on the Senate floor earlier this year.

"It is highly encouraging to see such a concrete and far-reaching response to the recommendations of the National Academies report," said CCST Council Chair Lawrence Papay. "As CCST recommended to the Governor in its California Response to "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," the challenges facing America's competitiveness in science and technology are serious, and whatever actions are to be taken must be of a suitable scale. This Act is an enormous step in the right direction."