SACRAMENTO

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that the State Board of Education (SBE) voted to approve the first-ever instructional materials which incorporate California’s groundbreaking Next Generation Science Standards for grades K–8.

“California is the first state in the nation to adopt a science framework and approve instructional materials based on the Next Generation Science Standards,” Torlakson said. “I am excited about the new standards, which train students to act like scientists by posing questions and developing their own experiments. In addition, they emphasize climate change and environmental literacy, along with engineering and strategies to support girls and young women in science.”

This was the largest state adoption for a content area with 34 programs submitted for review. The SBE approved 29 programs. Districts will have many options of curriculum resources to meet the needs of their students. The approval of instructional materials comes after the Science Framework was approved by the SBE in 2016.

The Framework was developed after an extensive public process that spanned almost three years and generated more than 3,000 public comments. In support of the process, the California Science Teachers Association sponsored 30 different focus groups throughout the state to collect feedback.

“Science is central to how children understand and make sense of the world around them. The State Board is committed to supporting our teachers with quality instructional materials that have been subjected to a rigorous vetting process,” said
SBE Vice President Ilene Straus. “We are pleased with the list adopted today and look forward to seeing how these materials help our teachers.”