[cowtown]

Here's another howler from our...uh, progressive CA state Assembly. Jackie Goldberg (D) at the helm.

Just remember, before you criticize, heed her words: "It's time for California to be the leader that it always has been." Got it?

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Lawmakers voted Thursday to ban school districts from purchasing textbooks longer than 200 pages.

The bill, believed to be the first of its kind nationwide, was hailed by supporters as a way to revolutionize education.

Critics lambasted Assembly Bill 756 as silly.
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AB 756 would force publishers to condense key ideas, basic problems and basic knowledge into 200 pages, then to provide a rich appendix with Web sites where students can go for more information.
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Lawmakers were given no estimates, however, of potential impacts to student backpacks or campus coffers.

Goldberg said the thrust of her bill is learning, not economics.

"We're talking about a dynamic education system that brings young people into being a part of the learning process," she said.
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The Association of American Publishers opposes the bill, saying the arbitrary 200-page limit could force publishers to produce multiple volumes to cover the state's content standards.

Textbooks would have to be restructured, the group contends.

"To do this will increase the costs of instructional materials without adding any instructional value," lobbyist Dale Shimasaki, representing publishers, said in a letter of opposition.

Goldberg said she's willing to negotiate over specifics, but that publishers have been uncooperative.

Her bill would apply to future purchases, not existing textbooks.

Michael Kirst, a Stanford education professor and co-director of Policy Analysis for Education, said he's never heard of any such bill nationwide.

"There's no track record that anyone can draw on," he said.
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Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman for O'Connell, said that not every student - at school or at home - has ready access to the Internet.

"You can't carry the computer home with you," said Bill Hauck, president of California Business Roundtable.

"Our problem in California is not the size of textbooks, it's that we have large achievement gaps that need to be closed," he said.

Penny Kastanis, executive director of the California School Library Association, said the Internet is vitally important, but not always accurate.

Books still are valuable, she said.

"What we're finding more and more is that people are saying, 'Who needs an encyclopedia? Who needs an almanac? Just go to the Internet, it's all there.' Well, it's not all there."

Goldberg said homework can be drawn from the 200-page textbooks. Students using campus computers can be referred to accurate Web sites.

Problems aren't insurmountable.

"(AB 756) says don't give students a predigested version of what U.S. history is, let them explore the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress," Goldberg said.

"It's time for California to be the leader that it always has been."


Full story here