Proposition 13: Effects on High School Curricula, 1979-1983

This study traces the 5-year effects of California's Proposition 13 on the state's "Big Eight" school districts' secondary curriculum. Personnel and parent representatives agree on influences behind curriculum change patterns. First, teacher reductions have led to larger and fewer sections of classes, decreasing students' scheduling options. Legislation requiring proficiency tests for graduation, as well as legislative and board demands for basic skills development, have also affected course offerings. There are, in addition, losses in materials, equipment, and support services. Specific course casualties include music and driver education, and while special education and remedial offerings have grown, many offerings that extend beyond core requirements have been eliminated. The result is that the old enriched academic experience may only be available to those enrolled in private schools. In the year since the study, legislated curricular changes (additional fine arts courses required for graduation, for example) have combined with brightened economic circumstances, but the effect on either the nature or flexibility of the curriculum remains uncertain. The report includes a two-page bibliography and two appendixes. (KS)