Williams Reviews

Williams Legislation and Sufficiency

Williams v. State of California is a statewide class action suit regarding the sufficiency of instructional materials, adequacy of facilities and the qualification of teachers. In September 2004, the Williams Settlement Legislation was enacted into law requiring all districts in the State of California to provide sufficient instructional materials in core subject areas; maintain clean, safe facilities in good repair and take measures to guarantee all pupils have qualified teachers.

Requirements of the legislation affect all schools in the district. District schools identified as Academic Performance Index (API) 1-3 in 2012 and QEIA (Quality Education Investment Act) sites will be subject to an annual visit by the Sacramento County Office of Education (the "county" or "SCOE"). The purpose of the annual visits is to verify the sufficiency of instructional materials, condition of facilities and information reported on the School Accountability Report Card (SARC). The eligibility list is required to be updated every three (3) years.

Requirements for All Schools

Instructional Materials

Every school in the district is required to provide sufficient textbooks, or other instructional materials, for all pupils in core subject areas. These instructional materials must be aligned to the content standards and consistent with the cycles of the curriculum frameworks adopted by the State Board of Education. Core subject areas include English language arts (including any English Language Development component of an adopted program), mathematics, history/social science and science. Pupils enrolled in a world language or health course must also be provided sufficient instructional materials and adequate science laboratory equipment must be available for science courses in grades 9-12. "Sufficient" textbooks or instructional materials means each pupil, including English learners, has standards-aligned textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home. Note: This does not mean that each pupil is issued two sets of instructional materials; only one set is to be used for both purposes. All Board Adopted instructional materials must be in the classroom/checked out to students.

The Williams-required Board-adopted instructional materials are:

2024-25 Williams Required Board Adopted Textbooks

2024-25 Williams Required Science Lab Equipment and Tools

Facilities

Facilities must be maintained in "good repair", assuring they are clean, safe and functional in accordance with the Facilities Inspection Tool (FIT) developed by the Office of Public School Construction. No condition should exist in structures or systems that pose a threat to the health and safety of pupils or staff while at school. School districts must certify that a facilities inspection system has been established to ensure each of its facilities is maintained in "good repair" in order to participate in the School Facility Program and the Deferred Maintenance Program. The facilities inspection is handled by the Facilities/Maintenance & Operations Department, 971-5740.

With the exception of an unannounced visit, facility reviews should occur within the first four weeks of school. The SCOE Facility Reviewer will contact the District Facilities Coordinator to coordinate the arrival time for each school. Unannounced visits will occur on the same day as the textbook review but not necessarily at the same time. 

Uniform Complaint Procedure & Valenzuela Settlement

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. The Valenzuela Settlement also requires districts to provide notice that pupils who have not passed one or both parts of the high school exit exam by the end of 12th grade are entitled to receive intensive instruction and services for up to two consecutive academic years after the completion of the 12th grade or until they have passed both parts of the exam.

The District must post Uniform Complaint Notices in every classroom to inform parents and guardians of the opportunity and method to register a complaint regarding these issues. Additionally, the Valenzuela Legislation/CAHSEE Intensive Instruction and Services Program Student Eligibility Notice must be posted in the front office of every High School.

Notices must be posted in every classroom in the district outlining how to file a complaint. The legislation requires that for classrooms where the native language of 15% or more of the pupils is a language other than English, the notice must also be posted in that language. SJUSD has provided schools with English, Spanish, Russian, and Ukrainian versions of the Williams Sign to be posted in all of their classrooms. Principals are responsible for ensuring that the notices are posted.

Williams Uniform Complaint Forms are used to file a formal complaint and should be filled out and given to the school principal. The District must submit a quarterly report to SCOE on the number of Williams related complaints received and if they were resolved or unresolved.

Annual Events

Every school identified in API 1-3 in 2012 and/or those with a Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) grant will be subject to an annual visit by the County to verify compliance with the requirements of the law. A list of eligibility will be updated every three (3) years. Annual visits will be conducted by the fourth week of school to verify instructional materials sufficiency; inspect conditions of the facility, including all pupil and staff restrooms, drinking fountains and common areas; collect teacher vacancy data and validate information included in the School Accountability Report Card (SARC). SCOE 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 20-25% of the classrooms (subject to a minimum of one classroom per grade) at each elementary school, and 20-25% of secondary school classrooms in each of the four core subject areas, foreign language and health classes with enrollment. Teams will also verify the adequacy of science laboratory equipment in grades 9-12.

The visits will be conducted by teams of four to six people, including employees of the County and the District Office. 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. California Ed Code requires 25% of school visits to be unannounced.

Board Resolution of 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 annual documentation from each school.

William's Sufficiency Contacts

Professional Learning and Curriculum Innovation is responsible for Williams Sufficiency reporting. If you have any questions, please contact Tina Jacobson at (916) 979-8934.