BILL ANALYSIS SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Gloria Romero, Chair 2009-2010 Regular Session BILL NO: AB 1775 AUTHOR: Furutani AMENDED: June 21, 2010 FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 30, 2010 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill NOTE: The Rules Committee has requested that this bill be returned if approved by the Committee on Education. A "do pass" motion should include referral to the Committee on Rules. SUBJECT : Special days of significance: Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. SUMMARY This bill requires the Governor to annually proclaim January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution and designates that day as a day having special significance in which public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises remembering the life of Fred Korematsu. BACKGROUND Existing law designates a number of days as days having special significance, when public schools are encouraged to conduct suitable commemorative exercises integrated into regular school programs. Current law establishes the following days having special significance: (Education Code 37222) a) March 30 of each year as Welcome Home Vietnam Veteran's Day b) April 6 of each year as California Poppy Day c) April 21 of each year as John Muir Day d) The second Wednesday in May as the "Day of the Teacher" e) May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day Existing law also requires the Governor to proclaim various days to remember specific individuals. These days include AB 1775 Page 2 September 28 as Cabrillo Day; January 15 as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day; and March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. (Government Code 6708 et. seq.) ANALYSIS This bill : 1) Designates January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution as a day having special significance; encourages public schools and educational institutions to observe that day and conduct exercises remembering the life of Fred Korematsu and recognizing the importance of preserving civil liberties, even in times of real or perceived crisis. 2) Requires the Governor to annually proclaim January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. 3) Restructures the section of the Education Code related to days of special significance so as to avoid current and future technical conflicts. 4) Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the life, career, contributions, and death of Fred Korematsu, as well as his life-long fight for the constitutional rights and civil liberties of all. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Need for the bill . Fred T. Korematsu (1919 - 2005) was one of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and permanent residents of Japanese descent who were forced to leave their communities and were incarcerated in internment camps in 1942. More than 60% of the people who were imprisoned were citizens of the Untied States, and many were third-generation Americans. Mr. Korematsu's refusal to comply with Civilian Exclusion Order 34 of the U.S. Army, which followed President Roosevelt's issuance of Executive Order 9066, led to his arrest and subsequent conviction for violating the military internment orders. In 1944, he appealed his case to the Supreme Court, arguing that Executive Order 9066 violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United AB 1775 Page 3 States Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, Mr. Korematsu continued to challenge the constitutionality of the World War II internment orders. It was not until 1984 that the U.S. District Court in San Francisco formally vacated Mr. Korematsu's conviction. The federal Civil Liberties Act of 1988 later recognized the grave injustice done by the forced relocation and incarceration of civilians during World War II. In 1998, Mr. Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his life-long efforts to speak out in favor of the protection of constitutional rights and civil liberties. 2) Committee process . This bill, along with AB 2412 and the other "Days of Significance" bills heard earlier this year, raises a question about whether there should be criteria for determining special days of significance in the public schools. To avoid the potential proliferation of special recognition days the Committee may wish to consider adopting a policy for considering measures proposing special days of significance. Alternatively, the Legislature could statutorily delegate the authority to approve special days of significance in the public schools to the State Board of Education who could review such proposals for consistency with the state's academic content standards and curriculum frameworks. Staff recommends that the Committee discuss this. 3) Related and prior legislation SB 1256 (Hancock) designates January 23 of each year as Ed Roberts Day to be a day of special significance in public schools and educational institutions. This bill was passed by this Committee with an 8-0 vote, March 24, 2010. SB 944 (Runner) designates February 6 of each year as Ronald Reagan Day to be a day of special significance in public schools and educational institutions. This bill was passed by this Committee on a 7-0 vote on March 24, 2010. AB 2412 (Tran) also designates February 6 of each year as Ronald Reagan Day to be a day of special significance in public schools and educational institutions. This bill is scheduled to be heard by this Committee on June 30, AB 1775 Page 4 2010. SB 572 (Leno, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2009) designates May 22 of each year as "Harvey Milk Day" as a day of special significance in public schools and educational institutions. This measure was passed by this Committee on a 7-2 vote. AB 264 (Cook) encouraged schools to conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict. This bill was passed by this Committee on a 7-0 vote and was later vetoed by the Governor because the measure did not address the need for comprehensive changes in state policy on water, energy and corrections. AB 717 (Cook, Chapter 158, Statutes of 2009) required the Governor to proclaim March 30 of each year as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans' Day" and encouraged schools to conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize the contributions of those involved in the Vietnam conflict. SUPPORT American Civil Liberties Union American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Anti-Defamation League, California Asian American Bar Association Asian American Justice Center Asian Law Caucus Asian Pacific American Bar Association Asian Pacific American Legal Center Asian Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Law Student Association, Thomas Jefferson School of Law California State University Chinese for Affirmative Action Council on American Islamic Relations Delores Huerta Foundation Equal Justice Society Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego Filipino Bar Association of Northern California Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy, Oakland Unified School District AB 1775 Page 5 Go for Broke National Education Center Japanese American Bar Association Japanese American Citizens League Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District Japanese American Citizens League Watsonville-Santa Cruz Chapter Japanese American Museum of San Jose Japanese American National Museum Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California Korean American Bar Association Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Letters from individuals Muslim Pacific Public Affairs Council National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Orange County Asian American Bar Association Organization of Chinese Americans Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Los Angeles Organization of Chinese Americans - Orange County Organization of Chinese Americans - Silicon Valley Chapter Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego Philippine American Bar Association of Los Angeles San Francisco Japanese American Citizens League San Leandro Unified School District Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund Sikh Coalition South Asian Bar Association of Northern California Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law Ventura County Asian American Bar Association OPPOSITION None received.