BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1451|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1451
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 8/19/10
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/21/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 5/17/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Price, Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 25-5, 5/28/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Huff, Kehoe, Leno,
Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Dutton, Hollingsworth, Runner, Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Harman,
Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-28, 8/30/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Education: instructional materials
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill requires the State Board of Education
to (1) notify the Chairperson of the Assembly Education
Committee and the Chairperson of the Senate Education
Committee, and the Secretary for Education, of content it
interprets as a result of changes to the Texas
Administrative Code, and (2) to ensure that the next
revision of the history-social science curriculum is
consistent with provisions governing instructional
materials.
Assembly Amendments (1) revise language requiring
notification by the State Board of Education to the
Chairpersons of the Senate and Assembly Education
Committees and the Secretary for Education to be done once
per year during years in which social content reviews are
conducted, (2) add a provision requiring school districts
to ensure that the content of instructional materials
adopted for use in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, are
consistent with provisions governing the content of
instructional materials, and (3) make minor technical
changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that the State Board of
Education (SBE) must adopt regulations to govern the social
content reviews, as specified, conducted at the request of
a publisher or manufacturer of instructional materials
outside the primary and follow-up instructional material
adoption process.
Existing law requires instructional materials to accurately
portray:
1.The cultural and racial diversity of our society.
2.The protection of ecological systems and the harm caused
by tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
Existing law requires instructional materials to include:
1.The contributions of men, women, and ethnic groups to the
development of the state and nation.
2.The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of
the United States.
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3.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights
movement.
Existing law requires instructional materials to impress
upon the minds of certain pupils American principles, and
encourage thrift, fire prevention and the humane treatment
of animals and people.
Existing law prohibits school districts from adopting
instructional materials that:
1.In the determination of the school district, contains:
A. Any matter reflecting adversely upon people due to
race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex,
handicap, or occupation.
B. Any sectarian, or denominational doctrine or
propaganda contrary to law.
2.Provides any exposure to commercial brand name, product,
or corporate or company logo that is inconsistent with
the guidelines or frameworks adopted by the SBE.
This bill:
1.Requires the SBE to inform the Chairperson of the
Assembly Education Committee, the Chairperson of the
Senate Education Committee, and the Secretary for
Education of content that interprets is the result of
changes to the Texas Administrative Code, that were
approved on May 21, 2010, once per year during the years
in which social content reviews are conducted pursuant to
this bill.
2.Requires the SBE, upon the next adoption of the
history-social science framework, to ensure the framework
is consistent with the following requirements in existing
law:
A. Instruction of social sciences must include the
early history of California and a study of the role
and contributions of both men and women, Black
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Americans, American Indians, Mexicans, Asians,
Pacific Island people, and other ethnic groups to the
economic, political, and social development of
California and the United States of America, with
particular emphasis on portraying the roles of these
groups in contemporary society.
B. Instructional materials used in schools must
accurately portray the cultural and racial diversity
of our society, including the contributions of both
men and women in all types of roles, including
professional, vocational, and executive roles, as
well as the role and contributions of Native
Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, European Americans, and members of
other ethnic and cultural groups to the total
development of California and the United States, and
finally, the role and contributions of the
entrepreneur and labor in the total development of
California and the United States.
C. Instructional materials must be designed to
impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles
of morality, truth, justice, patriotism, and a true
comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of
American citizenship, and to instruct them in manners
and morals and the principles of a free government.
D. Instructional materials in social studies must
include information designed to instruct pupils on
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights
movement, and contributions made by ethnic minority
groups to the history of the United States.
3.Requires school districts to ensure that the content of
instructional materials adopted for use in grades 9 to 12
inclusive, is consistent with provisions governing the
content of instructional materials in existing law.
4.Extend the sunset date on existing law which provides
that the SBE must adopt regulations to govern the social
content reviews, as specified, conducted at the request
of the publisher or manufacturer of instructional
materials outside the primary and follow-up instructional
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material adoption process from 1/1/11 to 1/1/16.
Comments
This bill seeks to ensure that the revisions of Texas'
Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies do not
influence the content of California textbooks by requiring
the SBE to ensure that the next revision of the
history-social science framework is consistent with
existing requirements pertaining to social content and
annually report to the Legislature if it finds contents
that it interprets to be a result of Texas' revised
standards in social studies.
What Changes are Proposed for the Social Studies Curriculum
in Texas ? The Texas Board of Education has proposed
changes to the social studies curriculum that a majority of
the board sees as moving away from a liberal bias; others
believe the proposed changes insert a conservative bias.
(NOTE: For examples of proposed changes, please see Senate
Education Committee analysis.)
California's Instructional Material Adoption Process .
California is among 20 states that utilize a state-level
process to select instructional materials, including Texas.
As such, California formally adopts a list of approved
instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades
one to eight (K-8), inclusive, and districts must purchase
materials from this list. The Legislative Analyst's Office
and textbook publishers have suggested that California's
framework and instructional material adoption process has
produced strict and complex pathways to implementing
curriculum changes in the state, and it should be noted
that the process includes a legal compliance review of
social content. Publishers are required to base their
instructional materials on frameworks and other evaluation
criteria that specify instructional approaches, among a
number of other factors.
California does, however, utilize a local-selection process
at the high school level, enabling districts to purchase
materials not on the state list, though materials must
still abide by various guidelines. Districts conduct
social content reviews of instructional materials adopted
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at the local level and are not required to utilize the
state process. This bill includes a requirement that
school districts ensure that the content of instructional
materials adopted also comply with the accurate social
content requirements in current law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2013-14 Fund
Reporting $60, offset
by fees Fees*
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/10)
San Francisco Unified School District
American Civil Liberties Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the Texas Board of Education recently voted to adopt
revisions to the social studies curriculum that are "a
sharp departure from widely accepted historical teachings
that are driven by an inappropriate ideological desire to
influence academic content standards for children in public
schools. Although not yet formally adopted, it is widely
presumed that the proposed changes to Texas' social studies
curriculum will have a national impact on the textbook
content since Texas is the second largest purchaser of
textbooks in the United States, second only to California."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De
Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Gatto, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huffman,
Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,
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Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Conway, Cook, DeVore, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue,
Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Smyth,
Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
CPM:cm 8/31/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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