BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 199 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 199 (Ma and Cook) As Amended July 12, 2011 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |72-0 |(April 11, |SENATE: |37-2 |(August 18, | | | |2011) | | |2011) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY : Expresses the encouragement of the Legislature that instruction in social science includes the role of Filipinos in World War II. Specifically, this bill : 1)Encourages the instruction to include an accurate history of the contributions of the Filipino American veterans who fought courageously in the United States (U.S.) Army for freedom and democracy in World War II, under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. 2)Encourages the instruction to include a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video histories of Filipinos who were involved in World War II and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. Encourages the oral histories to include the following: a) Exemplify the personal sacrifice and courage of the wide range of ordinary citizens who were called upon to participate and to provide intelligence for the U.S.; b) Contain the views and comments regarding the reasons for their participation in the war; and, c) Comments regarding the aftermath of the war and the immigration of Filipinos to the U.S. The Senate amendments transfer the provisions of the bill from Education Code Section 51221.4 to Section 51221.3, change references to "war" to "World War II", and add a co-author. EXISTING LAW : AB 199 Page 2 1)Requires instruction on World War II, the War in Vietnam, and the "Secret War" in Laos. 2)Encourages, under the existing course of study for history/social science grades 7-12, the inclusion of instruction on the Vietnam War, the "Secret War" in Laos, and the role of Southeast Asians in those wars. 3)Encourages instruction in the causes, battles, and outcomes of World War II, including personal testimony from individuals involved in those wars. 4)Stipulates that instructional programs be carried out in a manner that does not result in any new programs or duties imposed on school districts. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version passed by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : This bill encourages the instruction in social science to include an accurate history of the contributions of the Filipino American veterans in the U.S. Army for freedom and democracy in World War II, under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. When the U.S. entered World War II, the Philippines was a territory of the U.S. Filipino soldiers fought for the U.S.; however, Filipino soldiers and their survivors did not enjoy the same benefits as other soldiers and their contributions to the war effort are largely unrecognized. The author states, "For their service, the U.S. government promised them the same health and pension benefits that were rewarded to other U.S. soldiers. However, after the war ended, and the help from the Filipino soldier was no longer needed, President Truman instated the Rescission Act of 1946, which only offered benefits to a select group of Filipino veterans, and excluded the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines, the Recognized Guerilla Forces, and the New Philippine Scouts from the benefits. Even though they fought side by side, the veterans that were denied benefits were also forgotten by the US government, and largely lost from the pages of our history books. As our students learn about the heroic feats of our soldiers, it's important to remember that there are many soldiers left-out from the pages of history." AB 199 Page 3 This bill is identical to earlier versions of AB 717 (Cook and Ma), which was gutted and amended into a different bill in the Senate in 2009, and AB 3084 (Cook and Ma), which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2008 with the following message: "While I respect the author's intent to recognize the role of Filipinos who fought courageously in World War II, I have consistently vetoed legislation that has attempted to include specific details or events into areas of instruction. The State Board of Education adopted content standards are developed by a diverse group of experts and are intentionally broad in order to allow coverage of various events, developments, and issues. I continue to believe that the State should establish rigorous academic standards and frameworks, but refrain from being overly prescriptive in specific school curriculum." This bill and variations of it, has been introduced several other times in addition to AB 717(Cook and Ma) of 2009 and AB 3084 (Cook and Ma) of 2008. AB 72 (Dymally) was vetoed by the Governor in 2007, AB 15 (Jerome Horton) vetoed in 2005 and AB 2512 (Jerome Horton) vetoed in 2004. Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001667