BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 993
AUTHOR: De Leon
AMENDED: March 8, 2012
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: April 11, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Instruction on the Bracero program.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes social science instruction to include
instruction on the Bracero program.
BACKGROUND
Academic content standards define the knowledge, concepts, and
skills that pupils should acquire at each grade level.
Curricular frameworks are the blueprint for implementing the
standards, and include criteria by which instructional materials
are evaluated.
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials have been suspended since July 28, 2009.
The State Board of Education (SBE) is specifically prohibited
from reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials
until the 2015-16 school year. (Education Code § 60200.7)
The history-social science framework was last adopted in 2005.
A review of this framework was underway and nearly complete when
the state suspended the process due to budget constraints. The
draft framework for grade 11 includes information about
agricultural labor provided by immigrants who came through the
Bracero program.
Current law:
1) Authorizes instruction in social science for grades 7-12 to
include instruction on World War II and the American role
in that war.
(EC § 51221.3(a))
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2) Encourages instruction in social science for grades 7-12 to
include the role of Filipinos in World War II. (EC §
51221.3.(c))
3) Encourages instruction in social science for grades 7-12 to
include instruction on the Vietnam war including the
"Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in
that war. (EC § 51221.4)
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes social science instruction to include
instruction on the Bracero program. Specifically, this bill:
1) Authorizes instruction in social science for grades 7-12 to
include instruction on the Bracero program.
2) Authorizes this instruction to include a component drawn
from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or
video histories of individuals who were involved with the
Bracero program. Oral histories may do all of the
following:
a) Exemplify the economic and cultural
effects of the Bracero program during and after World
War II, including its effects on the railroad system,
agriculture, and immigration in the United States.
b) Contain the views and comments of their
subjects regarding the reasons for their participation
in the Bracero program and their immigrant story,
generally.
3) States that this bill is to be implemented in a way that
does not result in new duties or programs being imposed on
school districts, and declares that this bill does not
mandate costs to local agencies or school districts, and
that materials used to comply with this bill be part of
normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts
in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "The history
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of the Bracero program has been frequently overlooked and
it is rarely taught in California public schools. The
Bracero program was a guest worker program set up through a
series of bilateral agreements between the United States
and Mexico that was intended to fill the shortage of
American labor during the war years. Established in 1942,
the program continued in the post-WWII years because of the
demand for labor in the agriculture business and the
railroad maintenance system. The program helped the US
economy flourish, though it was criticized for the
mistreatment of Mexican workers, especially because in many
instances Braceros were never paid their due wages. The
program also marked a turning point in Mexican immigration
to the US by influencing unauthorized immigration trends.
Given the impact of immigration on this state, it is
important for students to have a historical understanding
of the immigration trends that have come to shape
California's demographics and economy."
2) Unnecessary but not unprecedented . This bill authorizes an
action that can already be undertaken under existing law;
however, this Committee has passed similar legislation that
has ultimately become law.
3) Update of History-Social Science framework was underway .
The Curriculum Commission approved the draft update of this
framework for field review on
July 17, 2009. However, suspension of the framework and
instructional material processes was implemented beginning
July 28, 2009, meaning that no actual field review or
online survey has occurred for this framework. According
to the California Department of Education (CDE) the
revision of the history-social science framework can be
completed for approximately $30,000. Many stakeholders and
ethnic groups support the resumption of this process
because the updated frameworks are a culmination of months
of research and negotiations. The updated framework
includes information relative to the role of Sikhs and
Korean Americans, among others.
4) Already in new draft framework ? The existing
history-social science framework (adopted in 2005) includes
information about Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
but does not specifically mention the Bracero program. The
new draft framework does include the Bracero program but
only in grade 11. This bill does not require the
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history-social science framework to include information
about the Bracero program, nor would the contents of the
draft framework necessarily be affected by this bill. The
framework provides guidance to teachers, as well as to
publishers relative to the development of instructional
materials. This bill authorizes instruction for which the
framework may not provide guidance nor would it necessarily
be included in instructional materials.
5) Related legislation . SB 1540 (Hancock) requires the State
Board of Education to consider, by June 30, 2014, the
adoption of a history-social science framework. SB 1540
passed this Committee on March 28, 2012, on an 8-0 vote,
and is currently pending in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SB 1080 (Lieu) provides that instruction in economics may
include instruction related to personal finances and would
require the California Department of Education to develop a
personal finances curriculum in the next adoption cycle of
the mathematics and history-social science curriculum
frameworks. SB 1080 passed this Committee on March 28,
2012, on a 9-0 vote and is currently pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
SB 994 (Vargas) states legislative intent relative to expanding
instruction in California Latino history. SB 994 is
pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 1325 (Wyland) requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and the SBE to consider methods for enhancing
pupil knowledge of, and pride in, our history and form of
government and for increasing civic participation,
including developing new curriculum frameworks and
standards, if necessary. SB 1325 is pending in the Senate
Rules Committee.
AB 580 (Davis) requires instruction on the role and
contributions of people of all races, colors, genders,
sexual orientations, national origins, religions and
marital status to include updated references. AB 580 is
pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
AB 1756 (Knight) authorizes schools to elect not to provide
social science instruction on the role and contributions of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. AB 1756
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is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 2546 (Donnelly) recasts existing provisions relative to
instruction on the role and contributions of people with
specified characteristics to exclude mention of sexual
orientation, and instead require, among other things, the
study of a person in social science instruction to be
accurate and based solely on historical significance rather
than membership in a protected class. AB 2546 is pending
in the Assembly Education Committee.
6) Prior legislation . SB 48 (Leno, Chapter 81, 2011) requires
instruction in social science to include the role and
contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
Americans.
SB 300 (Hancock, Chapter 624, 2011), at one time included
provisions relative to the completion of the history-social
science framework. The final version of
SB 300 requires the SBE to adopt revised standards in
science.
SB 1278 (Wyland, 2010) would have required the SBE to adopt
a revised framework and evaluation criteria for
history-social science in 2011. SB 1278 was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2069 (Carter, 2010) would have required the SBE to adopt
a revised framework and evaluation criteria for
history-social science by July 1, 2011.
AB 2069 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Asociacion de Loncheros LA Familia Unida de California
Asociacion Retalteca
California Immigrant Policy Center
California-Mexico Studies Center
Casa De La Cultura Maya
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Consejo Binacional de Organizaciones Comunitarias, Inc.
Federacion Chihuahua
Fraternidad Cotzumalguapa
Los Angeles Produce Market Association
Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
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SIATech
Union de Guatemaltecos Emigrantes
Universidad de Colima
An individual
OPPOSITION
None on file.