BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 993
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 27, 2012

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Julia Brownley, Chair
                     SB 993 (De León) - As Amended:  May 21, 2012

           SENATE VOTE  :   31-1
           
          SUBJECT  :  School curriculum: social sciences: Bracero program

           SUMMARY  :   Authorizes social science instruction in grades 7-12, 
          inclusive, to include instruction on the Bracero program.  
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Provides that the instruction may 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, and stipulates that oral histories used as 
            part of the instruction regarding the Bracero program may do 
            all of the following:

             a)   Exemplify the economic and cultural effects of the 
               Bracero program during and after World War II, including, 
               but not limited to, its effects on the railroad system, 
               agriculture, and immigration in California and the United 
               States of America (U.S.); and,

             b)   Contain the views and comments of their subjects 
               regarding the reasons for their participation in the 
               Bracero program and their immigrant story, generally.

          2)Requires this bill to be carried out in a manner that does not 
            result in new duties or programs on a school district.  

          3)States that the Legislature finds and declares that this bill 
            does not mandate costs to local agencies or school districts 
            and that materials used to comply with this bill shall be part 
            of normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts 
            in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, 
            inclusive, to include instruction in social sciences, drawing 
            upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, 








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            history, political science, psychology, and sociology, 
            designed to fit the maturity of the pupils.  (Education Code 
            Section (EC) 51220)

          2)Requires social studies instruction to provide a foundation 
            for understanding the history, resources, development, and 
            government of California and the U.S.; instruction in our 
            American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult 
            criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of 
            citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and 
            Federal Constitutions; the development of the American 
            economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and 
            labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural 
            environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; 
            human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of 
            the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and 
            contemporary issues.  (EC 51220)

          3)Authorizes social studies instruction to include instruction 
            on World War II and the roles of Americans and Filipinos in 
            that war, and encourages this instruction to include, but not 
            be limited to, a component drawn from personal testimony, 
            especially in the form of oral or video histories, if 
            available, of American and Filipino soldiers who were involved 
            in World War II and those men and women who contributed to the 
            war effort on the homefront. (EC 51221.3)

          4)Requires instruction in social sciences to include the early 
            history of California and a study of the role and 
            contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African 
            Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific 
            Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
            transgender (LGBT) Americans, persons with disabilities, and 
            members of other ethnic and cultural groups, to the economic, 
            political, and social development of California and the U.S., 
            with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these 
            groups in contemporary society.  (EC 51204.5)

          5)Requires instruction in the area of study of social sciences 
            to provide a foundation for understanding the wise use of 
            natural resources.  (EC 51221)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.









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           COMMENTS  :  Current law specifies courses of study for pupils in 
          grades 1-12, and also requires instruction on various specific 
          topics.  Within the social sciences, there are various specific 
          requirements, including instruction on the early history of 
          California and a study of the role and contributions of both men 
          and women and various minority groups to the economic, 
          political, and social development of California and the U.S., 
          with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups 
          in contemporary society.  

          The Legislature has previously passed measures requiring or 
          encouraging instruction on specific subjects it deems important 
          and noteworthy.  Most recently, AB 199 (Ma & Cook), Chapter 607, 
          Statutes of 2011, encouraged social studies instruction to 
          include instruction on the role and contributions of Filipino 
          Americans in the U.S. army in World War II.  In a similar 
          manner, this bill authorizes instruction in social studies to 
          include instruction on the Bracero program. 

           The Bracero program  :  The Bracero Program was a guest worker 
          program that spanned the years of 1942-1964.  The economic and 
          social issues that resulted from the Great Depression and World 
          War II compelled the U.S. to seek a source of inexpensive labor 
          to meet its labor demands in both agriculture and railway 
          maintenance.  The U.S. and Mexican governments entered into a 
          treaty to allow Mexican workers to enter the U.S. on a temporary 
          basis in order to address the shortage of labor in the U.S.  
          According to information provided by the author, "The program 
          helped the U.S. economy flourish, though it was criticized for 
          the mistreatment of Mexican workers, especially because in many 
          instances Braceros were never paid their due wages."

           Curriculum frameworks  :  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.  The 
          history-social science framework (H/SS) was last adopted in 
          2005, and a review and update of this framework was underway and 
          nearly complete when the state suspended the process due to 
          fiscal constraints.  The 2010 draft of the H/SS framework 
          includes in the grade 11 course descriptions a reference to the 
          Bracero program.  Specifically, it is included in the 
          "Transformation of Post-World War II America" section of the 
          framework and it states, in relevant part:








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               "Meanwhile, immigration continued, especially to 
               California, which depended upon agricultural labor 
               provided by immigrants, particularly Mexicans, who 
               continued to come through the Bracero Program. This 
               1942 government-sponsored program, designed primarily 
               to replace interned Japanese-American farmers and 
               native-born agricultural workers who were mobilizing 
               for war with imported Mexican laborers, continued 
               until 1964."  

          This bill is consistent with the 2010 draft H/SS framework.  

           Permissive bill  :  This bill does not require this instruction 
          but rather authorizes it.  Some may argue that this bill is 
          unnecessary as districts currently have the discretion and 
          flexibility to include this content in social studies 
          instruction.  However, others would argue that adding the 
          permissive language gives districts the explicit authority to 
          include this content and raises awareness as to the importance 
          of these events and may encourage districts to integrate them  
          into social studies instruction.  The author further points out 
          that the history of the Bracero Program has been frequently 
          ignored and left out of school textbooks, despite the program's 
          impact on the U.S. labor market during World War II and on 
          immigration patterns in this country.  

           Arguments in support  : The National Association of Social Workers 
          - California Chapter (NASW-CA) writes, "This bill would promote 
          a critical and analytical understanding of the importance of the 
          Bracero program in the United States and California, with the 
          impact the Bracero Program had on the railroad system, 
          agriculture and immigration.  NASW-CA believes that supporting 
          this bill, it would allow students to have a culturally 
          competent and full education on the history of California." 

           Related legislation  :  AB 1756 (Knight) eliminates the 
          requirement for instruction in social sciences to include the 
          early history of California and a study of the role and 
          contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African 
          Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific 
          Islanders, European Americans, LGBT Americans, persons with 
          disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, 
          to the economic, political, and social development of California 
          and the U.S., with particular emphasis on portraying the role of 








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          these groups in contemporary society, and instead makes these 
          provisions permissive.  AB 1756 failed passage in this 
          Committee. 

          SB 1540 (Hancock) requires the SBE to consider, by June 30, 
          2014, the adoption of a history-social science framework.  SB 
          1540 passed this Committee on June 13, 2012, on an 8-0 vote, and 
          is currently pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

          SB 994 (Vargas) requires the CDE to establish the California 
          Latino Curriculum Committee for the purpose of developing a 
          California Latino curriculum for inclusion in the H/SS 
          curriculum framework. SB 994 was held in the Senate 
          Appropriations Committee. 

           Previous legislation  :  AB 199 (Cook and Ma), Chapter 607, 
          Statutes of 2011, encouraged social studies instruction to 
          include instruction on the role and contributions of Filipino 
          Americans in the U.S. army in World War II.  

          HR 29 (Reyes) of 2001 resolved that September 29, 2001 be 
          proclaimed Bracero Workers' Day and urged all Californians to 
          observe Bracero Workers' Day by taking time to remember and 
          honor the Bracero workers and their contributions to California. 
           HR 29 was adopted by the Assembly Rules Committee.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 
          Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de California 
          Associacion Retalteca
          California Association for Bilingual Education 
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          California-Mexico Studies Center, Inc.  
          Californians Together 
          Casa de la Cultura Maya
          City of Bell Gardens 
          Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
          Consejo Binacional de Organizaciones Cumunitarias Inc. 
          Federacion Chihuahua 
          Fraternidad Cotzumalguapa 
          Los Angeles Produce Market Association 
          Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles 








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          National Association of Social Workers 
          Schools for Integrated Academics and Technologies
          Union de Guatemaltecos Emigrantes
          Universidad de Colima 
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Marisol Aviña / ED. / (916) 319-2087