BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 137
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 137 (Buchanan) - As Amended: April 10, 2013
SUBJECT : Pupil education: Civics
SUMMARY : Amends the requirement that American government and
civics be included in the framework in all history social
science courses, as appropriate, and encourages the application
of this content to promote civic engagement. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires the History-Social Science Curriculum and Criteria
Framework Committee of the State Board of Education (SBE) to
ensure the requirement that instruction provided in the
courses in American government and civics be included in all
history social science courses and grade levels, as
appropriate.
2)Amends the requirements relating to revisions of the
History-Social Science Framework to require that at any time
these frameworks are amended to receive input from civic
learning experts, as specified, for the purpose of integrating
civics learning content, concepts, and skills at all
appropriate grade levels.
3)Encourages civic and history instruction, in all appropriate
courses and grade levels, to move beyond the acquisition of
information and to include the application of that content to
develop competencies and skills needed for civic engagement.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Defines "curriculum framework" as an outline of the
components of a given course of study designed to provide
state direction to school districts in the provision of
instructional programs.
2)Permits the SBE to consider the adoption of revised framework
and evaluation criteria for instructional materials in
history-social science but prevents the California Department
of Education (CDE) from engaging in this work until after it
has completed work related to the development of curriculum
frameworks for the common core academic standards.
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3)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;
and human rights issues, with particular attention to the
study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the
Holocaust, and contemporary issues.
4)Specifies that the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12
shall offer courses in specified areas of study, including
English, foreign language, physical education, science,
mathematics, visual and performing arts, applied arts, career
technical education, automobile driver education, and social
sciences.
5)Requires instruction in social sciences for grades 7 to 12,
inclusive, to provide a foundation for understanding the
history, resources, development, and government of California
and the United States of America.
6)Requires that a pupil shall complete courses in specified
course areas including social science which shall include the
subjects of United States history and geography; world
history, culture, and geography; a one-semester course in
American government and civics; and a one-semester course in
economics in order to receive a high school diploma.
7)Requires the SBE and the CDE to request the History-Social
Science Curriculum and Criteria Framework Committee establish
minimum standards for courses in American government and
civics that includes sufficient attention to teaching pupils
how to interact, in a practical manner, with state and local
governmental agencies and representatives to solve problems
and to petition for changes in laws and procedures.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to a report titled "Guardian of Democracy:
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the Civic Mission of Schools," published by the Campaign for the
Civic Mission of Schools:
"At a time when the nation is confronting some of the
more difficult decisions it has faced in long time, a
lack of high quality civic education in America's
schools leaves millions of citizens without the
wherewithal to make sense of our system of government.
Reasons for concern are reflected in the answers our
Annenberg Public Policy Center surveys elicited from
national samples of the U.S. population in the past
decade. These were among our findings:
Only one-third of Americans could name all
three branches of government; one-third couldn't
name any.
Just over a third thought that it was the
intention of the Founding Fathers to have each
branch hold a lot of power, but the president has
the final say.
Just under half of Americans (47%) knew that a
5-4 decision by the Supreme Court carries the same
legal weight as 9-0 ruling.
Almost a third mistakenly believed that a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling could be appealed.
When the Supreme Court divides 5-4, roughly one
in four (23%) believed the decision was referred to
Congress for resolution; 16% thought it needed to be
sent back to the lower courts.
One can debate the importance of knowing the name of
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the details
of Paul Revere's ride, but there is little doubt that
understanding such foundational concepts as checks and
balances and the importance of an independent
judiciary does make a difference."
While the intent of any civic education is to provide students
with an understanding of our national and state governments,
civic education goes far beyond an academic understanding of
democracy. The ultimate goal of any civic education program
must be to encourage individuals to actively engage in the
practice of democracy in the United States and other countries.
When using voting as one measure of political participation it
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is important to note that in January, 2013, the Center for
Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
(CIRCLE), released a survey that showed a clear relationship
between respondents' high school civics education experiences
and their knowledge of campaign issues and political
participation in the 2012 presidential election. Civic education
in our K-12 schools is a critical first step to ensure that the
principals of democracy continue.
Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks . California
curriculum is based on content standards. The curriculum
frameworks are guidelines for implementing the standards that
are developed by the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC)
(also referenced in statute as the "commission") and approved by
the SBE. The IQC is an 18-member commission consisting of one
member of the Assembly, one member of the Senate, and 16 public
members. At least seven of the public members must have taught,
written, or lectured on the subject areas required for
graduation. The history-social science standards were developed
in 1998 and the History-Social Science Framework was last
revised in 2005. A review and update of this framework was
underway and nearly complete when the state suspended the
process on July 28, 2009 due to fiscal constraints. The SBE is
specifically prohibited from reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials until the 2015-16 school year. SB 1540
(Hancock), Chapter 288, Statutes of 2012, authorizes the SBE to
consider the adoption of a revised curriculum framework and
evaluation criteria for instructional materials in
history-social science, but prohibits the CDE from conducting
any work until after CDE has completed work related to the
development of curriculum frameworks for the common core content
standards.
Because this bill requires the CDE and SBE to request and the
IQC to consider including meaningful civics and history
instruction, rather than mandate a particular topic of
instruction, this is consistent with the committee's
consideration of the extent to which content should be developed
through statutory incorporation versus through the IQC process.
Related legislation . AB 123 (Bonta), passed out of this
committee on March 20, 2013, requires instruction on the
contributions of Filipino Americans to the farm labor movement
in California.
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AB 166 (Hernández), also passed out of this committee on March
20, 2013, requires instruction in economics provided in grades 7
through 12 to include instruction related to personal finances.
AB 391 (Wieckowski), pending in this committee, would enact the
Common Cents Curriculum Act of 2013, and would require the SPI
and SBE to adopt the existing one semester course in consumer
education to include specified areas of content related to
financial literacy. This bill would also require financial
literacy instruction is encouraged when the history-social
science frameworks are updated.
AB 424 (Donnelly), failed to pass out of this committee on April
3, 2013, requires instruction in the social sciences to include
the development of democracy and the history of the development
of the United States Constitution and requires specified
historical documents be included in the history-social science
framework.
AB 700 (Gomez), pending in this Committee, requires instruction
in the social sciences in grade 8 and in any grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, and the one-semester course in American government
and civics that is required for high school graduation, to
include a voter education component providing instruction in how
to register and cast votes in local, state, and federal
elections, and how to use the voter information pamphlet and
other materials to become an informed voter.
SB 521 (Wyland), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
requires the H/SS Frameworks, when revised, update the courses
in American Government and Civics to include the teaching of the
comparative differences between the rights of the citizens in
American and those in other countries, and the connection of
civics and American government to western civilizations
SB 552 (Calderon), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
provides that instruction in the area of social sciences may
include instruction on violence awareness, which may include a
component drawn from personal testimony in the form of oral or
video histories of individuals who were involved with violence
awareness efforts.
SB 619 (Yee), passed out of the Senate Committee on Education
and now pending in the Senate Committee on Public Employment and
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Retirement, requires the CDE, on or before January 1, 2015, to
develop and make available online a state employee civics
orientation on federal and state government. The bill would
require private matching funds before any appropriation to the
CDE for those purposes is encumbered.
SB 696 (Block), pending in the Senate Education Committee, would
require the Superintendent, on or before July 1, to report to
the Legislature and recommend to the state board for adoption a
project-based assessment through the system of public school
accountability, to measure the civics learning objectives
contained in the course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive,
and for grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the
civics learning objectives to include specified elements.
Prior related legislation . SB 993 (De León), Chapter 211,
Statutes of 2012, authorizes instruction in social science for
grades 7-12 to include information about the Bracero program.
This measure was passed by the Assembly Education Committee by a
vote of 7-2.
SB 1080 (Lieu) (2012) would have authorized the instruction
provided in economics to include instruction related to the
understanding of personal finances, including, but not limited
to, mathematics, budgeting, savings, credit, and identity theft.
The bill would have required the CDE to develop a personal
finances curriculum when the mathematics and history-social
science curricula frameworks were scheduled for adoption. This
bill died in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 199 (Ma & Cook), Chapter 607, Statutes of 2011, encourages
social studies instruction to include instruction on the role
and contributions of Filipino Americans in the U.S. army in
World War II. This measure was passed by the Assembly Education
Committee by a vote of 7-0.
SB 48 (Leno), Chapter 81, Statutes of 2011, requires instruction
in social science to include the role and contributions of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. This measure
was passed by the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7-4.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Association of California School Administrators
California Chamber of Commerce
California Council for the Social Studies
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087