BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 424
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 424 (Donnelly) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : Pupil Instruction: Social Science
SUMMARY : Encourages the history social science (H/SS)
frameworks to include specified historical documents and
encourages instruction on the development of democracy and the
history of the development of the United States (U.S.)
Constitution. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), when
revising the H/SS framework, to consider including the Magna
Carta, the Articles of Confederation, and the California
Constitution, as appropriate and based on the subject matter
of the course.
2)Requires the IQC, when revising the H/SS framework, to
encourage instruction that promotes an understanding of the
governments of California and the U.S., including but not
limited to instruction in the development of democracy and the
history of the development of the U.S. Constitution.
3)Provides that this act shall not be construed to require the
IQC to meet specifically for this purpose, but shall be
implemented with the regular adoption schedule.
4)Makes technical, non-substantive amendments to this section.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Specifies that the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12
shall offer courses in specified areas of study, including
social sciences.
2)Requires social studies instruction to provide a foundation
for understanding the history, resources, development, and
government of California and the U.S.
3)Requires the IQC to ensure that the following historical
documents are incorporated, as appropriate, into the H/SS
framework:
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a) The Declaration of Independence
b) The U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights
c) The Federalist Papers
d) The Emancipation Proclamation
e) The Gettysburg Address
f) George Washington's Farewell Address
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill was heard by this committee on April 3,
2013 and failed passage with a vote of 2-5. An amended version
of this bill is presented to this committee for its
reconsideration. Specifically, these amendments:
1) Remove the requirement that the IQC include specified
documents in the H/SS framework and instead, specify the
requirements that these documents be considered by the IQC
for inclusion.
2) Remove the requirement that the adopted course of study
for grades 7-12 include instruction related to the
development of democracy and the history of the development
of the U.S. Constitution and instead require the IQC to
encourage such instruction in the frameworks.
Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks . California's
curriculum frameworks are based on content standards. The
curriculum frameworks are guidelines for implementing the
standards that are developed by the IQC and approved by the
State Board of Education (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 and at least seven of the
public members must be current classroom or mentor teachers.
The H/SS standards were developed in 1998. The H/SS 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 H/SS, but
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prohibits the California Department of Education (CDE) from
conducting any such work until after CDE has completed work
related to the development of curriculum frameworks for the
common core content standards.
A number of bills have been introduced this year proposing to
require the instruction of a specific topic. The committee may
wish to consider the extent to which content should be developed
through statutory incorporation versus through the IQC process
as the IQC members have subject matter expertise and may be
better able to balance competing demands for limited
instructional time.
Current Instructional Content
This bill requires the IQC, when revising the H/SS framework, to
consider adding the Magna Carta, the Articles of Confederation,
and the California Constitution to the list of required
documents to be incorporated into the H/SS framework. The
committee may wish to consider that the adopted H/SS framework
already includes seven references to the Magna Carta, three
references to the Articles of Confederation, and three
references to the California Constitution; and the draft H/SS
framework includes nine references to the Magna Cara, six
references to state and California constitutions, and five
references to the Articles of Confederation. Additionally,
these documents are also identified in the corresponding H/SS
standards; the Magna Carta is in standard 8.2.1, the Articles of
Confederation are in standard 8.2.2, and the California
Constitution is in 4.5.2.
This bill also requires the IQC, when revising the H/SS
framework to encourage instruction that promotes an
understanding of the governments of California and the U.S. and
suggests this be accomplished through instruction on the
development of democracy and the history of the development of
the U.S. Constitution. However, the committee may wish to
consider the extent to which these principles are already
included. The Education Code already requires instruction in
social science to include instruction in the State and Federal
Constitutions. To this end, the H/SS content standards and
framework already include various areas of instruction on
democracy and the U.S. Constitution. Some of these standards are
found in both elementary and secondary grade levels. Examples
include:
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1)A discussion of what the U.S. Constitution is and why it is
important and understanding the purpose of the California
Constitution, its key principles, and its relationship to the
U.S. Constitution. (Standard 4.5)
2)A description of people and events associated with the
development of the U.S. Constitution and analyze the
Constitution's significance as the foundation of the American
republic. (Standard 5.7)
3)A discussion on the meaning of the American creed that calls
on citizens to safeguard the liberty of individual Americans
within a unified nation, to respect the rule of law, and to
preserve the Constitution. (Standard 5.7.5)
4)An understanding of the major events preceding the founding of
the nation and relate their significance to the development of
American constitutional democracy. (Standard 8.1)
5)An analysis of the political principles underlying the U.S.
Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of
the federal government. (Standard 8.2)
Additionally, the grade 12 standards revolve around the
principles of American democracy, starting with standard 12.1,
which requires students to explain the fundamental principles
and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S.
Constitution and other essential documents of American
democracy.
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.
AB 137 (Buchanan), passed out of this Committee on April 17,
2013, requires the IQC to receive input from specified experts
on civic learning the next time the H/SS frameworks are revised
and specifies civic learning content to be taught.
AB 166 (Hern�ndez), 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), passed out of this committee on April 17,
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2013, specifies the next time the H/SS frameworks are developed
that they encourage financial literacy and requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to update the exiting
consumer economics course to include instruction in personal
financial literacy.
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 that provides instruction on
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 552 (Calderon), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
provides that instruction in the area of social sciences may
include instruction on violence awareness.
Prior related legislation: SB 993 (De Le�n), Chapter 211,
Statutes of 2012, authorizes instruction in H/SS for grades 7-12
to include information about the Bracero program. This measure
passed out of the Assembly Committee on Education by a vote of
7-2.
AB 1967 (Perez), Chapter 582, Statutes of 2012, requires the IQC
and the State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure the health and
science frameworks, adopted in the course of the next submission
cycle, include the subject of organ procurement and tissue
donation.
AB 199 (Ma & Cook), Chapter 607, Statutes of 2011, encourages
H/SS instruction to include instruction on the role and
contributions of Filipino Americans in the U.S. army in World
War II. This measure passed out of the Assembly Committee on
Education by a vote of 7-0.
AB 2546 (Donnelly) (2012) requires instruction in the social
sciences to include the development of democracy and the history
of the development of the U.S. Constitution, requires specified
historical documents be included in the H/SS framework, and
requires a classroom in which H/SS is taught to have access to a
copy of the California Constitution. This bill was passed out of
this committee by a vote of 10-0, and died in Assembly
Appropriations.
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SB 48 (Leno), Chapter 81, Statutes of 2011, requires instruction
in H/SS to include the role and contributions of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender Americans. This measure passed out of
the Assembly Committee on Education by a vote of 7-4.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087