Amended in Senate June 25, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 1, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1915


Introduced by Assembly Members Nazarian and Achadjian

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Ian Calderon, Fox,begin deleteGatto,Hall,end deletebegin insert Hall,end insert Holden, Nestande, Patterson, and Wilk)

(Coauthors: Senators Berryhill, Lara,begin delete Vidak, and Yeeend deletebegin insert and Vidakend insert)

February 19, 2014


An act to amend Sections 51220 and 51226.3 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1915, as amended, Nazarian. Pupil instruction: social sciences: Armenian Genocide.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including social sciences. Existing law requires the instruction in social studies to provide instruction in, among other things, human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

This bill would enact the Armenian Genocide Education Act and would require the instruction in human rights issues to also include particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of the Armenian Genocide, as defined. To the extent this bill would increase the level of service required to be provided by school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate materials relating to civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science and other requirements. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony into the teaching of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education.

This bill wouldbegin insert instead require the department to consider incorporating materials relating to civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian genocide, and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science. The bill wouldend insert also encourage the department to incorporate materials related to the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides into those publications, and would require the commission to considerbegin insert includingend insert the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocidesbegin delete for inclusionend delete in thebegin insert recommendedend insert history-social science curriculum framework when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law. The bill would also specify that the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witnessbegin delete testimonyend deletebegin insert oral testimony, as defined,end insert into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Armenian Genocide Education Act.

3

SEC. 2.  

Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to
4read:

5

51220.  

The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12,
6inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of study:

7(a) English, including knowledge of and appreciation for
8literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading,
9listening, and speaking.

10(b) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of
11anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science,
12psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the
13pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding
14the history, resources, development, and government of California
15and the United States of America; instruction in our American
16legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice
17systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal
18and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions; the
19development of the American economic system, including the role
20of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their
21human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and
22civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the
23study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, the Armenian
24Genocide, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues.

25(c) Foreign language or languages, beginning not later than
26grade 7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking,
27reading, and writing the particular language.

28(d) Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities
29that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as
30required by Section 51222.

31(e) Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with
32emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific
33investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems,
34and with appropriate applications of the interrelation and
35interdependence of the sciences.

36(f) Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop
37mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into
38problem-solving procedures.

P4    1(g) Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater,
2and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic
3appreciation and the skills of creative expression.

4(h) Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer
5and homemaking education, industrial arts, general business
6education, or general agriculture.

7(i) Career technical education designed and conducted for the
8purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the
9occupations and in the numbers that are appropriate to the
10personnel needs of the state and the community served and relevant
11to the career desires and needs of the pupils.

12(j) Automobile driver education, designed to develop a
13knowledge of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other laws
14of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper
15acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation
16of the causes, seriousness, and consequences of traffic accidents,
17and to develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe
18operation of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver
19education shall include education in the safe operation of
20motorcycles.

21(k) Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.

22

SEC. 3.  

Section 51226.3 of the Education Code is amended to
23read:

24

51226.3.  

(a) (1) The department shallbegin delete incorporateend deletebegin insert consider
25incorporatingend insert
into publications that provide examples of
26curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by
27publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other
28public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and
29consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social
30science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations,
31genocide, slavery,begin insert the Armenian genocide,end insert and the Holocaust.

32(2) The Legislature encourages the department to incorporate
33into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources
34for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of
35nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or
36private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with
37the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with
38the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

39(b) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insertend insert The Legislature encourages the incorporation of
40survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witnessbegin insert oralend insert testimony into the
P5    1teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including,
2but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan
3genocides.

begin insert

4(2) As used in this subdivision, “oral testimony” means the
5firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a
6format that includes, but is not limited to, in-person testimony,
7video, or a multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.

end insert

8(c) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional
9development activities to provide teachers with content background
10and resources to assist them in teaching about civil rights, human
11rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian Genocide, and
12the Holocaust.

13(d) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional
14development activities to provide teachers with content background
15and resources to assist them in teaching about the Great Irish
16Famine of 1845-50.

17(e) The Great Irish Famine of 1845-50 shall be considered in
18the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum
19framework and its accompanying instructional materials are
20adopted.

21(f) When the history-social science curriculum framework is
22revised as required by law, the Instructional Quality Commission
23shall consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and
24Rwandan genocides in thebegin insert recommendedend insert history-social science
25curriculum framework.

26(g) The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide
27adopted by the state board, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be
28made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as
29funding is available for this purpose. In addition, the department
30shall make the curriculum available on its Internet Web site.

31(h) For purposes of this article, “Armenian Genocide” means
32the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which
33included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the
34Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000
35innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.

36

SEC. 4.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
37this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
38local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
P6    1pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
24 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



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