Amended in Assembly August 6, 2013

Senate Bill No. 552

Introduced by Senator Calderon

February 22, 2013

An act to begin delete amend Section 51220 of end delete begin insert add Sections 51210.5 and 51220.3 to end insert the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 552, as amended, Calderon. Pupil instruction: begin delete social sciences: end delete violence awareness.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades begin insert 1 to 6, inclusive, to include instruction in specified areas of study and requires the adopted course of study for grades end insert 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of begin delete instruction, including social sciences end delete begin insert instruction end insert .

This bill would begin delete provide that instruction in the area of social sciences may end delete begin insert allow all required areas of study specified for those grades, as deemed appropriate by the governing board, to end insert include begin insert grade-level appropriate end insert instruction on violence awareness begin insert and prevention end insert , begin delete which may include a component drawn from end delete begin insert including end insert personal testimony in the form of oral or video histories begin delete of individuals who were involved with violence awareness efforts end delete . The bill would specify that it is the intent of the Legislature that the measure be carried out in a manner that does not result in new duties or programs being imposed on a school district.

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51210.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 51210.5. end insert   

The instruction in all areas of study specified in
subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive, of Section 51210 as deemed
appropriate by the governing board and consistent with the
adopted course of study for each subject area, may include
grade-level appropriate instruction on violence awareness and
prevention, which may include personal testimony in the form of
oral or video histories that illustrate the economic and cultural
effects of violence within a city, the state, and the country.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

51220.  

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

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

(b) (1) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of
anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science,
psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the
pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding
the history, resources, development, and government of California
and the United States of America; 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.

(2) Instruction in the area of social sciences may also 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 in violence awareness
efforts that exemplify the economic and cultural effects of violence
prevention efforts within a city, the state, and the country.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(k)

 
Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51220.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 51220.3. end insert   

The instruction in all areas of study specified in
subdivisions (a) to (j), inclusive, of Section 51220 as deemed
appropriate by the governing board and consistent with the
adopted course of study for each subject area, may include
grade-level appropriate instruction on violence awareness and
prevention, which may include personal testimony in the form of
oral or video histories that illustrate the economic and cultural
effects of violence within a city, the state, and the country.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

It is the intent of the Legislature that this measure be
carried out in a manner that does not result in new duties or
programs being imposed on school districts. In this regard, the
Legislature finds and declares that this measure does not mandate
costs to local agencies or school districts, and that materials used
to comply with the provisions of this bill shall be a part of materials
purchased in a school district’s regular course of business and
purchasing cycles.