Amended in Senate August 16, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 21, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2016

Introduced by Assembly Members Alejo, Jones-Sawyer, Chiu, and Achadjian

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Eduardo Garcia, Holden, and Nazarian)

(Principal coauthors: Senators Block and Hall)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ting and Williams)

February 16, 2016

An act to add Section 51226.7 to the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2016, as amended, Alejo. Pupil instruction: ethnic studies.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include, among other subjects, the social sciences. Existing law requires the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to establish a list of textbooks and other instructional materials that highlight the contributions of minorities in the development of California and the United States. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the state board.

This bill would require the Instructional Quality Commission to develop, and the state board to adopt, begin insert modify, or revise, end insert a model curriculum in ethnic studies, and would encourage each school district and charter school that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies curriculum to offer a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The State of California is committed to providing excellent
educational opportunities to all of its pupils.

(b) There are 92 languages other than English spoken throughout
the state, with the primary languages being Arabic, Armenian,
Cantonese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

(c) There is a growing body of academic research that shows
the importance of culturally meaningful and relevant curriculum.

(d) Based on the National Education Association (NEA)
publication, The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies,
the inclusion of ethnic studies in a curriculum has a positive impact
on pupils of color.

(e) Ethnic studies benefit pupils in observable ways, such as
pupils becoming more academically engaged, increasing their
performance on academic tests, improving their graduation rates,
and developing a sense of self-efficacy and personal empowerment.

(f) The state’s educational standards should be guided by core
values of equity, inclusiveness, and universally high expectations.

(g) The state is committed to its efforts to provide all pupils
with excellent educational opportunities, without regard to race,
gender, ethnicity, nationality, income, sexual orientation, or
disability.

(h) The state is committed to its obligation to ensure its youth
are college prepared and career ready, while graduating 100 percent
of its pupils.

(i) The implementation of various ethnic studies courses within
California’s curriculum that are A-G approved, with the objective
of preparing pupils to be global citizens with an appreciation for
the contributions of multiple cultures, will close the achievement
gap, reduce pupil truancy, increase pupil enrollment, reduce
dropout rates, and increase graduation rates.

begin delete

(j) The state should support and work with the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing, California State University teaching
credential programs, and other relevant parties in establishing a
single subject ethnic studies credential. The state should also
support efforts in recruiting, training, and retaining teachers who
have relevant experience and educational background in the study
and teaching of ethnic studies.

end delete begin insert

(j) The state encourages the participation of pupils and members
of the community in the development of an ethnic studies model
curriculum.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 51226.7 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

51226.7.  

(a) The Instructional Quality Commission shall
develop, and the state board shall adopt, begin insert modify, or end insert begin insert revise, end insert a model
curriculum in ethnic studies to ensure quality courses of study in
ethnic studies. The model curriculum shall be developed with
participation from faculty of ethnic studies programs at universities
and colleges with ethnic studies programs and a group of
representatives of local educational agencies, a majority of whom
are kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, teachers who have relevant
experience or education background in the study and teaching of
ethnic studies.

(b) The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow
school districts to adapt their courses to reflect the pupil
demographics in their communities. The begin insert model end insert curriculum shall
include examples of courses offered by local educational agencies
that have been approved as meeting the A-G admissions
requirements of the University of California and the California
State University, including, to the extent possible, course outlines
for those courses.

(c) On or before begin delete June 30, end delete begin insert December 31, end insert 2019, the Instructional
Quality Commission shall submit the model curriculum to the state
board for adoption, and the state board shall adopt the model
curriculum on or before begin delete November 30, 2019. end delete begin insert March 31, 2020. end insert

(d) The Instructional Quality Commission shall provide begin insert a
minimum of end insert 45 days for public comment before submitting the
model curriculum to the state board.

(e) Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the
model curriculum pursuant to subdivision (a), each school district
or charter school maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that
does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies
curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils
a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum.
A school district or charter school that elects to offer a course of
study in ethnic studies pursuant to this subdivision shall offer the
course as an elective in the social sciences or English language
arts and shall make the course available in at least one year during
a pupil’s enrollment in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational
agencies submit course outlines for ethnic studies for approval as
A-G courses.