BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2016
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2016
(Alejo) - As Introduced February 16, 2016
SUBJECT: Pupil instruction: ethnic studies
SUMMARY: Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to oversee the development of, and the State Board of
Education (SBE) to adopt, a model curriculum in ethnic studies.
Requires school districts to offer to each student in each of
grades 9-12 an elective course in ethnic studies based on the
model curriculum. Specifically, this bill:
1.Makes findings and declarations relative to the importance of
instruction in ethnic studies.
2.Requires the SPI to oversee the development of a model
curriculum in ethnic studies to ensure quality courses of
study in that subject. Requires that the model curriculum be
developed through partnerships with universities with ethnic
studies programs.
3.Requires that the model curriculum meet the A-G approval
requirements of the Regents of the University of California.
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4.Requires the SBE to adopt the model curriculum.
5.Requires, on or before the beginning of the 2017-18 school
year, the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to advise,
assist, and made recommendations to the SPI regarding the
development of the model curriculum.
6.Requires, beginning in the school year following the adoption
of the model curriculum, each school district maintaining
grades 9-12 to offer to all students in each of those grades
an elective course in the social sciences a course in ethnic
studies based on the model curriculum.
EXISTING LAW:
1.Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to adopt a course
of study for grades 7-12 which includes English, mathematics,
science, history-social studies, and other subjects.
2.Establishes the IQC and requires, upon request by the SBE,
that it make recommendations on courses of study.
3.Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
develop model curricula on a variety of topics, including the
life of Cesar Chavez, and human rights and genocide.
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FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has been keyed a state mandated local
program by the Office of Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Similar bill recently vetoed. AB 101 (Alejo) of this Session,
which was approved by this Committee on a 6-1 vote, would have
required the SPI to oversee the development of a model
curriculum in ethnic studies, and would have established an
advisory committee on ethnic studies to make recommendations on
the development of the curriculum.
This bill creates what is essentially a redundant process. The
Instructional Quality Commission is in the midst of revising
the History-Social Science Framework, which includes guidance
on ethnic studies courses. Creating yet another advisory body
specific to ethnic studies would be duplicative and undermine
our current curriculum process.
While AB 101 would have established an advisory committee to
make recommendations to the SPI on the development of the model
curriculum, AB 2016 requires the IQC to make these
recommendations. Amendments recommended below would require the
IQC to develop the model curriculum.
Curriculum, standards, frameworks, and model curricula.
California's public school curriculum is based on content
standards in various subjects, including English-Language Arts,
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Mathematics, Science, History-Social Science, Physical
Education, English Language Development, Career Technical
Education, Health Education, World Languages, and Visual and
Performing Arts. These standards are developed by the IQC
through a public process, and are adopted by the SBE.
These standards form the basis of California's curriculum
frameworks. These documents guide the implementation of these
standards, and are used to establish criteria for the evaluation
of instructional materials for state adoption for grades
kindergarten through grade eight. They also guide district
selection of instructional materials for grades nine through
twelve.
In addition to developing standards in the above subject areas,
the SPI is sometimes directed by law to develop model curricula
on different topics, such as those on the life of Cesar Chavez,
and on human rights and genocide.
Ethnic studies course outlined in draft History-Social Science
framework. The draft History-Social Science Framework developed
by the IQC describes high school elective courses in ethnic
studies as follows:
Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that
encompasses many subject areas including history, literature,
economics, sociology, and political science, among others. In
this course, students focus on an in-depth comparative study
of the history, politics, culture, contributions, challenges,
and current status of ethnic groups in the United States. It
is also important for students to learn the national origins
of ethnic groups and their transnational linkages. In Ethnic
Studies, students examine the process of racial and ethnic
formation of ethnic minorities in a variety of contexts:
political, legal, social, historical, economic, and cultural.
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The course concentrates, to a great extent, on the experiences
of various ethnic minorities in the United States and the ways
in which their experiences were impacted by the issues of
race, ethnicity, class, gender, and the interaction among
different ethnic groups. Students will also address how
individuals within specific ethnic groups think and feel about
themselves and their group as it can be represented by
literature, memoirs, art, and music. To understand ethnic
identity in their local communities, students can volunteer
with local community organizations and centers that serve
specific ethnic populations.
History-social science framework adoption delayed. The
History-Social Science standards currently in use were adopted
in 1998, and the most recent framework was published in 2005.
The Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission
(now the IQC) began revising the History-Social Science
Framework in January of 2008. A significant amount of the
process had been completed (focus groups, selection of
evaluation criteria committee members, five drafting meetings)
when in 2009 the state's fiscal emergency halted all work on
instructional materials adoptions and framework revisions until
the 2013-14 school year (Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009, Fourth
Extraordinary Session). That suspension was later extended
until the 2015-16 school year (Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011).
The IQC began work again on the revision in July, 2014, and
released the draft History-Social Science framework for field
review in September, 2014. The draft generated extensive public
comment it generated (nearly 700 comments). The IQC also
determined that more subject matter expertise was needed certain
areas (including some mandated for inclusion by legislation),
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and submitted a budget request for $124,000 to hire experts
through an interagency agreement. The IQC held a second field
review for this draft from November, 2015 through February,
2016.
These events have caused significant delays in the production of
the revised framework. Originally scheduled for adoption in
May, 2015, this framework is now set to be recommended to the
SBE by May 2016, with final publication in winter, 2016.
Requirement to offer an elective. This bill requires, beginning
in the school year following the adoption of the model
curriculum, each school district to offer to all 9-12th grade
students an elective course in ethnic studies.
The Legislature sets broad requirements for courses of study and
graduation requirements, and authorizes the development of
content standards to which instruction and materials are to be
aligned, but leaves the decision of which elective courses to
offer to local school districts.
School districts can and are offering ethnic studies courses.
As noted above, many are exceeding the requirements of this bill
by not only offering ethnic studies but making completion a
graduation requirement. When the revised History-Social Science
framework is approved, districts will be encouraged, by the
course outline quoted above, to offer ethnic studies courses.
This Committee has approved many measures authorizing the
development of model curricula, including model curricula on the
life of Cesar Chavez, human rights and genocide, computer
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science, career technical education, environmental studies, and
financial literacy. These bills typically require the
development of a model curriculum, developed by the CDE and
adopted by the SBE, and made available to school districts for
their voluntary use. The availability of a well-designed, A-G
aligned model curriculum could be a valuable resource to those
districts offering and requiring ethnic studies, and may further
encourage the offering of these courses.
Most social science ethnic studies courses do not meet A-G
requirements. According to data reported by the CDE, 8,678
students were enrolled in ethnic studies courses in the 2014-15
school year. Of those, 5,750 students were enrolled in 505
social science ethnic studies courses in 119 schools, and 2,298
students were enrolled in 146 language arts (ethnic literature)
courses in 58 schools. 162 of the 505 social science courses
were identified as approved UC/CSU A-G courses, while 107 of the
146 language arts courses were approved.
Trend toward local ethnic studies graduation requirements.
Several school districts have recently made completion of a
course in ethnic studies a local graduation requirement. Among
them are Los Angeles Unified School District (which also
resolved that the total number of credits required for
graduation would not increase), Montebello Unified School
District, El Rancho Unified School District, and Coachella
Valley Unified School District. San Francisco Unified School
District (SFUSD) has resolved to offer ethnic studies courses at
all high schools, and explore making it a graduation requirement
in the next five years. The Oakland Unified School District has
required all high schools to offer access to ethnic studies
courses which confer credit toward graduation and which are A-G
approved by the 2018-19 school year.
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Ethnic studies courses currently offered in social science and
English language arts. Ethnic studies courses are taught in
different disciplines (often history, social sciences, and
literature) and cover varied content (often ethnic-specific).
As of the 2014-15 school year, the Montebello Unified School
District offered a history elective called "Mexican American
Studies" and an English language arts elective called "African
American Literature." The Oakland Unified School District
offered a history-social science elective course titled "African
American History," and Los Angeles Unified School District
offered an English language arts course titled "Mexican American
Literature." SFUSD offered a social studies elective called
"Asian American History," a year-long course taught in Chinese
titled "Asian American Studies," as well as a social studies
elective titled "Ethnic Studies."
Research on academic value of ethnic studies. A review by the
National Education Association found that "there is considerable
research evidence that well-designed and well-taught ethnic
studies curricula have positive academic and social outcomes for
students." Another recent analysis found "a consistent,
significant, positive relationship between [Mexican American
Studies] participation and student academic performance."
A 2016 study from Stanford University (published as a working
paper) on the effects of an ethnic studies curriculum piloted in
several SFUSD high schools found that assignment to a year-long
9th grade ethnic studies course was associated with an increase
of ninth-grade student attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA
by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23. The authors
conclude that "these surprisingly large effects are consistent
with the hypothesis that the course reduced dropout rates and
suggest that culturally relevant teaching, when implemented in a
supportive, high-fidelity context, can provide effective support
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to at-risk students." They also note, "the implementation of
ethnic studies in SFUSD was, arguably, conducted with a high
degree of fidelity, forethought, and planning. In particular, it
appeared to draw upon the work of a core group of dedicated
teachers, engaging in a regular professional learning community,
with outside support from experts in the subject to create and
sustain the program. As scholars from a number of disciplines
have noted, the effects of such smaller-scale interventions are
often very different when the same policies are implemented at
scale."
Recommended amendments. Staff recommends the following
amendments:
1.Clarify that the IQC is to develop the model curriculum.
State that the model curriculum shall be developed with
participation (instead of partnerships) from universities and
colleges with ethnic studies programs, and participation from
representatives of LEAs who have relevant experience or
education background in the study and teaching of ethnic
studies. Require that a majority of those representatives be
current classroom teachers.
2.Delete the requirement that the model curriculum meet the A-G
approval requirements of the UC, and instead require that the
model curriculum include examples of courses which meet those
requirements, including course outlines, to the extent
feasible. State the intent of the Legislature that LEAs
submit these courses for A-G approval.
3.Change the date by which the model curriculum must be
developed to June 30, 2019, and require the SBE to adopt the
curriculum by November 30, 2019. Require that the IQC provide
45 days for public comment.
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4.Specify that the course required to be offered be offered to
students in grades 9-12 as an elective in the social sciences
or English language arts, and that the requirement is to offer
each student an opportunity to take a course in ethnic
studies, not that the course has to be offered to every
student every year in each of grades 9-12.
5.Add charter schools to the requirement to offer ethnic studies
courses.
Prior legislation. AB 101 (Alejo) of this Session, which was
approved by this Committee on a 6-1 vote, would have required
the SPI to oversee the development of a model curriculum in
ethnic studies, and would have established an advisory committee
on ethnic studies to make recommendations on the development of
the curriculum. AB 101 was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 1750 (Alejo) of the 2013-14 Session would have required the
IQC to identify a model curriculum on ethnic studies at the high
school level. That bill was held in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
AB 2001 (Diaz) of the 2001-02 Session would have required the
Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission
(now the IQC) to identify model programs, standards, and
curricula for ethnic studies at the high school level. This
bill was vetoed by the Governor, who stated that existing law,
teacher training, and curriculum already addressed this topic.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
Association of Raza Educators, Sacramento Chapter
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
Ethnic Studies Now
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Action Network San Diego
National Association for Ethnic Studies
San Francisco Unified School District
SIA Tech, California
Several individuals
Opposition
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California Right to Life Committee
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087