BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2016
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2016 (Alejo) - As Amended April 21, 2016
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|Policy |Education |Vote:|5 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to
develop a model curriculum in ethnic studies. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires the curriculum to be developed with participation
from universities and colleges with ethnic studies programs
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and K-12 teachers who have relevant experience or education
background in the study and teaching of ethnic studies.
2)Requires the model curriculum to be written as a guide to
allow school districts to adapt their courses to reflect the
pupil demographics in their communities.
3)Requires the model curriculum to include examples of
traditional and online courses offered by local education
agencies (LEAs) that have been approved as meeting A-G
requirements for admission to the University of California and
California State University systems.
4)Requires the IQC to submit model curriculum, on or before June
30, 2019, and requires the SBE to adopt the curriculum by
November 30, 2019. Provides for a 45 day public comment period
prior to SBE adoption.
5)Requires, beginning the school year following the adoption of
the model curriculum, each school district maintaining any of
grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a
standards-based ethnic studies curriculum, to offer to all
otherwise qualified pupils, a course of study in ethnic
studies based on the model curriculum as an elective in the
social sciences or English language arts.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown potentially reimbursable Proposition 98/GF state
mandated costs for certain school districts to offer ethnic
studies elective courses to students in grades 9-12. There
are approximately 1,400 schools that serve grades 9-12 that do
not currently provide ethnic studies courses. Assuming each
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school must hire one teacher at an average cost of $75,000,
statewide costs could exceed $100 million. This estimate does
not include additional costs for instructional materials.
2)General Fund administrative costs of approximately $300,000 in
the first year and $460,000 in the second year for the
California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a model
curriculum framework in ethnic studies. Developing curriculum
framework involves an extensive process that would likely take
two years to develop and would necessitate contracting with
subject matter experts.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. Courses in ethnic studies typically explore the
issues of race, ethnicity, and culture, with the goal of
preparing all pupils to engage in the responsibilities of
citizenship in an increasingly multicultural global society.
Given California's diversity, the author stresses the
importance of student's knowledge of the various racial and
ethnic groups of our state.
2)Background. California curriculum is based on state-adopted
content standards. The curriculum frameworks are guidelines
for implementing the standards that are developed by the IQC
(also referenced in statute as the "commission") and approved
by the State Board of Education (SBE). In addition to
curriculum development, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction can be directed by law to develop model curricula
on different topics, such as the life of Cesar Chavez, and
human rights and genocide.
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The pending history-social science curriculum framework
encourages districts to offer ethnic studies courses.
Completion of this framework has been delayed over the years
due to budget and workload constraints but is now scheduled to
be completed by the Fall of 2016.
3)Mandated Costs. This bill requires school districts with
students in grades 9-12 to offer a course in ethnic studies
once one has been adopted by the SBE. Currently, many school
districts have made the local decision to offer ethnic studies
courses as an elective. Additionally, some districts,
including Los Angeles Unified School District, are exceeding
the requirements of this bill by not only offering ethnic
studies but making completion a graduation requirement. If
this bill were to become law, LEAs would likely seek
reimbursement from the state for activities they are currently
choosing to provide.
4)Similar bill vetoed. AB 101 (Alejo) of 2015 was substantially
similar to this bill. AB 101 was vetoed by Governor Brown who
stated in his message:
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.
To address the veto message of AB 101, the author is now
requiring the IQC to make recommendations for the development
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of model curriculum, rather than a separate advisory
committee.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081