BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2016


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          (Without Reference to File)





          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2016 (Alejo, et al.)


          As Amended  June 1, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Education       |5-0  |O'Donnell, McCarty,   |                    |
          |                |     |Santiago, Thurmond,   |                    |
          |                |     |Weber                 |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-1 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Gallagher           |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |                    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |                    |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |








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          |                |     |                      |                    |
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          SUMMARY:  Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to  
          develop, and the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt, a  
          model curriculum in ethnic studies, and requires that a school  
          district or charter school which elects to offer a course in  
          ethnic studies to base it on the model curriculum, among other  
          requirements.


           1) Requires the IQC to develop, and the SBE to adopt, a model  
             curriculum in ethnic studies to ensure quality courses of  
             study in ethnic studies. 


           2) Requires that the 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 (LEAs), of whom  
             a majority are teachers who have relevant experience or  
             education background in the study and teaching of ethnic  
             studies.


           3) Requires the model curriculum to:


              a)    Be written as a guide to allow school districts to  
                adapt their courses to reflect the pupil demographics in  
                their communities. 


              b)    Include examples of courses offered by local  
                educational agencies which 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.








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           4) Requires, on or before June 30, 2019, the IQC to submit the  
             model curriculum to the SBE for adoption, and requires the  
             SBE to shall adopt the model curriculum on or before November  
             30, 2019.


           5) Requires the IQC to provide 45 days for public comment  
             before submitting the model curriculum to the SBE.


           6) Encourages, beginning in the school year following the  
             adoption of the model curriculum, each school district or  
             charter school maintaining any of grades nine to 12, that  
             does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies  
             curriculum to offer a course in ethnic studies based on the  
             model curriculum. 


           7) Requires school districts and charter schools which elect to  
             offer a course in ethnic studies in grades nine to 12 to  
             offer a course based on the model curriculum as an elective  
             in the social sciences or English language arts, and to make  
             it available in at least one year during a student's  
             enrollment in grades nine to 12.


           8) States the intent of the Legislature that LEAs submit course  
             outlines for ethnic studies for approval as A-G courses.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, 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  








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          subject matter experts. 


          COMMENTS:  


          Need for the bill.  The author's office states, "Developing  
          ethnic studies programs in public high schools is an integral  
          part of cultivating a classroom environment that is accepting of  
          diverse cultures.  It is vital for young people to learn about  
          their history, but also important for them to feel like they can  
          change their communities in positive ways. 


          "The National Education Association confirms that ethnic studies  
          have a positive impact on students of color.  The Academic and  
          Social Value of Ethnic Studies report indicates that ethnic  
          studies benefits students in observable ways:  they became more  
          academically engaged, improve outcomes on academic tests,  
          graduate at higher rates, and develop a sense of self-efficacy  
          and personal empowerment.


          An ethnic studies curriculum will help close the achievement gap  
          by reducing student truancy, increasing student enrollment,  
          reduce drop-out rates, and better prepare Californian youth to  
          be college-prepared and career-ready."


          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.









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          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.


          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 San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) high  
          schools found that assignment to a year-long ninth grade ethnic  
          studies course was associated with an increase of ninth-grade  
          student attendance by 21% points, grade point average (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  
          to at-risk students."  They also note, "the implementation of  
          ethnic studies in SFUSD was, arguably, conducted with a high  








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          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."


          Similar bill recently vetoed.  AB 101 (Alejo) of this  
          legislative 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, this bill requires the IQC to make these  
          recommendations.  Amendments recommended below would require the  
          IQC to develop the model curriculum.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087  FN:  
          0003349









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