BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2546
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|Author: |Calderon |
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|Version: |April 7, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 15, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Pupil instruction: history-social science curriculum
framework: financial literacy
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission, during
the next revision of the history-social science framework, to
consider including information on financial literacy.
BACKGROUND
1) Establishes the Instructional Quality Commission (formerly
known as the Curriculum Commission) as an advisory body to
the State Board of Education (SBE) on matters related to
curriculum, instructional materials, and content standards.
(Education Code § 33530)
2) Requires the SBE, during the next revision of the
history-social science framework (after January 2014), to
ensure the integration of components of financial literacy,
among other things. (EC § 51284)
3) Requires the IQC, when the history-social science framework
is revised, to receive input from civics learning experts,
consider how civics and history instruction includes the
application of content, ensure that voter education
information is included, ensure specified historical
documents are incorporated, and consider incorporating
additional historical documents. (EC § 33540)
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4) Requires the IQC, during the next revision (after 2014) of
the history-social science framework, to consider including
instruction on the election of President Barack Obama and
the significance of the United States electing its first
African American President. (EC § 33543)
5) Requires the Great Irish Famine of 1845-50 to be considered
in the next cycle (after mid-1990s) in which the
history-social science framework is adopted.
(EC § 51226.3)
6) Requires the IQC to consider incorporating into the
history-social science framework the Armenian, Cambodian,
Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.
(EC § 51226.3)
7) Requires the SBE, when it revises and adopts the
history-social science framework after January 1, 2016, to
consider including instruction on the
unconstitutional deportation to Mexico during the Great
Depression of citizens and lawful permanent residents of
the United States. (EC § 51226.3)
8) Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), when
next revising the history-social science framework (after
2013) to ensure that voter education information is
included in the American government and civics curriculum
at the high school level. (EC § 33540)
9) Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to ensure that
the state curriculum and framework, where appropriate,
include instruction on Cesar Chavez and the history of the
farm labor movement in the United States, and the role of
immigrants, including Filipino Americans, in that movement,
and that the state criteria for selecting textbooks include
information to guide the selection of textbooks that
contain sections that highlight the life and contributions
of Cesar Chavez, the history of the farm labor movement in
the United States, and the role of immigrants, including
Filipino Americans, in that movement. (EC § 51008)
10) Authorizes instruction in all areas of study to include
grade-level appropriate instruction on violence awareness
and prevention, as specified.
AB 2546 (Calderon) Page 3
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(EC § 51210.5 and § 51220.3)
11) Encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer,
liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of
human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide.
(EC § 51226.3)
12) Encourages state and local professional development
activities to provide teachers with content background and
resources to assist them in teaching about civil rights,
human rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian
Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Great Irish Famine of
1845-50. (EC § 51226.3)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC),
to consider including information on financial literacy in the
history-social science framework. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the IQC, when the history-social science framework
is revised after January 1, 2017, to consider including
age-appropriate information on financial literacy that
includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
a) Fundamentals of banking for personal
use, including savings and checking.
b) Principles of budgeting and personal
finance.
c) Employment and understanding factors
that affect net income.
d) Uses and costs of credit, including the
relation of debt and interest to credit.
e) Uses and costs of loans, including
student loans.
f) Types and costs of insurance.
g) Forms of governmental taxation.
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h) Principles of investing and building
wealth.
i) Identity theft and security.
j) Planning and paying for postsecondary
education.
aa) Charitable giving.
2) Requires the IQC to consider including information on
financial literacy at least twice in each of the following
grade spans:
a) Kindergarten to grade 5.
b) Grades 6 to 8.
c) Grades 9 to 12.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, "Financial
illiteracy negatively impacts young people entering the
labor market. Financial illiteracy also hinders adults and
their hopes for retirement. Even though the draft
history-social science framework that the Instructional
Quality Commission (IQC) is in the Process of finalizing
includes basic economic concepts in early elementary grades
and a semester long economics course in grade 12, financial
literacy should be included throughout a student's
educational career. To achieve that goal, AB 2546 will
require the IQC to include financial literacy in six
different grade levels during its next curriculum framework
update."
2) Already in the framework? The most recent draft of the
update to the history-social science framework, approved by
the IQC at its meeting on May 19-20, 2016, includes
references to economics in every grade, except
kindergarten. This bill requires the IQC to consider
including age-appropriate information on financial literacy
and prescribes a lengthy list of specific topics to be
covered. Some, but not all, of the topics prescribed by
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this bill are already included in the draft history-social
science framework.
3) Open process to develop frameworks. The IQC is responsible
for advising the State Board of Education (SBE) on matters
related to curriculum and instruction. The IQC has
numerous subject matter committees, including the
History-Social Science Subject Matter Committee. The
process to revise the history-social science framework:
Began in March 2008 with the recruitment of
participants on the Curriculum Framework and
Evaluation Criteria Committee.
Four focus groups were held across the state
from May-June 2008.
The review committee was selected in September
2008, and met approximately every four weeks between
February-June 2009 to develop the framework.
The process was suspended in July 2009 due to
budget reductions.
The process resumed in September 2014, at
which time the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC)
approved the draft framework for field review.
The draft was released for a 60-day public
review and comment period.
The History-Social Science Subject Matter
Committee met in May 2015 to review the draft.
The IQC analyzed the field review results and
revised the draft framework.
The History-Social Science Subject Matter
Committee met again in October 2015.
The IQC held a public two-day hearing in
November 2015, and recommended approval of the draft
framework.
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The draft framework was released for the
second 60-day public comment period.
The IQC considered and approved the draft
framework in May 2016, and will present it to the
State Board of Education (SBE) for adoption as early
as July 2016.
The recently-revised framework for history-social science
went through a lengthy public process, and generated over
1,000 public comments, including several letters sent by
legislators. The IQC completed this process less than one
month ago. Should the legislature prescribe content that
may have already been considered, or prescribe action that
may not occur for another eight years (see comment # 5)?
1) Storied history of the history-social science framework.
The most recent history-social science framework was
developed in 2005. This framework was undergoing revisions
when that process was suspended in July 2009, due to budget
reductions, and subsequently resumed in July 2014. The
draft revision was released for field review in September
2014, and generated extensive public comment (nearly 700
comments). The IQC determined that more subject matter
expertise was needed for certain areas (including some
mandated for inclusion by legislation), and received a
budget augmentation of $124,000 to hire experts through an
interagency agreement. The draft framework was released
for the second field review in November 2015. The
Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) voted at its meeting
on May 19-20, 2016, to approve the draft framework for
presentation to the State Board of Education (SBE), which
could consider adoption of the updated framework as early
as July 2016.
2) Not effective until 2024? The current revision of the
history-social science framework is complete and near
adoption by the SBE. This bill relates to the next
revision of this framework after January 1, 2017. Existing
law references an eight-year cycle for revisions to
frameworks and the adoption of instructional materials
(although a true schedule no longer exists). It is likely
that the next revision of the history-social science
framework will not occur for another eight years. This
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Committee may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to
pass legislation that may not be implemented until 2024.
3) Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, this bill would have "no current fiscal
effect to the California Department of Education (CDE). As
written, the bill would not require additional
consideration until the next framework, which is not likely
to occur until 2024. It is difficult to project costs that
may occur eight years from now."
4) Related legislation specific to the history-social science
framework. AB 2864 (Chau) requires the IQC, when revising
the history-social science framework after January 1, 2017,
to consider including instruction on the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1882 and the contributions of Chinese Americans to
the establishment of the transcontinental railroad. AB
2864 was heard by this Committee on June 8, and passed on a
vote of 5-0.
5) Prior legislation specific to the history-social science
framework. AB 391 (Wieckowski, 2013) required the history
social science framework, when updated, to include
financial literacy, and required the one-semester
instructional program entitled consumer economics already
developed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and
adopted by the State Board of Education to be updated to
include instruction in specified areas of financial
literacy. AB 391 was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 659 (Nazarian, 2014) encouraged the California Department of
Education to include the Armenian Genocide in its published
curriculum resources, encouraged the incorporation oral
testimony when teaching specific instances of genocide into
existing curriculum, and encouraged including the Armenian
Genocide into state and local professional development
activities and in the next revision of the history/social
science curriculum framework. AB 659 was referred to but
never heard by this Committee.
AB 1616 (Buchanan, 2014) required the IQC, when revising the
history-social science framework, to receive input from
civics education experts for the purpose of integrating
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civics learning content, concepts, and skills, at all
appropriate grade levels. AB 1616 was never heard.
SB 521 (Wyland, 2013) required the history-social science
framework to include the comparative differences between
the rights of the citizens in America and those in other
countries, and the connection of civics and American
government to western civilizations. SB 521 was never
heard.
SUPPORT
California Credit Union League
California JumpStart Coalition
California Society of CPAs
California State Controller Betty Yee
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION
None received.
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