BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1056
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 11, 2006

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                               Jackie Goldberg, Chair
                     AB 1056 (Chu) - As Amended:  January 9, 2006
           
          SUMMARY  :   Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to  
          integrate instruction on inter-group relations and tolerance  
          into the existing frameworks for English Language Arts and  
          History/Social Science. Specifically,  this bill  , 

          1)Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to the extent  
            feasible to consult with civil rights organizations that are  
            involved in addressing discrimination based on one or more of  
            the following actual or perceived characteristics:   
            disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion,  
            sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with  
            one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics prior  
            to providing instructional materials and to integrate  
            instruction on intergroup relations and tolerance into the  
            next revision of the English language arts and social science  
            curriculum where this instruction is appropriate.
           
          2)Authorizes a pilot program in selected schools in Los Angeles  
            County to determine the effectiveness of this curriculum.

           EXISTING LAW  :  Requires the SBE to review existing curriculum  
          frameworks for conformity with new statewide standards and to  
          modify the curriculum frameworks to bring them into alignment  
          with the standards.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.

           COMMENTS  :  This bill is similar to AB 723 (Chu) which was vetoed  
          by the Governor who felt that this was already being done.   
          Although tolerance curricula exist on a variety of websites, use  
          of them is voluntary.  This bill would provide pilot projects to  
          teach these curricula and gather information on the  
          effectiveness this instruction has on violence and intolerance  
          on school campuses.  By integrating the instruction into core  
          classes, all students will learn about intolerance as a part of  
          regular literature and history.

          In their letter of support, the Applied Research Center stated:   
          "Nearly two thirds of all hate crimes are motivated by race and  








                                                                  AB 1056
                                                                  Page  2

          ethnicity.  Racial violence between youth is a growing problem  
          in both urban and suburban communities, as the state and local  
          demographics shift."

           Suggested Amendments  :

          1)Include "immigration status" as one of the actual or perceived  
            characteristics that serve as a basis for discrimination in  
            the list to be addressed by this instruction.

          2)Do not limit the pilot opportunity to Los Angeles County.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Anti-Defamation League
          Applied Research Center
          Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
          Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
          Asian Pacific Island Legal Outreach
          Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
          Chinese American Council of Sacramento
          Gay-Straight Alliance Network
          Lambda Letters Project
          Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
          National Council of La Raza
          Our Family Coalition

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Dee Brennick / ED. / (916) 319-2087