BILL NUMBER: AB 717	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Cook and Ma
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Yee)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members  Arambula,   Bill
Berryhill,  Block,  Blumenfield,  Carter,  Coto,
  Fong,  Furutani, Gilmore, Hagman, Huffman, Krekorian,
Lieu, Nestande, Portantino, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Torlakson, and
Yamada)
    (   Coauthors:  Senators   Cedillo
  and DeSaulnier   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Section 51221.4 of the Education Code, relating to
public school instruction.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 717, as amended, Cook. Public school instruction: social
science: World War II: Filipinos.
   Under existing law, the adopted course of study for grades 7 to
12, inclusive, is required to include instruction in social science.
Schools are authorized to include instruction on World War II and the
American role in that war in their social science instruction.
Existing law encourages that instruction to include a component drawn
from personal testimony of American soldiers who were involved in
World War II and those men and women who contributed to the war
effort on the homefront. School districts are required to implement
the encouraged instruction in a manner that does not result in the
imposition of new duties or programs.
   This bill would encourage instruction in social science for grades
7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction on World War II and the
role of Filipinos in that war.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 51221.4 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   51221.4.  (a) The Legislature encourages instruction in the area
of social science, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
51220, to include instruction on the Vietnam War including the
"Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in that war.
The Legislature encourages this instruction to include, but not be
limited to, a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in
the form of oral or video histories of Southeast Asians who were
involved in the Vietnam War and those men and women who contributed
to the war effort on the homefront. The oral histories used as a part
of the instruction regarding the role of Southeast Asians in the
Vietnam War and the "Secret War" in Laos shall exemplify the personal
sacrifice and courage of the wide range of ordinary citizens who
were called upon to participate and provide intelligence for the
United States. The oral histories shall contain the views and
comments of their subjects regarding the reasons for their
participation in the war. These oral histories also shall solicit
comments from their subjects regarding the aftermath of the war and
the immigration of Southeast Asians to the United States.
   (b) (1) The Legislature encourages the instruction required
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220 to include instruction
on World War II and the role of Filipinos in that war consisting of
an accurate history of the contributions of the Filipino American
veterans who fought courageously in the United States Army for
freedom and democracy in World War II, under the leadership of
General Douglas MacArthur.
   (2) The Legislature  further  encourages the instruction
described in paragraph (1) to include a component drawn from personal
testimony, especially in the form of oral or video histories of
Filipinos who were involved in World War II and those men and women
who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. The oral
histories used as a part of the instruction regarding the role of
Filipinos in World War II are encouraged to do all of the following:
   (A) Exemplify the personal sacrifice and courage of the wide range
of ordinary citizens who were called upon to participate and to
provide intelligence for the United States.
   (B) Contain the views and comments of their subjects regarding the
reasons for their participation in the war.
   (C) Solicit comments from their subjects regarding the aftermath
of the war and the immigration of Filipinos to the United States.
   (c) This section shall be carried out in a manner that does not
result in the imposition of new duties or programs on the school
district. In that regard, the Legislature finds and declares that
this section does not mandate costs to local agencies or school
districts and that materials used to comply with this section shall
be part of normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts
in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles.