BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1775
AUTHOR: Furutani
AMENDED: June 21, 2010
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 30, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
NOTE: The Rules Committee has requested that this bill be
returned if approved by the Committee on Education. A "do
pass" motion should include referral to the Committee on
Rules.
SUBJECT : Special days of significance: Fred Korematsu Day
of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Governor to annually proclaim January
30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the
Constitution and designates that day as a day having special
significance in which public schools and educational
institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises remembering
the life of Fred Korematsu.
BACKGROUND
Existing law designates a number of days as days having
special significance, when public schools are encouraged to
conduct suitable commemorative exercises integrated into
regular school programs. Current law establishes the
following days having special significance: (Education Code
37222)
a) March 30 of each year as Welcome Home Vietnam
Veteran's Day
b) April 6 of each year as California Poppy Day
c) April 21 of each year as John Muir Day
d) The second Wednesday in May as the "Day of the
Teacher"
e) May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day
Existing law also requires the Governor to proclaim various
days to remember specific individuals. These days include
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September 28 as Cabrillo Day; January 15 as Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Day; and March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. (Government
Code 6708 et. seq.)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Designates January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu Day
of Civil Liberties and the Constitution as a day having
special significance; encourages public schools and
educational institutions to observe that day and conduct
exercises remembering the life of Fred Korematsu and
recognizing the importance of preserving civil
liberties, even in times of real or perceived crisis.
2) Requires the Governor to annually proclaim January 30 as
Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the
Constitution.
3) Restructures the section of the Education Code related
to days of special significance so as to avoid current
and future technical conflicts.
4) Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
the life, career, contributions, and death of Fred
Korematsu, as well as his life-long fight for the
constitutional rights and civil liberties of all.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . Fred T. Korematsu (1919 - 2005) was
one of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and
permanent residents of Japanese descent who were forced
to leave their communities and were incarcerated in
internment camps in 1942. More than 60% of the people
who were imprisoned were citizens of the Untied States,
and many were third-generation Americans. Mr.
Korematsu's refusal to comply with Civilian Exclusion
Order 34 of the U.S. Army, which followed President
Roosevelt's issuance of Executive Order 9066, led to his
arrest and subsequent conviction for violating the
military internment orders. In 1944, he appealed his
case to the Supreme Court, arguing that Executive Order
9066 violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
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States Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court
upheld the conviction, Mr. Korematsu continued to
challenge the constitutionality of the World War II
internment orders. It was not until 1984 that the U.S.
District Court in San Francisco formally vacated Mr.
Korematsu's conviction. The federal Civil Liberties Act
of 1988 later recognized the grave injustice done by the
forced relocation and incarceration of civilians during
World War II. In 1998, Mr. Korematsu was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom for his life-long efforts
to speak out in favor of the protection of
constitutional rights and civil liberties.
2) Committee process . This bill, along with AB 2412 and
the other "Days of Significance" bills heard earlier
this year, raises a question about whether there should
be criteria for determining special days of significance
in the public schools. To avoid the potential
proliferation of special recognition days the Committee
may wish to consider adopting a policy for considering
measures proposing special days of significance.
Alternatively, the Legislature could statutorily
delegate the authority to approve special days of
significance in the public schools to the State Board of
Education who could review such proposals for
consistency with the state's academic content standards
and curriculum frameworks. Staff recommends that the
Committee discuss this.
3) Related and prior legislation
SB 1256 (Hancock) designates January 23 of each year as Ed
Roberts Day to be a day of special significance in
public schools and educational institutions. This bill
was passed by this Committee with an 8-0 vote, March 24,
2010.
SB 944 (Runner) designates February 6 of each year as Ronald
Reagan Day to be a day of special significance in public
schools and educational institutions. This bill was
passed by this Committee on a 7-0 vote on March 24,
2010.
AB 2412 (Tran) also designates February 6 of each year as
Ronald Reagan Day to be a day of special significance in
public schools and educational institutions. This bill
is scheduled to be heard by this Committee on June 30,
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2010.
SB 572 (Leno, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2009) designates May
22 of each year as "Harvey Milk Day" as a day of special
significance in public schools and educational
institutions. This measure was passed by this Committee
on a 7-2 vote.
AB 264 (Cook) encouraged schools to conduct exercises on
March 30 of each year to recognize the contributions of
those involved in the Vietnam conflict. This bill was
passed by this Committee on a 7-0 vote and was later
vetoed by the Governor because the measure did not
address the need for comprehensive changes in state
policy on water, energy and corrections.
AB 717 (Cook, Chapter 158, Statutes of 2009) required the
Governor to proclaim March 30 of each year as "Welcome
Home Vietnam Veterans' Day" and encouraged schools to
conduct exercises on March 30 of each year to recognize
the contributions of those involved in the Vietnam
conflict.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Anti-Defamation League, California
Asian American Bar Association
Asian American Justice Center
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento
Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley
Asian Pacific Law Student Association, Thomas Jefferson
School of Law
California State University
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Council on American Islamic Relations
Delores Huerta Foundation
Equal Justice Society
Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego
Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy, Oakland Unified School
District
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Go for Broke National Education Center
Japanese American Bar Association
Japanese American Citizens League
Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District
Japanese American Citizens League Watsonville-Santa Cruz
Chapter
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
Japanese American National Museum
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California
Korean American Bar Association
Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Letters from individuals
Muslim Pacific Public Affairs Council
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Orange County Asian American Bar Association
Organization of Chinese Americans
Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Los Angeles
Organization of Chinese Americans - Orange County
Organization of Chinese Americans - Silicon Valley Chapter
Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego
Philippine American Bar Association of Los Angeles
San Francisco Japanese American Citizens League
San Leandro Unified School District
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Sikh Coalition
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law
Ventura County Asian American Bar Association
OPPOSITION
None received.