BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1451
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1451 (Yee) - As Amended: April 28, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 25-5
SUBJECT : Instructional materials
SUMMARY : Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to notify
the chairs of the Assembly and Senate Education Committees and
the Governor's office if it determines any instructional
materials submitted for consideration for adoption contain
content that meets the revised standards for social studies
curriculum in Texas, and requires the SBE to ensure that the
next revision of the History-Social Science (H/SS) framework is
consistent with existing requirements to ensure instructional
materials include, portray accurately, encourage and impress
certain content upon pupils. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to:
a) Existing requirements for instruction in social science
and for ensuring instructional materials used in California
schools accurately portray certain social content including
the early history of California and a study of the role and
contributions of both men and women, Black Americans,
American Indians, Mexicans, Asians, Pacific Island people,
and other ethnic groups to the economic, political, and
social development of California and the United States of
America (U.S.) with particular emphasis on portraying the
role of these groups in contemporary society, including
professional, vocational, entrepreneurial, labor and
executive roles; and prohibits instructional material to be
used in schools that contains any matter reflecting
adversely upon persons because of their race, color, creed,
national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap, or occupation, as
well as any sectarian or denominational doctrine or
propaganda contrary to law.
b) Action taken by the Texas Board of Education to adopt
revisions to their social studies curriculum for the
2010-11 school year viewed as a sharp departure from widely
accepted historical teachings that are driven by an
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inappropriate ideological desire to influence academic
content standards for children in public schools, and it is
widely presumed that the proposed changes to Texas' social
studies curriculum will have a national impact on textbook
content since Texas is the second largest purchaser of
textbooks in the U.S., second only to California.
2)Requires the SBE, upon the next adoption of the H/SS
curriculum framework, to ensure the framework is consistent
with specified provisions and requirements governing
instructional materials.
3)Extends the sunset date on existing provisions authorizing
social content reviews, including reviews conducted at the
request of a publisher or manufacturer of instructional
materials outside the primary and follow-up instructional
material adoption processes from January 1, 2011 to January 1,
2016.
4)Requires the SBE, upon completion of the social content
review, to inform the Chair of the Assembly Committee on
Education, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, and
the Secretary of Education of content that it interprets are
the result of changes to the Texas Essential Skills and
Knowledge in social studies curriculum.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that instruction in social sciences shall include the
early history of California and a study of the role and
contributions of both men and women, black Americans, American
Indians, Mexicans, Asians, Pacific Island people, and other
ethnic groups to the economic, political, and social
development of California and the U.S. with particular
emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in
contemporary society. (Education Code 51204.5)
2)Requires instructional materials used in schools to accurately
portray the contributions of both men and women in all types
of roles, including professional, vocational, and executive
role and the role and contributions of Native Americans,
African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans,
European Americans, and members of other ethnic and cultural
groups to the total development of California and the U.S., as
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well as the role and contributions of the entrepreneur and
labor in the total development of California and the U.S.
(Education Code 60040)
3)States that the governing board of a school district shall
require, when appropriate to the comprehension of pupils, that
textbooks for social science, history or civics classes
contain the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
of the U.S. when adopting instructional materials for use in
the schools. (Education Code 60043)
4)Prohibits school districts from adopting instructional
materials that contain any matter reflecting adversely upon
persons because of their race, color, creed, national origin,
ancestry, sex, handicap, or occupation or any sectarian or
denominational doctrine or propaganda contrary to law.
(Education Code 60044)
5)Provides that all instructional materials adopted by any
governing board for use in the schools shall be, to the
satisfaction of the governing board, accurate, objective, and
current and suited to the needs and comprehension of pupils at
their respective grade levels. (Education Code 60045)
6)Authorizes, in the event that, after the good faith
acquisition of instructional materials by a governing board,
the instructional materials are found to be in violation of
provisions pertaining to instructional materials and the
governing board is unable to acquire other instructional
materials which meet requirements in time for them to be used
when the acquired materials were planned to be used, the
governing board to use the acquired materials but only for
that academic year. (Education Code 60047)
7)Authorizes the SBE to adopt regulations to govern the social
content reviews conducted at the request of a publisher or
manufacturer of instructional materials outside the primary
and followup instructional material adoption processes.
(Education Code 60050)
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the Department of Education states this bill would
drive new costs of approximately $60,000 for half a position,
primarily for activities related to reporting. These costs would
be covered by statutory publisher fees.
COMMENTS :
Background : This bill is in response to revisions made to the
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies
curriculum passed by the Texas SBE in May 2010. These standards
seek to alter the emphasis placed on various historical events
and the impact of certain minority groups and social movements
in American history. According to the author, the curriculum
changes:
Reduce the scope of Latino history;
Encourage students to question the legal doctrine of
separation of church and state;
Label civil rights programs that protect women and
people of color as having adverse "unintended
consequences;"
Emphasize "the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and
1990s," including favorable mentions of the Eagle Forum,
Moral Majority, Heritage Foundation, the National Rifle
Association and New Gingrich's Contract With America;
Remove third-party presidential candidates;
Include country and western music among nation's
important cultural movements while dropping hip-hop from
the same list.
While proponents of the revisions maintain that the new
curriculum "adds balance" to historical instructions, critics of
Texas' revised standards have cited extreme conservative bias
and historical inaccuracy in many of the amendments to the
social studies curriculum. This bill seeks to ensure that the
revisions to Texas' Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social
Studies do not influence the content of California textbooks by
requiring the SBE to report to the Legislature if it finds
content that it interprets to be a result of Texas' revised
standards in social studies.
California's Instructional Material Adoption Process : California
is among 20 states that utilize a state-level process to select
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instructional materials, including Texas. As such, California
formally adopts a list of approved instructional materials for
use in kindergarten and grades one to eight, inclusive, (K-8)
and districts must purchase materials from this list. The
Legislative Analyst's Office and textbook publishers have
suggested that California's framework and instructional material
adoption process has produced strict and complex pathways to
implementing curriculum changes in the state, and it should be
noted that the process includes a legal compliance review of
social content.
Instructional materials in California are evaluated based on
four sets of criteria including alignment with academic content
standards; consistency with subject specific curriculum
framework; satisfaction of instructional material evaluation
criteria; and portrayal of social content. The framework
development and instructional materials adoption process takes
approximately four years and involves two expert panels, two
committees, the Curriculum Development and Supplemental
Materials Commission (CC), CDE, SBE, and various stakeholders.
Publishers are required to base their instructional materials on
frameworks and other evaluation criteria that specify
instructional approaches, among a number of other factors. This
step, in particular, may address the author's concerns since
publishers must ensure that their content follows this
framework.
Current law also includes a number of provisions regarding
cultural and historical events in California and American
history that shall be included in textbooks, including the "role
and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans,
Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, and
members of other ethnic and cultural groups to the total
development of California and the U.S." Such materials are
subject to legal compliance reviews of social content by
experts, who ensure that all content abides by state law. Thus,
given the stringent method for material review, committee staff
questions the need for certain provisions of this bill, as
publishers must create textbooks that align strictly to
California's standards and deemed appropriate through the
adoption process, though they may appeal decisions made at
various stages of the process.
California does, however, utilize a local-selection process at
the high school level, enabling districts to purchase materials
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not on the state list, though materials must still abide by
various guidelines. Districts conduct local social content
reviews of instructional materials adopted at the local level
and are not required to utilize the state process. Staff
recommends an amendment to include a requirement a school
district to ensure that instructional materials it adopts for
use in high schools follow the same guidelines specified in this
bill.
Suspension of State-Level Framework and Adoption Process :
Following the state Legislature's Fourth Extraordinary Session
in July 2009, Assembly Bill 2 X4, Chapter 2, Statues of
2009-2010 prohibited the SBE from adopting instructional
materials. The Governor also further cut $705,000 from the
CDE's budget in order to end support for the CC and its
activities, including framework development. As a result of
this suspension, school districts in California have gained
greater flexibility in how they spend funds intended for
instructional materials. Educational stakeholders have expressed
concern that AB 2 X4 will weaken the connection between content
standards and teaching in many teacher education programs if
frameworks are not revised.
Pending legislation, however, would allow for the continuation
of the development of the H/SS framework, which was in
mid-development at the time of the Governor's suspension of
adoptions of instructional materials. It is assumed that
instructional materials would continue to undergo the strict
adoption and review process in place prior to the suspension,
including legal compliance review of social content, provided
that there are no changes to the process.
Requirements in this bill : This bill reinforces the duties of
the SBE to ensure that textbooks are compliant with state law by
requiring the SBE to ensure the H/SS framework is consistent
with provisions governing instructional materials relative to
social content. Staff raises the question of whether this
provision would require a step that is duplicative of the legal
compliance and social content review for instructional
materials, potentially creating redundancy in the overall
process.
This bill also requires the SBE to inform the Chair of the
Assembly Committee on Education, the Chair of the Senate
Committee on Education, and the Secretary of Education of
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content that it interprets are the result of changes to the
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. Staff
notes that this bill does not specify what action, if any, the
SBE or the Legislature shall take after this notification step,
nor does it specify whether this should be a one time or
on-going activity. Staff recommends an amendment to require
annual notification to the Chairs of the Education Committees of
the Legislature and to the Secretary of Education regarding the
findings of the social content reviews, as specified in this
bill.
This bill also extends the sunset established by SB734
(Torlakson), Chapter 476, Statutes of 2007, that requires the
SBE to adopt regulations to govern the social content reviews
conducted at the request of a publisher or manufacturer of
instructional materials outside the primary instructional
material adoption processes until July 2016. This provision in
current law allows supplemental materials to undergo a legal and
social compliance review similar to the process used during the
primary review process and requires publishers to pay a fee to
fund these reviews. Extending this provision will add further
safeguards against materials that may appear in textbooks as a
result of changes in Texas' standards.
Technical amendment : The bill references the changes made to
the Texas Administrative Code that were preliminary approved on
March 12, 2010. The final revisions were adopted by the Texas
State Board of Education on May 21, 2010. Staff recommends a
technical amendment on page 4, line 4, after "on" add "May 21,
2010."
Related Legislation : AB 2069 (Carter) repeals an existing
schedule for the submission of specified instructional materials
to the SBE for adoption, and instead, requires that
instructional materials for the following subjects be submitted
for adoption, commencing with the 2013-14 school year, and
requires the SBE to adopt a revised curriculum and evaluation
criteria for instructional materials in H/SS no later than July
1, 2011. AB 2069 was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
SB 1278 (Wyland) requires the SBE to adopt a revised curriculum
framework and evaluation criteria for instructional materials in
H/SS in 2011, with no specified date. SB 1278 is pending in
this Committee.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
The American Civil Liberties Union
San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
California Right to Life Committee
Analysis Prepared by : Pilar Whitaker and Marisol Avi?a / ED.
/ (916) 319-2087