BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 199
AUTHOR: Ma
AMENDED: March 17, 2011
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 22, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Role of Filipinos in World War II.
SUMMARY
This bill encourages social science instruction in grades
7-12 to include the role of Filipinos in World War II.
BACKGROUND
The History-Social Science Framework includes strands on
World War II and the role of various countries and people.
The current framework does not specifically include
reference to the role of Filipinos in World War II.
Current law:
1) Authorizes social science instruction in grades 7-12
to include instruction on World War II and the
American role in that war. The Legislature encourages
this instruction to include a component drawn from
personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or
video history. The oral histories must exemplify
personal sacrifice and courage, contain views and
comments of their subjects and solicit specific
comments from their subjects. (Education Code �
51221.3)
2) Encourages social science instruction in grades 7-12
to include instruction on the Vietnam War including
the "Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast
Asians in that war. The Legislature also encourages
this instruction to include a component drawn from
personal testimony and the oral histories must meet
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nearly identical specifications as listed above. (EC
� 51221.4)
ANALYSIS
This bill encourages social science instruction in grades
7-12 to include the role of Filipinos in World War II.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Encourages social science instruction for grades 7-12
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.
2) Encourages instruction about the role of Filipinos in
World War II 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. This bill
encourages the oral histories 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.
STAFF COMMENTS
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1) Need for the bill . According to the author "During
World War II, Filipino soldiers enlisted with the U.S.
Armed Forces to assist in the national effort. For
their service, the U.S. government promised them the
same health and pension benefits that were rewarded to
other U.S. soldiers. Tens of thousands of Filipino
soldiers sacrificed their lives in World War II.
However, after the war ended, and the help from the
Filipino solders was no longer needed, President
Truman instated the Rescission Act of 1946, which only
offered benefits to a select group of Filipino
veterans. Even though they fought side by side, the
veterans that were denied benefits were also forgotten
by the U.S. government, and largely lost from the
pages of our history books. As fewer and fewer
Filipino World War II veterans remain, it's imperative
to recognize and record their history accurately,
especially since they served so unwaveringly
side-by-side with American soldiers."
2) Permissive Education Code . This bill encourages an
action that can already be undertaken under existing
law; therefore, this bill is unnecessary.
3) Curricular frameworks . The state's process for the
review and update of curricular frameworks has been
halted since July 2009, and is prohibited from
resuming until the 2015-16 school year. Instruction
that the state wishes to be provided statewide is
typically included in the framework. The Curriculum
Commission was in the process of updating the
History-Social Science framework when the framework
and instructional material adoption process was halted
pursuant to legislation. Therefore, this bill could
be implemented by school districts that choose to do
so but would not be included in the framework until at
least the 2015-16 school year.
4) Technical amendment needed . This bill amends a
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section of the Education Code that relates to
instruction on the Vietnam War. Staff recommends an
amendment to move the provisions of this bill to
Education Code Section 51221.3, which relates to
instruction on World War II.
5) Prior legislation . This bill is identical to an early
version of AB 717 (Cook, 2009), which was amended to
address a different topic, and AB 3084 (Cook, 2008),
which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with the
following message:
"While I respect the author's intent to recognize
the role of Filipinos who fought courageously in
World War II, I have consistently vetoed
legislation that has attempted to include
specific details or events into areas of
instruction. The State Board of Education
adopted content standards are developed by a
diverse group of experts and are intentionally
broad in order to allow coverage of various
events, developments, and issues. I continue to
believe that the State should establish rigorous
academic standards and frameworks, but refrain
from being overly prescriptive in specific school
curriculum."
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
AMVETS-Department of California
California Language Teachers Association
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Consulate General of the Philippines
Numerous individuals
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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