BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 580
AUTHOR: Davis
INTRODUCED: February 16, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 29, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : California Civil Rights Education Advisory
Committee.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the California Civil Rights Education
Advisory Committee within the California Department of
Education for the purpose of advising the State Board of
Education and Curriculum Commission on the inclusion of
civil rights education in the history-social science
framework and criteria for evaluating instructional
materials.
BACKGROUND
The process of adopting instructional materials begins with
the review and update of the curriculum framework for seven
subject areas. Frameworks are the blueprints for
implementing the academic content standards. The framework
development process typically takes 24 months from
initiation to approval by the State Board of Education
(SBE). Once the framework for a particular subject is
adopted by the SBE, the instructional material adoption
process begins, which includes submissions from publishers,
review by the Instructional Materials Advisory Reviewer and
Content Review Expert (both are appointed by the SBE),
Curriculum Commission hearings and SBE adoption. The
adoption process typically takes 30 months. Schools were
required to provide pupils with instructional materials
within 24 months of adoption by SBE, but this requirement
is suspended from the 2008-09 to 2014-15 fiscal year.
(Education Code � 60200 and � 60422.1)
An early stage in the instructional materials adoption
process is the submission by publishers of samples of
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instructional materials to the State Board of Education
(SBE) for review. As part of this process, the California
Department of Education (CDE) is required to conduct social
content reviews for all instructional materials, which is
intended to determine that materials are consistent with
existing requirements to ensure instructional materials
include, portray accurately, encourage and impress certain
content upon pupils. (EC � 60050)
The processes for reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials have been suspended since July
2009. The SBE is prohibited from reviewing frameworks and
adopting instructional materials until the 2015-16 school
year. (EC � 60200.7)
Current law:
1) Requires instruction in social sciences to 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.
(EC � 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 well as the role and contributions of the
entrepreneur and labor in the total development of
California and the U.S. (EC � 60040)
3) 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. (EC � 60044)
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4) 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. (EC � 60043)
5) Requires instructional materials to:
a) Accurately portray the cultural and racial
diversity of our society.
(EC � 60040)
b) Include:
i) The contributions of men, women,
and ethnic groups to the development of the
state and nation. (EC � 51204.5)
ii) The Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution of the United States.
(EC � 60043)
iii) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
the civil rights movement. (EC �
60200.6)
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the California Civil Rights Education
Advisory Committee within the California Department of
Education for the purpose of advising the State Board of
Education and Curriculum Commission on the inclusion of
civil rights education in the history-social science
framework and criteria for evaluating instructional
materials. Specifically, this bill:
1) Establishes the California Civil Rights Education
Advisory Committee (advisory committee) within the
California Department of Education (CDE).
2) Requires the advisory committee to study and review
the history-social science framework, and advise the
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State Board of Education (SBE) and the Curriculum
Commission on the inclusion of civil rights education
in the history-social science framework and criteria
for evaluating instructional materials.
3) Provides that the advisory committee is to consist of
14 members, who are to serve three-year terms, for up
to two terms.
4) Sets forth the membership of the advisory committee as
follows:
a) The Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
b) The President of the
University of California or his or her designee.
c) The Chancellor of the
California State University or his or her
designee.
d) The Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges or his or her
designee.
e) Ten members appointed by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, as follows:
i) At least two appointees
shall represent a civil rights organization,
including but not limited to, the California
State Conference of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People.
ii) At least five
appointees shall be teachers at public
elementary or secondary schools.
5) Requires the members of the advisory committee to be
California residents and be appointed with due regard
for broad geographic representation.
6) Requires the advisory committee to have a chairperson
to be designated by the members of the advisory
committee. The members of the advisory committee are
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not to receive compensation but are to be reimbursed
for the expenses they incur in performing their
duties.
7) Authorizes the advisory committee to act as a liaison
with various entities, including but not limited to,
the United States Congress, the California
Legislature, and National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, as well as other
national and international agencies.
8) Authorizes the CDE to apply for, and received, gifts,
grants and donations from any public or private
sources, including but not limited to, federal funds
and private foundation grants.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to the author, "Hate
crimes and racial tension across the nation provides a
compelling reason to completely reapproach the process
of developing state curriculum in the field of
history-social science. There is clearly a deficiency
in the what and how of civil rights instruction. Most
of our textbooks celebrate the heroism of Martin
Luther King and Rosa Parks, and laud government
actions such as Brown v. Board of Education and the
1964 Civil Rights Act. In the process, the grassroots
struggle of ordinary people receives short shrift,
causing students to admire the movement from afar
rather than connect it to their own lives."
2) Already part of social content review. The California
Department of Education (CDE) is currently required to
conduct a social content review of instructional
materials submitted to the State Board of Education
(SBE) for adoption. For example, the SBE and
Curriculum Commission directed the Curriculum
Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee for the
currently-suspended review and update of the
History-Social Science framework to incorporate into
the evaluation criteria specific references to, among
other topics, the civil rights movement.
3) Already in History-Social Science framework. The
existing 11th grade content standards and framework in
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History-Social Science include the analysis of the
development of federal civil rights and voting rights,
as well as the history of the civil rights movement in
the 25 years after World War II and the social and
political transformations that it brought.
Additionally, the History Social Science framework
touches upon various aspects of the civil rights
movement including the following:
a) Examining and analyzing the key events,
policies, and court cases in the evolution of
civil rights, including Dred Scott v. Sandford,
Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education,
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke,
and California Proposition 209.
b) Examining the roles of civil rights
advocates (e.g., A. Philip Randolph, Martin
Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall,
James Farmer, Rosa Parks), including the
significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter
from Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream"
speech.
c) Analyzing the passage and effects of
civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g.,
1964 Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965)
and the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, with an emphasis
on equality of access to education and to the
political process.
d) Analyzing the women's rights movement
from the era of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment to the movement launched in the 1960s,
including differing perspectives on the roles of
women.
The 8th grade standards also include units on the
Civil War and its consequences as well as the adoption
of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and their
connection to the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
4) Update of History-Social Science framework underway .
The Curriculum Commission approved the draft update of
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this framework for field review on July 17, 2009.
However, suspension of the framework and instructional
material processes was implemented beginning July 28,
2009, meaning that no actual field review or online
survey will occur for this framework. Staff notes
that the CDE indicated last year that the work of
preparing the History-Social Science framework can be
completed within existing resources. Many
stakeholders and ethnic groups support the resumption
of this process because the updated frameworks are a
culmination of months of research and negotiations.
The updated framework includes information relative to
the role of Sikhs and Korean Americans, among others.
5) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, this bill would impose
General Fund administrative costs of at least $200,000
to CDE.
6) Related legislation . AB 339 (Bonilla) requires the
SBE to adopt regulations for conducting social content
reviews of instructional materials submitted outside
of the primary adoptions and to assess a fee for the
review. AB 339 is scheduled to be heard in this
Committee on June 29, 2011.
SB 302 (Yee) reestablishes provisions that recently sunset
relating to the social content review of instructional
materials and requires the SBE to notify the
Legislature if it determines any instructional
materials submitted for consideration for adoption
contain content that meets the revised standards for
social studies curriculum in Texas. SB 302 also
requires the SBE to ensure that the next revision of
the History-Social Science framework is consistent
with existing requirements to ensure instructional
materials include, portray accurately, encourage and
impress certain content upon pupils. SB 302 is
scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Education
Committee on July 6, 2011.
7) Prior legislation .
AB 1922 (Davis, 2010) was identical to
this bill and was held on the Senate
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Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
SB 1451 (Yee, 2010) was identical to SB
302 (Yee, 2011) and was vetoed by the Governor
with the following veto message:
This bill is duplicative and unnecessary.
An adequate process is already in place to
ensure that the California State Board of
Education adopts an appropriate
History-Social Science Framework for our
state's schools and students.
SB 1278 (Wyland, 2010) would have resumed
the currently-suspended instructional materials
adoption process, and created a new schedule for
the adoption of instructional materials beginning
with the adoption of History-Social Science in
2011. SB 1278 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
AB 1056 (Chu, 2006) would have
established the Tolerance Education Pilot Program
to promote instruction in public schools on
tolerance and inter-group relations as part of
the instruction in the history/social science
content standards. AB 1056 was vetoed by the
Governor, whose message read:
I vetoed a similar bill, AB 723 (Chu, 2005)
because it was largely duplicative of
current efforts to provide more avenues to
teach about tolerance and human rights. For
example, current law already establishes a
Center for the Excellence on the Study of
the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights, and
Tolerance (Center) to provide teachers the
training and resources to effectively teach
about these subjects. In addition, the
State Board of Education has adopted a Model
Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide
that is available to all schools.
Furthermore, the Center is required to
submit a report to the Administration and
the Legislature no later than January 31,
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2007 outlining the activities of the Center
and reporting the progress made in achieving
its goals. It would be prudent to review
the progress being made before any
additional actions are contemplated.
AB 723 (Chu, 2005) would have required
the SBE to integrate instruction on inter-group
relations and tolerance into existing curriculum
frameworks. AB 723 was vetoed by the Governor,
whose message read:
No one believes more strongly than I in the
importance of teaching our children
tolerance for all persons, irrespective of
race, gender, nationality, ethnicity,
religious creed, disability, or sexual
orientation. However, this bill is largely
duplicative of current efforts to provide
more avenues to teach about tolerance and
human rights.
For example, current law already establishes
a Center for the Excellence on the Study of
the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights, and
Tolerance to provide teachers the training
and resources to effectively teach about
these subjects. In addition, the State Board
of Education has adopted a Model Curriculum
for Human Rights and Genocide that is
available to all schools. Finally, with
respect to tolerance of a more immediate
nature, the California Department of
Education has posted on its website model
policies on the prevention of bullying and
hate-motivated behavior.
SUPPORT
Advancement Project
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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