BILL NUMBER: AB 2546 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Donnelly
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Grove and Jones)
(Coauthor: Senator La Malfa)
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Sections 33540, 51220, and 60043 of the Education
Code, relating to pupil instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2546, as amended, Donnelly. Pupil instruction: social sciences:
instructional materials.
(1) Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to
ensure that certain historical documents are incorporated, as
appropriate, into the history-social science framework.
This bill would add the Magna Carta, the Articles of
Confederation, and the California Constitution to the historical
documents that are required to be incorporated into that framework
and would require them to be incorporated based on the subject matter
of the course.
(2) Existing law requires instruction in social sciences for
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to provide a foundation for understanding
the history, resources, development, and government of California and
the United States of America.
This bill would require instruction in the social sciences also to
include the development of democracy and the history of the
development of the United States Constitution. To the extent that
this requirement would require additional instruction, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law requires the governing board of a school
district, when adopting instructional materials for use in the
schools to require, when appropriate to the comprehension of pupils,
that textbooks for social science, history, or civics classes contain
the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
This bill would delete the condition that these documents
be included when appropriate to the comprehension of pupils and
would require that a classroom in which history or the
social sciences is taught have access to a copy of the California
Constitution. By requiring certain classrooms to have access to a
copy of the California Constitution, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33540 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33540. (a) The state board and the department shall request that
the commission review and revise, as necessary, the course
requirements in the history-social science framework developed by the
History-Social Science Curriculum Framework and Criteria Committee
of the state board to ensure that minimum standards for courses in
American government and civics include sufficient attention to
teaching pupils how to interact, in a practical manner, with state
and local governmental agencies and representatives to solve problems
and to petition for changes in laws and procedures.
(b) When the history-social science framework is revised as
required by law, the commission shall ensure that the following
historical documents are incorporated into the framework, as
appropriate, based on the subject matter of the course:
(1) The Declaration of Independence.
(2) The United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.
(3) The Federalist Papers.
(4) The Emancipation Proclamation.
(5) The Gettysburg Address.
(6) George Washington's Farewell Address.
(7) The Magna Carta.
(8) The Articles of Confederation.
(9) The California Constitution.
SEC. 2. Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to read:
51220. The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive,
shall offer courses in the following areas of study:
(a) English, including knowledge of and appreciation for
literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading,
listening, and speaking.
(b) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology,
economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and
sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction
shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources,
development, and government of California and the United States of
America, including the development of democracy and the history of
the development of the United States Constitution; instruction in our
American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult
criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under
the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions;
the development of the American economic system, including the role
of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their
human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and
civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the
study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and
contemporary issues.
(c) Foreign language or languages, beginning not later than grade
7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking,
reading, and writing the particular language.
(d) Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities
that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as
required by Section 51222.
(e) Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with
emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific
investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems, and
with appropriate applications of the interrelation and
interdependence of the sciences.
(f) Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop
mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into
problem-solving procedures.
(g) Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater,
and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic
appreciation and the skills of creative expression.
(h) Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer
and homemaking education, industrial arts, general business
education, or general agriculture.
(i) Career technical education designed and conducted for the
purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the occupations
and in the numbers that are appropriate to the personnel needs of the
state and the community served and relevant to the career desires
and needs of the pupils.
(j) Automobile driver education, designed to develop a knowledge
of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state
relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of
personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the
causes, seriousness, and consequences of traffic accidents, and to
develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation
of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver education shall
include education in the safe operation of motorcycles.
(k) Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.
SEC. 3. Section 60043 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60043. (a) When adopting instructional materials for use in the
schools, the governing board 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 United States.
(b) A classroom in which history or the social sciences is taught
shall have access to a copy of the California Constitution.
SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.