BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 993
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 993 (De León)
As Amended May 21, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :31-1
EDUCATION 7-2
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, | | |
| |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | | |
| |Eng, Williams | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman, Wagner | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes social science instruction in grades 7-12,
inclusive, to include instruction on the Bracero program.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that the instruction may include a component drawn
from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or
video histories of individuals who were involved with the
Bracero program, and stipulates that oral histories used as
part of the instruction regarding the Bracero program may do
all of the following:
a) Exemplify the economic and cultural effects of the
Bracero program during and after World War II, including,
but not limited to, its effects on the railroad system,
agriculture, and immigration in California and the United
States of America (U.S.); and,
b) Contain the views and comments of their subjects
regarding the reasons for their participation in the
Bracero program and their immigrant story, generally.
2)Requires this bill to be carried out in a manner that does not
result in new duties or programs on a school district.
3)States that the Legislature finds and declares that this bill
does not mandate costs to local agencies or school districts
SB 993
Page 2
and that materials used to comply with this bill shall be part
of normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts
in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : Current law specifies courses of study for pupils in
grades 1-12, and also requires instruction on various specific
topics. Within the social sciences, there are several specific
requirements, including instruction on the early history of
California and a study of the role and contributions of both men
and women and various minority 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.
The Legislature has previously passed measures requiring or
encouraging instruction on specific subjects it deems important
and significant. Most recently, AB 199 (Ma and Cook), Chapter
607, Statutes of 2011, encouraged social studies instruction to
include instruction on the role and contributions of Filipino
Americans in the U.S. Army in World War II. In a similar
manner, this bill authorizes instruction in social studies to
include instruction on the Bracero program.
The Bracero program: The Bracero program was a guest worker
program that spanned the years of 1942-1964. The economic and
social issues that resulted from the Great Depression and World
War II compelled the U.S. to seek a source of inexpensive labor
to meet its labor demands in both agriculture and railway
maintenance. The U.S. and Mexican governments entered into a
treaty to allow Mexican workers to enter the U.S. on a temporary
basis in order to address the shortage of labor in the U.S.
According to information provided by the author, "The program
helped the U.S. economy flourish, though it was criticized for
the mistreatment of Mexican workers, especially because in many
instances Braceros were never paid their due wages."
Curriculum frameworks: Due to fiscal constraints, the processes
for reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials
have been suspended since July 28, 2009. The history-social
science framework (H/SS) was last adopted in 2005, and a review
and update of this framework was underway and nearly complete
SB 993
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when the state suspended the process. This draft of the H/SS
framework includes in the grade 11 course descriptions a
reference to the Bracero program. Specifically, it is included
in the "Transformation of Post-World War II America" section of
the framework and it states, in pertinent part:
Meanwhile, immigration continued, especially to
California, which depended upon agricultural labor
provided by immigrants, particularly Mexicans, who
continued to come through the Bracero Program. This
1942 government-sponsored program, designed primarily
to replace interned Japanese-American farmers and
native-born agricultural workers who were mobilizing
for war with imported Mexican laborers, continued
until 1964.
This bill is consistent with the 2010 draft H/SS framework.
Permissive bill: This bill does not require, but rather
authorizes instruction on the Bracero program. Some may argue
that this bill is unnecessary as districts currently have the
discretion and flexibility to include this content in social
studies instruction. However, others would argue that adding
the permissive language gives districts the explicit authority
to include this content and raises awareness as to the
importance of these events and may encourage districts to
integrate them into social studies instruction. The author
further points out that the history of the Bracero program has
been frequently ignored and left out of school textbooks,
despite the program's impact on the U.S. labor market during
World War II and on immigration patterns in this country.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Aviña / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0004317