BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 659
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 659 (Nazarian)
As Amended January 23, 2014
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Ch�vez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen, |
| |Gonzalez, Nazarian, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Weber, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Encourages the California Department of Education (CDE) to
include the Armenian Genocide in its published curriculum resources,
encourages the incorporation oral testimony when teaching specific
instances of genocide (including the genocides in Armenia, Cambodia,
Darfur, and Rwanda) into existing curriculum, encourages including
the Armenian Genocide into state and local professional development
activities and in the next revision of the history/social science
curriculum framework, and makes technical/non-substantive revisions
to these sections.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires each Local Education Agency (LEA) to adopt a course of
study in the social sciences for grades 7 through 12 that includes
the study of the inhumanity of genocide.
2)Requires the CDE to incorporate examples of curriculum resources
in its publications that relate to genocide, and specifically to
the Holocaust.
3)Encourages all state and local professional development activities
to provide teachers with content background and resources to
assist in teaching about genocide, and specifically about the
Holocaust.
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4)Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to consider the
adoption of a revised curriculum framework and evaluation criteria
for instructional materials in history/social science, but
prohibits the CDE from conducting any work until after the CDE has
completed its work related to the development of curriculum
frameworks for the Common Core content standards.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
costs for this bill are as follows:
1)Minor, absorbable General Fund costs for the Instructional Quality
Commission (IQC) to consider incorporating the Armenian Genocide
into the History-Social Science Frameworks, to the extent this can
be achieved through the regular process. This assumes, however,
that funding is provided to the IQC to finish these frameworks.
The Governor's January budget proposes $270,000 to support the
work associated with the adoption of the Science and
History-Social Science Framework.
2)Potential General Fund/Proposition 98 cost pressure, in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the extent state and LEAs
develop and incorporate additional content and resources related
to the Armenian Genocide into professional development activities.
COMMENTS : This bill speaks to a number of specific instances of
genocide in recent history, including the genocides in Armenia,
Cambodia, Darfur, and Rwanda.
Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks . California curriculum
is based on state-adopted content standards. The curriculum
frameworks are guidelines for implementing the standards that are
developed by the IQC and approved by the SBE. The IQC is an
18-member commission consisting of one member of the Assembly, one
member of the Senate, and 16 public members.
The history/social science standards were developed in 1998 and the
history/social science curriculum framework was last revised in
2005. A review and update of this framework was underway and nearly
complete when the state suspended the process on July 28, 2009, due
to fiscal constraints. The SBE is specifically prohibited from
reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional materials until the
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2015-16 school year. SB 1540 (Hancock), Chapter 288, Statutes of
2012, authorizes the SBE to consider the adoption of a revised
curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for instructional
materials in history/social science, but prohibits the CDE from
conducting any work until after CDE has completed work related to
the development of curriculum frameworks for the common core content
standards. To date, the SBE adopted a mathematics curriculum
framework at its November 2013, meeting and, according to the CDE's
Web site, an English language arts framework is scheduled for
adoption at the SBE's July 2014 meeting.
Existing Curriculum . Many of the provisions of this bill are met
though existing law and practice. The history/social science
content standards include a discussion of the Ottoman government's
actions against its Armenian citizens in the context of the causes
and course of World War I. Additionally, the draft history/social
science curriculum framework of 2009 includes a discussion of the
Armenian genocide by noting "Armenians were expelled from Ottoman
Turkey and forcefully marched to the Middle Easter desert. The
Young Turk government created a systematic program to exterminate
the Armenians as a people, which has come to be known as the
Armenian Genocide." Finally, the CDE publishes a searchable
database of books titled Recommended Literature: Prekindergarten
Through Grade Twelve. According to the CDE's Web site, this list is
designed for "children and teens which helps students, teachers, and
families find books that entertain, inform, and explore new ideas
and experiences." This list was last revised in 2012 and includes
at least four titles addressing the Armenian Genocide with one of
these being a first-hand account.
Additionally, the CDE already publishes a model curriculum on human
rights and genocide. This curriculum was first published by the CDE
in 1988 and serves as a support document to the history/social
science curriculum framework. It covers, by grade levels, various
curriculum strands in the areas of human rights and genocide. The
model curriculum highlights human rights atrocities in Armenia, the
Ukraine, and Europe under the Nazis, as well as totalitarian
violations in Cambodia, Argentina, and South Africa. This model
curriculum was revised in 2000 and includes a lengthy discussion of
the Armenian Genocide.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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