BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1915
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1915 (Nazarian and Achadjian)
As Amended August 22, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Armenian Genocide Education Act and
requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
consider including the Armenian Genocide into specified
publications; encourages the use of oral testimony when teaching
about the Armenian Genocide; and encourages inclusion of the
Armenian Genocide in professional development activities.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that the locally adopted course of study in the
social sciences may include the Armenian Genocide, as defined.
2)Requires the CDE to consider incorporating into publications
that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use
those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade
books, and primary sources, or other public or private
organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with
the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal
with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery,
the Armenian genocide, and the Holocaust. This language makes
only technical amendments to existing law.
3)Encourages the CDE to consider incorporating into publications
that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use
those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade
books, and primary sources, or other public or private
organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with
the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal
with the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.
4)Encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator,
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and witness oral testimony into the teaching of the Holocaust,
and genocide, including, but not limited to, the Armenian,
Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.
5)Defines "oral testimony" to mean the firsthand accounts of
significant historical events presented in a format that
includes, but is not limited, in-person testimony, video, or a
multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.
6)Encourages all state and local professional development
activities to provide teachers with content background and
resources to assist in teaching about the Armenian Genocide.
7)Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), when the
history-social science curriculum is revised as required by
law, to consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur,
and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social
science curriculum framework.
8)Defines the Armenian Genocide as "the torture, starvation, and
murder of 1.5 million Armenians, which included death marches
into the Syrian Desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish
Empire and exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during
the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.
9)Makes other technical, non-substantive changes.
The Senate Amendments :
1)Delete the requirement that a local board of education include
the Armenian Genocide in its adopted course of study for
grades 7 through 12, inclusive, and instead specifies that the
locally adopted course of study in the social sciences may
include the Armenian Genocide, as defined.
2)Add the requirement that the CDE consider incorporating the
Armenian Genocide into publications that deal with civil
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rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the
Holocaust.
3)Change the requirement that the CDE incorporate civil rights,
human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust
into specified publications with the requirement that the CDE
consider incorporating these subjects.
4)Specify that the testimony encouraged by the Legislature is
oral testimony.
5)Define "oral testimony" to mean the firsthand accounts of
significant historical events presented in a format that
includes, but is not limited, in-person testimony, video, or a
multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.
6)Include chaptering out amendment for SB 1380 (Wyland) of the
current legislative session, which also encourages specified
actions by the California Department of Education and the
Instructional Quality Commission to incorporate the Armenian
Genocide, as defined, into curriculum resources.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, several provisions of this bill encourage activities
or the consideration of activities by the CDE. This creates
substantial cost pressure for the CDE to complete those
activities, the cost of which would be:
1)Curriculum: Approximately $150,000 (General Fund) in costs to
the CDE to review curriculum and incorporate materials
relating to the Armenian Genocide into publications that
provide examples of curriculum resources.
2)History-Social Science Framework: Likely minor costs to the
IQC and CDE to incorporate the genocide in Darfur into the
next revision of the history-social science framework.
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3)Professional development: Approximately $125,000 (General
Fund) in costs to the CDE to develop an online learning module
to provide teachers with content background and resources
including survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony
in the specified areas.
COMMENTS :
Chaptering Out Amendments
SB 1380 requires the CDE to consider incorporating materials
relating to the Armenian genocide, into curriculum resources and
the history and social science frameworks. The chaptering out
language included these amendments differs from the language of
this bill as follows:
1)Omits the language that suggests locally adopted course of
study in the social sciences may include the Armenian
Genocide, as defined.
2) Includes technical and non-substantive amendments.
The Armenian Genocide
The California Senate, in SB 424 (Poochigian), Chapter 9,
Statutes of 2005, recognized the Armenian Genocide as a series
of events occurring between 1915 and 1918 in which the rulers of
the Ottoman Turkish Empire systematically exterminated its
Armenian citizens. During this time, the rulers conducted
massacres and forced labor of able bodied Armenian men.
Additionally, the Ottoman Turkish rulers forced Armenian women,
children, elderly, and infirm to march from their homeland to
the Syrian Desert. Approximately 75% of those Armenian people
on these marches died. Between 1 million and 1.5 million
Armenian people were killed during this three year period.
Course of Study
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Existing law requires each local board of education to adopt
a course of study for grades 1 through 6, and/or grades 7
through 12, based on the grades served by the LEA. A course
of study is a scope and sequence of classes that are
designed to meet the specific topics identified in statute.
Existing law requires a local governing board to adopt
courses of study for grades 7 through 12 that includes
instruction in the following areas of study: English,
social science, foreign language, physical education,
science, mathematics, visual and performing arts, applied
arts, career technical education, and automobile driver
education. Within these instructional areas, the
Legislature has specified specific skills or concepts that
must be included. While not every class offered must be
limited to the statutory objectives, the local education
agency (LEA) must structure its course offerings so that all
of these objectives areas are included over the course of
study offered to all students. Existing law also permits a
local board of education to adopt additional areas of
instruction.
Currently, there are a large number of topics and concepts
that are encouraged by the Legislature for inclusion in the
social sciences course of study. These include, in part:
1) An understanding of the wise use of natural resources;
2) The American role in World War II (WWII) and personal
testimony of American soldiers who served in that war;
3) The role of Filipino Americans in WWII; and
4) The "Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast
Asians in this war as a part of instruction provided on
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the Vietnam War.
By removing the requirement that local governing boards include
the Armenian Genocide in its course of study, the local mandate
is removed. This amendment removes any requirement for local
action and instead shifts the focus to the CDE. The language
that suggest the Armenian Genocide may be included in a locally
adopted course of study for social studies is only permissive.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0005407