BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1057
PageA
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 1057 (Corbett) - As Amended: June 10, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 30-6
SUBJECT : Pupil curriculum: history-social science content
standards
SUMMARY : Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt
history-social science content standards. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relating to the need for
revisions to the current history-social science standards as
adopted in October, 1998.
2)Requires the SPI, with input from a group of experts, to
recommend and the SBE to adopt history-social science content
standards.
3)Requires the SPI, in consultation with the SBE, to convene a
group of history-social science experts, as specified and
requires this group of experts to make a good faith effort to
solicit and take into consideration input from scholars of all
major religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural groups and
individuals who represent the perspectives of all major
religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural groups, genders,
sexual orientations, and disability statuses when revising the
content standards.
4)Requires the SPI to consider for inclusion in the
history-social science content standards all topics that are
required to be considered for inclusion in the course of study
and frameworks as set forth in existing law.
5)Requires the SPI to hold a minimum of two public meetings
SB 1057
PageB
pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act in order for the
public to provide input on the history-social science content
standards that would be recommended to the SBE.
6)Requires the SPI to present the recommended history-social
science content standards to the SBE on or before March 30,
2018.
7)Requires the SBE, on or before July 30, 2018, to adopt,
reject, or modify the history-social science content standards
presented by the SPI.
8)Specifies that if the SBE modifies the history-social science
content standards presented by the SPI, it must provide
written reasons for its modifications in a public meeting and
requires the SBE to adopt its modifications at a subsequent
public meeting held no later than July 30, 2018, as specified.
9)Requires, on or before October 1, 2018, the SPI and SBE to
present to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature a schedule and implementation
plan for integrating the history-social science content
standards adopted pursuant to this section into the state
educational system and makes this provision inoperative on
October 1, 2022.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, no later than November 1, 1998 the SBE to adopt
statewide academically rigorous academic standards, pursuant
to the recommendation of the Curriculum Commission (now the
Instructional Quality Commission), in the core curriculum
areas of history-social science and science.
2)Establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission for the
purpose of developing the common core standards in English
language arts and mathematics. These standards were adopted
by the SBE on August 2, 2010. The SBE adopted revised
frameworks for common core mathematics on November 6, 2013,
and is required to adopt revised frameworks in common core
SB 1057
PageC
English language arts by July 30, 2014.
3)Authorizes SPI to recommend modifications to the common core
standards in mathematics by consulting with a group of experts
in mathematics. The SBE adopted modified mathematics
standards in January 2013.
4)Requires the SPI to update, revise, and align the English
language development standards to the common core standards in
English language arts. The SPI was required to convene a
group of experts to complete this work, and the SBE adopted
these standards on November 7, 2012. The SPI is required to
convene a group of experts to also modify the English language
development standards, by January 1, 2015, to link with the
common core standards in mathematics and updated science
standards.
5)Requires the SPI to convene a group of science experts to
recommend science standards using the Next Generation Science
Standards. The SBE adopted these standards on September 4,
2013, and is required to consider the adoption of a revised
framework and evaluation criteria by January 31, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : According the Senate Appropriations Committee,
this measure will cost approximately $700,000 (General Fund) in
one-time costs to develop new content standards in 2018.
COMMENTS : California curriculum is based on content standards
that are developed by the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC)
(also referenced in statute as the "commission") and approved by
the SBE. The curriculum frameworks are guidelines for
implementing these standards. The IQC is an 18-member commission
consisting of one member of the Assembly, one member of the
Senate, and 16 public members. At least seven of the public
members must have taught, written, or lectured on the subject
areas required for graduation. California first adopted academic
content standards for Social Studies in October, 1998; these
standards have not been modified since then. The revision of
California's History and Social Science Standards is the next
logical step in California's efforts to improve its curriculum
and instructional practices. Since August, 2010, California has
SB 1057
PageD
adopted new standards in English language arts, mathematics, and
science. Now it is time to turn our attention to History and
Social Science. Without Legislative action, the SBE is not
authorized to review nor revise these content standards.
Current law requires the SPI to recommend to the SBE, by March
1, 2016, expansion of the State's assessment system to add exams
in subjects other than English language arts and mathematics,
including history-social science. Updated standards are a
critical piece of new assessments in this subject area and will
ensure that the state's expectations for content and concepts
are consistent across all subject areas. Toward this end, the
committee may wish to consider an amendment that requires the
SPI, with input from the group of experts already required under
the terms of this bill, to consider incorporating the College,
Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State
Standards (C3 Framework) into the history-social science content
standards.
College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies
State Standards
According to the National Council for the Social Studies, the C3
Framework is the result of a three year state-led collaborative
effort, and was developed to serve two audiences: 1) for states
to upgrade their state social studies standard; and 2) for
practitioners, including local school districts, schools,
teachers and curriculum writers, to strengthen their social
studies programs.<1> The C3 Framework was developed by the
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in response to
the development and mass adoption of the common core state
standards for English language arts and mathematics. State and
local agencies expressed a need to the CCSSO for assistance as
they looked to upgrade existing social studies standards. The
CCSSO responded by assisting the National Council for the Social
Studies in developing the C3 Framework which focuses primarily
on inquiry and concepts, and guides , but does not prescribe,
the content necessary for a rigorous social studies program.
Like the Common Core State Standards, the C3 Framework is based
on evidence and aims at college and career readiness. As a core
area in the K-12 curriculum, social studies prepares students
---------------------------
<1>http://www.socialstudies.org/c3 . Accessed on June 15, 2014.
SB 1057
PageE
for college and career including the disciplinary practices and
literacies that are needed for college-level work in social
studies academic courses and the critical thinking, problem
solving, and collaborative skills needed for the workplace.
The C3 Framework is not actually a set of standards; instead, it
is a framework that can accommodate specific content standards
chosen by California. California's existing History-Social
Science Standards, are long lists of discrete topics to cover;
the C3 Framework moves toward shorter, more coherent, and more
demanding standards, similar to the structure of California's
Common Core State Standards in English language arts and
mathematics and California's Next Generation Science Standards.
The C3 framework has separate provisions for the distinct
disciplines of economics, geography, history, and civics, but
integrates these disciplines into one coherent framework. The
C3 is generally consistent with existing best practices in
social studies education and encourages instruction that
includes interactive and intellectually demanding practices by
teachers.
By requiring the SPI to consider incorporating the C3 Framework
when revising the history social science standards, this bill
ensures consistency with the practices and concepts that are
woven throughout the California's Common Core standards and
reflects this Committee's recent emphasis on and encouragement
of meaningful civic education.
Findings and Declarations
The findings and declarations set forth in this bill paint a
bleak picture of California's current History Social Science
Standards by suggesting a grossly inaccurate and inequitable
portrayal of Hinduism. Staff recommends an amendment that will
amend the findings that the currently adopted textbooks contain
inaccurate information and that Hindus are negatively depicted
in these textbooks to instead declare that the textbooks contain
outdated information that should be updated to ensure that
members of different groups, Hindus, for example, are portrayed
accurately and equitably. The codified sections of this bill
will ensure that the standards, subsequent frameworks, and
aligned instructional materials will be accurate, and will be
sensitive to various scholars, and will carefully examined for
equality, appreciative of diversity, and be religiously and
culturally sensitive. Similarly, staff recommends amending the
SB 1057
PageF
finding that it is necessary to revise the standards in order to
adhere to existing law to delete the words "therefore,"
"rectified," and "adhere to existing law." Finally, staff
recommends amending the declaration that references the
prohibition against adopting instructional materials for use in
schools that contain any matter reflecting adversely upon
persons on the basis of race or ethnicity, gender, religion,
disability, nationality, or sexual orientation by deleting the
reference to the State Board of Education and correctly
reiterating existing law which prohibits local governing boards
from adopting these materials.
Related legislation specific to history-social science .
SB 1380 (Wyland), encourages instruction in social science for
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include instruction on the
American military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, including
Operation Desert Storm. This bill also requires the CDE to
include the Armenian Genocide in specified curriculum resources
and publications. SB 1380 is scheduled to be heard by this
committee on June 25, 2014.
AB 659 (Nazarian) requires the 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. AB 659
is pending in the Senate Education Committee.
AB 1915 (Nazarian), among other things, requires the
Instructional Quality Commission to include the Armenian,
Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the next revision of
the history-social science framework. AB 1915 was heard in the
Senate Education Committee on June 18, 2014 and passed out of
that committee with amendments by a vote of 7-0.
AB 1912 (Holden) requires the SBE to consider including
instruction on the election of President Barack Obama and the
significance of the United States electing its first African
American President, in the History-Social Science Framework, as
appropriate, in the next adoption cycle. AB 1912 is pending in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 1057
PageG
SB 521 (Wyland) requires the CDE and SBE to request the
Instructional Quality Commission to revise the history-social
science frameworks to include the comparative differences
between the rights of citizens in America and those in other
countries, and the connection of civics and American government
to western civilizations. SB 521 was never heard.
SB 1419 (Wyland) encourages instruction in social sciences to
include instruction on the American military conflicts in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and include a component drawn from
personal testimony. SB 1419 was withdrawn from Senate Education
Committee and is pending in Senate Rules Committee.
SB 897 (Steinberg), among other things, requires the
Instructional Quality Commission to consider for whether and how
to incorporate the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)
Framework for Social Studies State Standards into the
history-social science framework. SB 897 is scheduled to be
heard by this committee on June 25, 2014.
AB 2110 (Ting) requires the Instructional Quality Commission to
consider incorporating computer science curriculum content into
the mathematics, science, history-social science, and language
arts curriculum frameworks, as it deems appropriate. AB 2110 is
pending in the Senate Education Committee and is scheduled to be
heard on June 25, 2014.
SB 945 (Morrell) adds, beginning with the 2018-19 school year, a
summative assessment in history-social science to the state
assessment system. SB 945 was held in the Senate Education
Committee.
Prior legislation specific to history-social science .
AB 97 (Torlakson) of 2010 would have required the SBE, upon
recommendation of the SPI, to adopt a schedule for the review
and recommend revisions to the science and history-social
science curriculum area content standards. AB 97 was vetoed by
the Governor, whose veto message read:
Given California's participation in the Common Core
initiative and the anticipated reauthorization of
the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
this bill is premature. This bill could create an
unnecessary, duplicative process in the development
SB 1057
PageH
of content standards and in the integration of those
standards into the state's assessment system.
AB 391 (Wieckowski) of 2013 would have, among other things,
required the history-social science curriculum framework, when
it is revised, to encourage instruction related to the
understanding of personal finances, as specified. AB 391 was
held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 1325 (Wyland) of 2012 would have, among other things,
authorized the SPI and SBE to consider developing new curriculum
frameworks and, if necessary, standards that engage students in
learning about American history and government from oral
histories to biographical sketches and age-appropriate
descriptions of heroic efforts on the part of Americans to build
our society and its institutions. SB 1325 was never heard.
SB 283 (Wyland) of 2011 was identical to SB 1325, and was also
never heard.
SB 1278 (Wyland) of 2010 would have required the SBE to adopt a
revised curriculum framework and evaluation criteria for
instructional materials in history-social science in 2011. SB
1278 was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 223 (Wyland) of 2009 would have required the Curriculum
Commission to consider and vote on whether to include a unit on
financial literacy in the proposed changes to the 2014
history-social science framework. SB 223 was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 234 (Wyland) of 2009 would have required the Curriculum
Commission, as part of its regular process of developing and
revising curriculum frameworks, to consider and vote on whether
to include an oral history component specifically related to
genocides in the proposed changes to the 2014 history-social
science curriculum framework. SB 234 was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SB 1254 (Wyland) of 2008 was identical to SB 1325, and was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
SB 1057
PageI
Hindu American Foundation (Sponsor)
AJC - Global Jewish Advocacy
Association of California State Administrators
California Council for the Social Studies
California State Parent Teacher Association
California Teachers Association
Californians Together
California Teachers Association
City of Milpitas, Mayor Jose Esteves
Disability Rights California
Jain Associations in North America
Jain Center of Northern California
History Advocates
The Sikh Coalition
The State Bar of California
United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance
Individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087