Bill Text: CA AB2002 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2002 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB2002

Bill Title: School curriculum: model curriculum: Hmong history and cultural studies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-25 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2002 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2002-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 16, 2018

Amended IN Assembly February 08, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2002

Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula

February 01, 2018

An act to add Section ~~51227~~ 33540.5 to the Education Code, relating to school curriculum.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2002, as amended, Arambula. ~~Revised curriculum framework: history-social science: history of the Hmong and their contributions to the “Secret War” in Laos.~~ School curriculum: model curriculum: Hmong history and cultural studies.

Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages instruction in the area of social sciences that may include instruction on the Vietnam War, including the “Secret War” in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in that war.

This bill would require the state board to, on or before July 1, 2019, revise and adopt the curriculum framework for history-social science to include in that framework the history of the Hmong and their contributions to the “Secret War” in Laos.
This bill would require the commission to develop a model curriculum in Hmong history and cultural studies, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2019, to submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and would require the state board to adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2020. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, following the adoption of the model curriculum, to post the curriculum on the State Department of Education’s Internet Web site for use on a voluntary basis by educators. The bill, beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, would encourage local educational agencies, as defined, to use the curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(1) California’s history-social science framework, adopted by the State Board of Education in 2016, states that it is the obligation of the State of California to impart upon all pupils an engaging and relevant history-social science education that will shape how they participate in their world.
(2) The Hmong community has played a very important role in California and American history.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to create a model curriculum to provide resources to educators for the purpose of educating pupils about the history, culture, and contributions of the Hmong community to the United States.

SEC. 2.

Section 33540.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

33540.5.
(a) The commission shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or reject, a model curriculum in Hmong history and cultural studies. The model curriculum shall be developed with participation from representatives of Hmong advocacy, community, social, and cultural organizations; faculty of Hmong studies programs at universities and colleges; and local educational agencies. A majority of the individuals with whom the commission consults shall be teachers of kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who have relevant experiences or education backgrounds in the study and teaching of Hmong studies. The curriculum shall identify the ways in which the model curriculum aligns with, and is supportive of, the common core academic content standards and of the goals of the curriculum framework in history-social science adopted by the state board in 2016.
(b) The model curriculum shall include examples of courses offered by local educational agencies that have been approved as meeting the A–G admissions requirements of the University of California and the California State University, including, to the extent possible, course outlines for those courses.
(c) The model curriculum shall address, but shall not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The history of the Hmong people who lived in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and China.
(2) The history of the Hmong migration to the United States and California, as well as other parts of the world.
(3) Cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions of the Hmong people, including, among other things, Hmong New Year celebrations, marriages, newborns, and funerals.
(4) Contributions of the Hmong people to California and the United States.
(5) The contributions and sacrifices of the Lao-Hmong and other Southeast Asians who served in the “Secret Army” in Laos, which was funded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
(d) The commission shall hold a minimum of two public hearings in order for the public to provide input on the model curriculum. The public hearings and meetings required by this subdivision shall be held pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(e) The commission shall provide a minimum of 45 days for public comment before submitting the model curriculum to the state board.
(f) On or before December 31, 2019, the commission shall submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2020.
(g) If the state board modifies the model curriculum submitted by the commission, the state board shall explain, in writing, the reasons for the modifications to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.
(h) If the state board modifies the model curriculum, the state board shall, in a meeting conducted pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), provide written reasons for its modifications. The state board shall not adopt the model curriculum at the same meeting at which it provides its written reasons, but, instead, shall adopt these modifications at a subsequent meeting conducted no later than July 31, 2020.
(i) If the state board rejects the model curriculum, the state board shall transmit to the Superintendent, the Governor, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a specific written explanation of the reasons for the rejection of the model curriculum.
(j) Following the adoption of the model curriculum, the Superintendent shall post the curriculum on the department’s Internet Web site for use on a voluntary basis by educators.
(k) Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, local educational agencies are encouraged to use the curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(l) Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, each local educational agency maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based Hmong studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in Hmong studies based on the model curriculum.
(m) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies submit course outlines for Hmong studies for approval as A–G courses.
(n) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

SECTION 1.Section 51227 is added to the Education Code, to read:
51227.
On or before July 1, 2019, the state board shall revise and adopt the curriculum framework for history-social science to include in that framework the history of the Hmong and their contributions to the “Secret War” in Laos.