Bill Text: CA AB1393 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Pupil instruction: model curriculum: Laotian history and cultural studies.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-21 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB1393 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB1393-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 11, 2019 |
Assembly Bill | No. 1393 |
Introduced by Assembly Members Weber and Arambula (Coauthor: Assembly Member Chau) |
February 22, 2019 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
This bill would require the commission to develop and submit to the state board a model curriculum relative to the history and cultural study of Laotian refugees, as provided, on or before December 31, 2022. The bill would require the state board, on or before March 31, 2023, to adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum. The bill would require the Superintendent, following the adoption of the model curriculum, to post the model curriculum on the State Department of Education’s internet website 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 model curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, a course of study in Laotian studies based on the model curriculum. The bill would provide that implementation of its provisions is subject to the receipt of grants, donations, or other financial support from private or public sources for its purposes, including, but not limited to, an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)“Laotian” means a person who has at least one ancestor who was part of an ethnic group from Laos, including, but not limited to, Lao, Iu Mien, Khmu, Phutai, Tai Lue, Tai Dam, and Tai Deng. For purposes of the model curriculum developed pursuant to this section, “Laotian” does not include the ethnic group included in the model curriculum developed pursuant to Section 33540.6.
(2)“Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(b)On or before December 31, 2022, the
commission shall develop and submit to the state board a model curriculum relative to the history and cultural study of Laotian refugees, as provided in this section. The model curriculum shall include, but not be limited to, the Lao, Iu Mien, Khmu, Phutai, Tai Lue, Tai Dam, and Tai Deng ethnic groups.
(c)The model curriculum shall be developed with participation from Laotian American cultural centers and community groups located in California, surviving members of the Royal Lao Army and descendants of the those members, Laotian American refugees and descendants of the those refugees, faculty of Laotian studies programs at universities and colleges, and a group of representatives of local educational agencies, a majority of whom are kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, teachers who have relevant experience or educational backgrounds in the study and teaching of Laotian American history and culture.
(d)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.
(e)The model curriculum shall include curriculum appropriate for use in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.
(f)The model curriculum developed for use in high schools 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.
(g)The model
curriculum shall address, but shall not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(1)The history of Laos in the 14th century at the time of the Lan Xang Kingdom, which means the “Land of a Million Elephants,” under King Fa Ngum, and the history of the Laotian people who lived in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and China.
(2)The history of war and conflict in Laos that led to the migration to the United States, which shall include, but not be limited to, the United States Secret War in Laos, the bombing missions to interdict supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the unexploded ordnance, which not only pose an imminent and real threat to Laotians, but significantly impact quality of life for all Lao citizens.
(3)The contributions and sacrifices of the Laotian civilians and soldiers in the Royal Lao Army who
fought in the Secret War.
(4)The history of the Laotian migration to California and to other parts of the United States and the world, which shall include, but not be limited to, family separation, escape across the Mekong River, and life inside refugee camps.
(5)The writings, oral testimonies, videos, documentaries, and other media that represent all perspectives of the Laotian refugee experience.
(6)Unique cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions of Laotian Americans of the Lao, Iu Mien, Khmu, Phutai, Tai Lue, Tai Dam, and Tai Deng ethnic groups, including, but not limited to, new year festivals, traditional arts and music, food, and ceremonies for marriages, births, and funerals.
(7)Assimilation to a new life in California and the United
States, the generational issues, and the contributions of Laotian American communities to California and the United States.
(h)In order for the public to provide input on the model curriculum, the commission shall hold a minimum of two public hearings, which 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).
(i)The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow local educational agencies to adapt their related courses to best meet the educational needs of their communities.
(j)(1)On or before March 31, 2023, the state board shall adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum. The commission shall provide a minimum of 45 days for
public comment before submitting the model curriculum to the state board.
(2)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 policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, and shall provide that written explanation in a meeting conducted pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The state board shall not adopt the model curriculum at the same meeting at which it provides its written explanation, but, instead, shall adopt the modifications at a subsequent meeting conducted no later than July 31, 2023.
(3)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.
(k)Following the adoption of the model curriculum, the Superintendent shall post the model curriculum on the department’s internet website for use on a voluntary basis by educators.
(l)(1)Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, a local educational agency is encouraged to use the model curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive.
(2)Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, a local educational agency that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based Laotian studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in
Laotian studies based on the model curriculum.
(3)For a local educational agency for which the Laotian pupil population consists of 3.5 percent or more of the total pupil population of the local educational agency, a meeting of the governing board or body of the local educational agency to decide whether or not to adopt the model curriculum shall be conducted pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code). A local educational agency that decides not to adopt the model curriculum shall articulate and record the reasons for not adopting the model curriculum, and shall maintain those records for a minimum of 10 years.
(m)The implementation of this section is subject to the receipt of grants, donations, or other financial support from private or public sources for its purposes, including, but
not limited to, an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
SEC. 2.
Section 33540.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:33540.6.
(a) The commission shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or reject, a model curriculum in Hmong and Laotian history and cultural studies. The model curriculum shall be developed with participation from representatives of Hmong and Laotian advocacy, community, social, and cultural organizations; Hmong and Laotian refugees and descendants of those refugees, including surviving members of the Royal Lao Army and descendants of those members; faculty of Hmong and Laotian 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 educational backgrounds in the study and teaching of Hmong and Laotian studies. The model 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.(o)