Bill Text: CA SB1213 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1213 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Pupil instruction: history-social science academic content standards: revisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-06-29 - Referred to Com. on ED. [SB1213 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1213-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 25, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1213

Introduced by Senator Leyva

February 20, 2020

An act to ~~amend Section 51220 of~~ add Section 60605.14 to the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1213, as amended, Leyva. Pupil instruction: ~~social sciences.~~ history-social science academic content standards: revisions.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards, pursuant to recommendations of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards, in core curriculum areas, including reading, writing, mathematics, history-social science, and science.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to recommend to the state board, as prescribed, revisions to the history-social science academic content standards. The bill would require the Superintendent to select, as prescribed, a group of experts in history-social science to assist the Superintendent in developing the recommendations. The bill would require, on or before November 30, 2023, the Superintendent to present the recommendations to the state board and would require, on or before January 31, 2024, the state board to adopt, reject, or modify the recommendations, as specified. If the state board modifies the history-social studies academic content standards recommended by the Superintendent, the bill would require the state board to provide written reasons for the modifications, as prescribed, and then, no later than March 31, 2024, to adopt the revised standards. If the state board rejects the history-social science academic content standards recommended by the Superintendent, the bill would require the state board to transmit a written explanation of the reasons for the rejection to the Superintendent, the Governor, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would authorize the state board to revise its adoption schedule for curriculum frameworks and certain instructional material items that are aligned to the history-social studies academic standards, as specified, if it adopts revised history-social studies academic content standards.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including social sciences. Existing law requires the instruction in social studies to provide instruction in, among other things, the American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the state and federal constitutions.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive revision to the requirement that instruction in social studies include instruction in the American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the state and federal constitutions.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 60605.14 is added to the Education Code, to read:

60605.14.
(a) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Instructional Quality Commission, shall recommend to the state board revisions to the history-social science academic content standards adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60605.
(b) In consultation with the Instructional Quality Commission and the state board, the Superintendent shall select a group of experts in history-social science for purposes of assisting in developing recommendations pursuant to this section. A majority of this group of experts shall be current public school elementary or secondary classroom teachers who have a professional teaching credential that is valid under state law.
(c) The National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, developed by the National Council for the Social Studies shall serve as a basis for deliberations regarding revisions to the history-social science academic content standards.
(d) (1) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Instructional Quality Commission, shall hold a minimum of two public hearings in order for the public to provide input on the revisions to the history-social science academic content standards recommended pursuant to this section.
(2) The public hearings 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) On or before November 30, 2023, the Superintendent shall present to the state board any recommendations for revisions to the history-social studies academic content standards, based on the work of the group of experts convened pursuant to subdivision (b), conducted in consultation with the Instructional Quality Commission.
(f) (1) On or before January 31, 2024, the state board shall adopt, reject, or modify any recommendations for revisions to the history-social studies academic standards presented by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. If the state board modifies the recommendations of the Superintendent, the state board shall explain in writing to the Governor and Legislature the reasons for modifying the recommendations.
(2) If the state board modifies the history-social studies academic content standards recommended by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (e), the state board shall, in a public meeting, provide written reasons for the modifications. The state board shall not adopt revised history-social studies academic content standards at the same meeting it provides its written reasons, but, instead, shall adopt the revisions at a subsequent public meeting conducted no later than March 31, 2024. The state board shall conduct the meetings under this paragraph 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).
(3) If the state board rejects the history-social studies academic content standards recommended by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (e), 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 standards presented by the Superintendent.
(g) Notwithstanding any other law, if history-social studies academic content standards are adopted pursuant to subdivision (f), the state board may revise its adoption schedule for curriculum framework, evaluation criteria for instructional materials, and adoption of instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that are aligned to the history-social studies academic standards, based on recommendations of the Instructional Quality Commission.

SECTION 1.Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to read:
51220.
~~The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of study:~~
~~(a)English, including knowledge of and appreciation for literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading, listening, and speaking.~~
(b)(1)Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the state and federal constitutions; the development of the American economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, genocide may include the Armenian Genocide. The “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.
~~(c)World language or languages, beginning not later than grade 7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the particular language.~~
~~(d)Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as required by Section 51222.~~
(e)Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems, and with appropriate applications of the interrelation and interdependence of the sciences.
~~(f)Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into problem-solving procedures.~~
~~(g)Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater, and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression.~~
~~(h)Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer education, family and consumer sciences education, industrial arts, general business education, or general agriculture.~~
(i)Career technical education designed and conducted for the purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the occupations and in the numbers that are appropriate to the personnel needs of the state and the community served and relevant to the career desires and needs of the pupils.
(j)Automobile driver education, designed to develop a knowledge of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness, and consequences of traffic accidents, and to develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver education shall include education in the safe operation of motorcycles.
~~(k)Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.~~