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SB-1057 Pupil curriculum: history-social science content standards.(2013-2014)

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Enrolled  August 28, 2014
Passed  IN  Senate  August 26, 2014
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 25, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 01, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 10, 2014
Amended  IN  Senate  May 27, 2014
Amended  IN  Senate  April 30, 2014
Amended  IN  Senate  April 10, 2014

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1057

Introduced by Senator Corbett

February 18, 2014

An act to add Section 60605.84 to the Education Code, relating to pupil curriculum.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1057, Corbett. Pupil curriculum: history-social science content standards.
Existing law required the State Board of Education, not later than November 1, 1998, to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards in the core curriculum area of history-social science.
This bill would require the state board, on or before July 30, 2018, to adopt, reject, or modify history-social science content standards in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a group of history-social science experts, as specified, and, with input from the group, would require the Superintendent, on or before March 30, 2018, to recommend history-social science content standards to the state board. The bill would require the Superintendent and the state board, by October 1, 2018, to report certain information on the implementation of those standards to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to history-social science content standards.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In contrast to other subject areas, the state’s 16-year-old history-social science content standards were developed in 1998 and have failed to keep up with modern research and scholarship.
(b) There is nothing in current law that requires history-social science content standards to be reviewed and updated.
(c) California has long been home to many diverse cultures. As this diversity has grown, there is a greater need than ever before for understanding the foundational ideas and philosophy of our country and the world.
(d) California’s current kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, history-social science textbooks contain outdated information that should be updated to ensure that members of different groups, such as Hindus, are portrayed accurately and equitably.
(e) Existing law prohibits a governing board of education from adopting any 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.
(f) The history-social science content standards must be revised to address concerns of accuracy, rigorous scholarship, equality, diversity, and religious and cultural sensitivity. Furthermore, the standards should be updated to ensure that they are consistent with changes to other subjects in California’s education system.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the revised kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, history-social science content standards must be equitable in their coverage and depiction of any world religion, ethnicity, race, culture, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or disability status and that no group must be portrayed negatively or as inferior based on any of these characteristics.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the process to update the kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, history-social science content standards be fair, transparent, and inclusive.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the expert group created pursuant to Senate Bill 1057 of the 2013–14 Regular Session must take into consideration the diversity of the state, including groups or individuals who represent the perspectives of all major religions, ethnicities, races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and disability statuses when revising the history-social science content standards.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a schedule and process for the review and revision, as necessary, of the state’s history-social science content standards.

SEC. 2.

 Section 60605.84 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 60605.8, to read:

60605.84.
 (a) The state board shall adopt history-social science content standards pursuant to the following requirements:
(1) The Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall convene a group of history-social science experts. The Superintendent shall ensure that the members of the group include, but are not limited to, individuals who are elementary and secondary history-social science teachers, schoolsite principals, school district or county office of education administrators, and university professors. A majority of the group of experts convened pursuant to this paragraph shall be individuals employed as history-social science teachers.
(2) The group of experts convened pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 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.
(3) The Superintendent shall consider for inclusion in the history-social science content standards all topics that are required to be considered for inclusion pursuant to the provisions of this code.
(4) The Superintendent, with input from the group convened pursuant to paragraph (1), shall recommend history-social science content standards for adoption to the state board.
(5) The Superintendent shall hold a minimum of two public meetings 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) in order for the public to provide input on the history-social science content standards that would be recommended pursuant to paragraph (4).
(6) The Superintendent shall present the recommended history-social science content standards to the state board on or before March 30, 2018.
(7) On or before July 30, 2018, the state board shall adopt, reject, or modify the history-social science content standards presented by the Superintendent.
(8) If the state board modifies the history-social science content standards presented by the Superintendent, the state board shall provide written reasons for its modifications in a public meeting. The state board shall adopt its modifications to the history-social science content standards at a subsequent public meeting held no later than July 30, 2018. The public meetings required by this paragraph 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).
(b) (1) On or before October 1, 2018, the Superintendent and the state board shall 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.
(2) The requirement for submitting the report required pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on October 1, 2022, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.