Code Section

51226.9.  

(a) (1) The department shall, no later than June 1, 2022, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, use the funding appropriated pursuant to Section 156 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021 to enter into a contract with a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education for the purposes of developing a model curriculum related to Native American studies by September 1, 2025. The model curriculum shall be housed on the platform developed and maintained by the California History-Social Science Project. The designated county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall work with the California History-Social Science Project and Teaching California to ensure that the model curriculum is accessible and compatible with the platform.

(2) The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall ensure the inclusion of authentic voices and perspectives in the development of the model curriculum and shall provide multiple opportunities for authentic stakeholder engagement across the state which shall include, but not be limited to, town halls or other input sessions and surveys. The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall consult with federally recognized Native American tribes located in California, California Native American tribes, faculty of Native American studies programs at universities and colleges with Native American studies programs, representatives of local educational agencies, members of the Instructional Quality Commission established pursuant to Section 33530, and teachers, including teachers who have relevant experiences or education backgrounds in the study and teaching of Native American studies. The Governor’s Tribal Advisor, the Native American Heritage Commission, and the department shall assist the county office of education or consortium of county offices of education in statewide tribal consultations with federally recognized Native American tribes located in California and California Native American tribes.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “California Native American tribe” means a Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for the purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004 and Chapter 532 of the Statutes of 2014.

(b) The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts and charter schools to adapt their related courses to reflect the pupil demographics in their communities. 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 be open source and accessible to educators across the state and include online instructional modules appropriate for use in elementary, middle, and high schools.

(d) The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education may subcontract with a nonprofit organization or institution of higher education in the development of the model curriculum pursuant to this subdivision.

(e) The county office of consortium or county offices of education shall submit a report annually, until the completion of the model curriculum, on its progress in the development of the model curriculum to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and to the state board.

(f) Beginning in the school year following the completion of the model curriculum pursuant to subdivision (a), each school district or charter school maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based Native American studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in Native American studies. A school district or charter school that elects to offer a course of study in Native American studies pursuant to this subdivision shall offer the course as an elective in the social sciences or English language arts and shall make the course available in at least one year during a pupil’s enrollment in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies submit course outlines for Native American studies for approval as A–G courses.

(h) For purposes of this section, “model curriculum” means lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies, and professional development activities to assist teachers in teaching about Native American studies.