BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2001
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 3, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Virginia Strom-Martin, Chair
AB 2001 (Diaz) - As Amended: April 1, 2002
SUBJECT : Ethnic studies.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Department of Education (SDE) in
consultation with the University of California (UC) and the
California State University (CSU) to establish a task force to
identify model programs, standards, and curricula relating to
ethnic studies at the high school level. Requires the task
force to submit its report to the Governor and Legislature and
make it available on SDE's website on or before January 1, 2004.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires SDE, in consultation with UC and CSU to establish a
task force to identify model programs, standards, and
curricula relating to ethnic studies at the high school level.
2)Requires the task force to prepare a report that, at minimum,
does all of the following:
a) Reviews the most current research on ethnic studies for
secondary education.
b) Reviews and evaluates existing standards, curricula,
programs, and training regarding ethnic studies for
secondary education.
c) Identifies the best practices and standards for
establishing and implementing ethnic studies in public high
schools.
d) Assesses the adequacy of current ethnic studies courses
in California public high schools.
e) Make recommendations for establishing and implementing a
"California Cultures" course or ethnic studies course as a
required part of the public high school curriculum.
3)Requires the task force to complete and submit the report to
the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2004.
AB 2001
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a) Requires the report to be made available to the public
on the department's Internet Web site.
4)Requires that the task force be comprised of experts on ethnic
studies, multiculturalism, or diversity, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
a) Representatives from SDE.
b) Representatives from UC.
c) Representatives from CSU.
d) Academic faculty, researchers, and scientists with
backgrounds in ethnic studies, American studies, history,
education, psychology, or medicine.
e) Representatives from community-based organizations
concerned with pupil issues or civil rights.
f) Representatives from professional associations relating
to ethnic studies.
g) Educators in secondary education.
5)Requires that this act must not apply to UC, except to the
extent that the Regents of UC, by appropriate resolution, make
this section applicable.
6)Establishes an appropriation in an unknown amount from the
General Fund (GF) to SDE for the purpose of funding the
report.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires instruction in social sciences to include the early
history of California and a study of the role and
contributions of both men and women, black Americans, American
Indians, Mexicans, Asians, Pacific Island people, and other
ethnic groups to the economic, political, and social
development of California and the United States of America,
which particular emphasis on portraying the role of these
groups in contemporary society.
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2)Current law mandates that schools must offer specific courses
of study in grades 9-12, in the following areas of study:
a) English.
b) Mathematics.
c) Science, including biological and physical sciences.
d) Social studies, including United States history and
geography; world history, culture, and government and
civics.
e) Visual or performing arts.
f) Foreign language.
g) Physical education.
h) Applied Arts, including instruction in the areas of
consumer and homemaking education.
i) Career technical education.
j) Automobile driver education.
aa) Other coursework as specified by the governing board of
the school district.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown GF costs.
COMMENTS :
Background . According to SDE's 2000 Enrollment Data, there are
113 schools with an ethnic studies class with a total of 6,278
students enrolled, which represents less than 1% of the 1.7
million students enrolled in California high schools. Of the
6,278 students, 3,156 are male and 3,122 are female and 60% of
them are students of color.
Furthermore, SDE's 2001 History-Social Science Framework for
K-12, which is the blueprint for implementing grade level
History-Social Science content standards adopted by the State
Board of Education (SBE), includes multiculturalism as a guiding
principal. Specifically, it states: "This framework
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incorporates a multicultural perspective throughout the
history-social science curriculum. It calls on teachers to
recognize that the history of community, state, region, nation,
and world must reflect the experiences of men and women and of
different racial, religious, and ethnic groups. California has
always been a state of many different cultural groups, just as
the United States has always been a nation of many different
cultural groups. The experiences of all these groups are to be
integrated at every grade level in the history-social science
curriculum."
Also, the framework identifies ethnic studies as an elective
course of study for grades 9-12. It describes it in the
following manner: "In this course students focus on an in-depth
study of ethnic groups, including their history, culture,
contributions, and current status in the United States. They
learn about the characteristics of America's ethnic groups and
the similarities and differences of these groups in both their
past and present experiences. Students should understand the
national origins of American ethnic groups. They should study
the social, economic, and political forces that caused people to
come to America. They should gain insights into the barriers
that various ethnic groups have had to overcome in the past and
present. They should learn about the opportunities these groups
encountered and the contributions made by each to American
society. . As a result of these studies, students should gain a
deeper understanding of American society and its diverse ethnic
composition and develop acceptance and respect for cultural
diversity in our pluralistic society." The history of
Commission for One California . In 1999, Lt. Governor Cruz
Bustamante created the commission after President Bill Clinton's
initiative - One America in the 21st Century: The President's
Initiative on Race. The Commission for One California's mission
is "to serve as a forum to understand diversity; to provide
information on how communities big and small can address
prejudice, intolerance and hate; to help parents, community
leaders, teachers and law enforcement agencies fight hate crimes
and intolerance; to advocate for state and national legislation
that promotes unity among people; and to promote political
debate that is free of scapegoating and stereotyping."
In August 2001 Interim Report, the commission recommended the
following: "Education and training on diversity and American
cultures must be continually renewed. "Education and training
AB 2001
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must similarly be evolve, and new knowledge about California's
people must be disseminated broadly and efficiently through our
schools and workplaces to help our children and adult citizens
understand and embrace the changes around them. By incorporating
ongoing education on diversity into the renewal processes for
professional licensing and certification, we can help ensure
that our workforce is continuously equipped with an accurate
understanding of our changing population."
Arguments in support . According to the author, "In an ever
changing society, it becomes especially important to teach
students respect, tolerance, and understanding of the various
ethnic and racial groups of our state. It is also important
that the curriculum of our public schools reflect our evolving
understanding of the histories and cultures that make up our
state."
"Making an ethnic studies course a standard part of the public
school curriculum is a way to achieve this critical goal.
Furthermore, it is important to prepare California's students
for the complex society in which they live, with the knowledge
and skills to be more understanding members of their respective
communities and embrace the changes around them."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Asian Health Services
California National Organization for Women
California School Employees Association
California State Conference of the NAACP
Innercity Struggle
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies,
Northern and Southern California Chapters
Raza Studies Majors and Minors Association at San Francisco
Santa Clara University
Spanish Speaking Citizens' Foundation
State of California, Lieutenant Governor, Cruz Bustamante
Student Empowerment Project
Youth Together, Richmond, CA
Several Individuals
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / ED. / (916) 319-2087