SB 895: Pupil instruction: model curricula: Vietnamese American refugee experience, the Cambodian genocide, and Hmong history and cultural studies.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to include, among other subjects, the social sciences. Existing law encourages instruction in the area of social sciences for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, that may include instruction on the Vietnam War, including a component drawn from personal testimony of Southeast Asians who were involved in the Vietnam War and men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to establish a list of textbooks and other instructional materials that highlight the contributions of minorities in the development of California and the United States. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the state board.

This bill would require the commission to develop and submit to the state board, on or before December 31, 2022, and the state board to adopt, modify, or revise, on or before March 31, 2023, a model curriculum relative to the Vietnamese American refugee experience and a model curriculum relative to the Cambodian genocide, as specified, for use in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. The bill would encourage a school district, charter school, or county office of education that maintains kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based curriculum relative to the Vietnamese American refugee experience, Vietnamese boat people, and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, or that does not otherwise offer a standards-based curriculum relative to the Cambodian genocide, to offer a course of study based on the respective model curriculum. The bill would require the model curricula to be developed with participation from specified entities and individuals. 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.

The bill would require the commission to develop a model curriculum in Hmong history and cultural studies, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2022, to submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and would require the state board to adopt, modify, or reject the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2023. The bill would require the Superintendent, following the adoption of the model curriculum, to post the model curriculum on the State Department of Educations Internet Web site 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 12, inclusive. 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.