SB 369: Pupil instruction: model curricula: Vietnamese American refugee experience: Cambodian American history and heritage.

(1)Existing law requires the State Department of Education to use specified appropriated funds to, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the State Board of Education, enter into a contract with a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education by March 1, 2022, for the purpose of developing model curriculum related to the Vietnamese American refugee experience, as provided, by September 1, 2024. Existing law defines model curriculum for these purposes as various teaching tools to assist teachers in teaching about, among other things, the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and the conditions that led to the resettlement of Vietnamese people in the United States, as provided.

This bill would specify that the model curriculum is meant to cover the period from the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon in 1975 to the year 2000, as provided. To the extent these provisions impose additional duties on the contracted county office of education or consortium of county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires the department to use specified appropriated funds to, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, enter into a contract with a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education by April 1, 2022, for the purpose of developing model curriculum related to the Cambodian genocide, as provided, by September 1, 2024.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions, by, among other things, requiring the model curriculum developed under these provisions to instead be related to Cambodian American history and heritage. To the extent these provisions impose additional duties on the contracted county office of education or consortium of county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.