California Assembly Bill AB580 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 580AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 26, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 12, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis FEBRUARY 16, 2011 An act to  add   amend  Section  51204.8 to   60200.6 of  the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 580, as amended, Davis. Pupil instruction: curriculum: civil rights.  Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials in specified subject areas, including social science, for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive. A provision of existing law requires instructional materials adopted for social science to include, among other things, information designed to instruct pupils on the civil rights movement.   This bill would authorize the state board to develop a social science curriculum pursuant to that provision, as specified.   Existing law establishes courses of study to be provided to elementary and secondary school pupils. The State Department of Education is required to incorporate, into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, those materials that are age appropriate and consistent with subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with, among other things, civil rights.   This bill would provide that the Legislature encourages the State Board of Education to develop curriculum that teaches pupils about the importance of the civil rights movement, as specified.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 60200.6 of the     Education Code   is amended to read:  60200.6.  (a)    Instructional materials adopted pursuant to this chapter for the category of social science as specified in paragraph  (5)   (4)  of subdivision (a) of Section 60200 shall include information designed to instruct pupils on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights movement, and contributions made by ethnic minority groups to the history of the United States. The state board shall ensure that the materials present the information in a manner consistent with the instruction provided in each grade level. The state board shall endeavor to see that this objective is accomplished in the evaluation of instructional materials for educational content.  (b) The curriculum developed pursuant to this section may include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:   (1) Issues related to social justice, power relations, diversity, mutual respect, and civic engagement.   (2) The definition of civil rights and the modern civil rights movement and the tactics used by civil rights activists to achieve social change.   (3) A focus on the modern civil rights era and the events that took place in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including, but not limited to, demonstrations, resistance, organizing, nonviolent civil disobedience, and collective action and unity in the pursuit of fair and equal treatment for all Americans.   (4) A review of significant court cases, legislation, organizations, events, monuments, literature, arts, and contributions of men, women, and other significant figures of the modern civil rights era.   SECTION 1.   Section 51204.8 is added to the Education Code, to read: 51204.8. The Legislature encourages the state board to develop curriculum to teach pupils about the importance of the civil rights movement in American history and the lives of all Americans. The curriculum developed under this section may include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following: (a) Issues related to social justice, power relations, diversity, mutual respect, and civic engagement. (b) The definition of civil rights and the modern civil rights movement and the tactics used by civil rights activists to achieve social change. (c) A focus on the modern civil rights era and the events that took place in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including, but not limited to, demonstrations, resistance, organizing, nonviolent civil disobedience, and collective action and unity in the pursuit of fair and equal treatment for all Americans. (d) A review of significant court cases, legislation, organizations, events, monuments, literature, arts, and contributions of men, women, and other significant figures of the modern civil rights era.