HomeMy WebLinkAbout65A - SB 895 DISCUSSIONREQUEST FOR
COUNCIL ACTION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE:
APRIL 17, 2018
TITLE:
DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF
LEGISLATIVE POSITION ON SB 895
(VIETNAMESE REFUGEE MODEL
CURRICULUM)
(STRATEGIC PLAN NO. 2)
C1 LY MANAGER
RECOMMENDED ACTION
CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY:
r-WituemAil,
❑ As Recommended
❑ As Amended
❑ Ordinance on 1° Reading
❑ Ordinance on 2n° Reading
❑ Implementing Resolution
❑ Set Public Hearing For_
CONTINUED TO
FILE NUMBER
Discuss and consider a position on Senate Bill 895 (Nguyen), Vietnamese Refugee Model
Curriculum. The City Council may take one of the following positions: (1) support, (2) support if
amended, (3) neutral, (4) oppose, (5) oppose unless amended, (6) watch, and (7) provide staff
direction other than the positions listed.
BACKGROUND
In accordance with the adopted 2018 Legislative Platform, a process was established to provide
staff with direction on how to take positions on legislative matters on behalf of the City. When a
legislative item is silent in the Legislative Platform, it is to be presented to the City Council for
consideration.
SB 895, as introduced by Senator Nguyen, would establish the first model curriculum for the
comprehensive study of the Vietnamese -American refugee experience. It would require the
Instructional Quality Commission to develop and recommend to the State Board of Education
adoption of model curriculum relative to the Vietnamese -American refugee experience.
The model would also include discussion of the members of the Republic of Vietnam Armed
Forces, their stories of fighting alongside American soldiers, experiences in reeducation camps
and their exodus to America. This bill would also require the inclusion of writings that represent all
perspectives of the refugee experience including the oral testimony of Vietnamese refugees and
their experiences when teaching about the Vietnam War and post -Vietnam War era.
SB 895 would require the Instructional Quality Commission to complete the development of the
model curriculum by December 31, 2020 and the State Board of Education to adopt the
curriculum by March 31, 2021.
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Discussion and Consideration of SB 895
April 17, 2018
Page 2
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Approval of this item supports the City's efforts to meet Goal #2 — Youth, Education, Recreation
Objective #4, (partner with groups and organizations to promote education, senior services, job
training and development for all Santa Ana residents).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact from this action
Exhibits: 1. Senate Bill 895 (Vietnamese Refugee Model Curriculum) Fact Sheet
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SB 895
Vietnamese Refugee Mode( Curriculum
SUMMARY
SB 895 requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to
develop and recommend to the State Board of Education (SBE) the
adoption of model curriculum relative to the Vietnamese -American
refugee experience including the accounts of Vietnamese Boat People
and those who served in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces.
This model curriculum would include oral testimony of Vietnamese -
American refugees and their experiences when teaching about the
Vietnam War and post -Vietnam War era content required for social
studies and history curriculum in our schools.
EXISTING LAW
The Instructional Quality Commission formerly known as the
Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission,
was established in 1927 as an advisory body to the State Board of
Education.
The IQC is responsible for advising the State Board of Education on
matters related to curriculum and instruction, as well as developing and
recommending frameworks including criteria for evaluating
instructional materials submitted for adoption. The IQC also
recommends policies and activities to the State Board of Education,
the California Department of Education, and local education agencies
regarding curriculum and instruction.
Current law encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer,
liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights,
the Holocaust, and genocide, including, the Armenian, Cambodian,
Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.
Previous bills that established new curriculum criteria for other
communities include:
SB 984 (Polanco, 2000) — Cesar Chavez Day
SB 1380 (Wyland, 2014) — Armenian Genocide
AB 2864 (Chau, 2016) — Chinese Exclusion Act
AB 738 (Lim6n, 2017)—Native Americans Studies
PROBLEM
While more than 500,000 Vietnamese -Americans call California
home, when teaching about the experiences of Vietnamese refugees in
our schools, students are limited to insufficient curriculum material.
What is often omitted are the tragic personal stories like that of the
Vietnamese Boat People who, after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, risked
their lives escaping Communism only to spend weeks or months at sea
battling storms, disease, starvation, and pirates. Also missing are the
stories of members of the Republic of
Vietnam Armed Forces, who fought valiantly alongside American
soldiers in the defense of freedom and democracy.
Additionally, the absence of oral histories prevents students from
better relating to and understanding different perspectives.
THE SOLUTION
SB 895 would be the state's fust model curriculum for the
comprehensive study of the Vietnamese -American refugee experience.
It would specifically require the Instructional Quality Commission to
develop and recommend to the State Board of Education adoption of
model curriculum relative to the Vietnamese -American refugee
experience.
The model curriculum must include the discussion of the Vietnamese
Boat People, the reasons behind the exodus, the hardships faced by the
refugees and the conditions that led to their resettlement in America.
The model curriculum most also include discussion of the members of
the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, their stories of fighting
alongside American soldiers, experiences in reeducation camps and
their exodus to America. It most also incorporate writings that
represent all perspectives of the refugee experience including the oral
testimony of Vietnamese refugees and their experiences when teaching
about the Viemam War and post -Vietnam War era
While other groups have benefitted from legislation that established
new curriculum criteria highlighting the challenges and triumphs of
thew people, the State of California has yet to fully recognize the
Vietnamese refugee experience and to incorporate oral history as
necessary for teaching in the classroom.
These oral histories will capture the voices ofpeople not often included
in traditional historical records. Students, particularly younger
Vietnamese -Americans, need to hear personal accounts of the past so
they understand the impact events have had on their own culture, and
our world. First -person accounts from individuals who have
experienced some of the most tragic times in recent history will help
topics become more than statistics on a page.
SB 895 will require the Instructional Quality Commission to complete
the development of the model curriculum by December 31, 2020 and
the State Board of Education to adopt the curriculum by March 31,
2021.
FISCAL
Unknown at this time
SPONSOR
Author Sponsored
CONTACT:
David Monmy
(916) 651-4034
David.Momov6ilsen.ca. eov
Office of Senator Janet Nguyen, Room 3048 Page 1
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