(1) Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to recommend curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for adoption to the State Board of Education. Existing law requires, at the next regularly scheduled revision of the curriculum framework in English Language Arts and English Language Development, the commission to consider including content designed to provide teachers with resources to meet the unique academic and English language development needs of newcomer pupils at all grade levels. Existing law also requires the commission to ensure that the instructional materials for pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, that it recommends to the State Board of Education for adoption include resources to help teachers meet the needs of newcomer pupils. This bill would instead require, at the next adoption or followup adoption of instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in English Language Arts and English Language Development, the commission to consider including resources to help teachers meet the unique academic and English language development needs of newcomer pupils. (2) Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt a state master plan for services to migrant children, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in implementing the state master plan for services to migrant children, to establish the service regional system as the primary method for the delivery of services to migrant children. Existing law requires the Superintendent to review and approve plans for the establishment of service regions and to incorporate specified criteria in the approval of regional plans, as provided. Existing law defines "migrant region," for purposes of this law pertaining to services for migrant children, as an operating agency comprised of a county or a combination of counties, or a public or private nonprofit agency not controlled in whole or part by a school district, or a combination of counties and agencies, meeting specified criteria. This bill would revise the definition of "migrant region" to instead mean an operating agency meeting the specified criteria comprised of a county office of education or a combination of county offices of education, a combination of school districts within a county, a public or private nonprofit agency not controlled in whole or part by a school district, or a combination of county offices of education and public or private nonprofit agencies. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to issue a request for proposals to contract for the development of standards for professional development for educators and instructional leaders. Existing law requires the standards to serve as guidelines for providers of professional development activities and authorizes them to be used to facilitate coordination among existing professional development programs. This bill, among other things, would require the department, on or before August 31, 2026, to develop a list of recommended professional development and training programs that meet specified requirements relating to effective means of teaching literacy and evidence-based means of teaching foundational reading skills, as described, and to submit the list to the State Board of Education for approval, as provided. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2027, to approve a list of those recommended professional development and training programs. The bill would require the department to make the list of those approved professional development and training programs available on its internet website and to update the list as necessary. The bill, commencing September 1, 2027, would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to ensure participation in, and would require all applicable personnel, as defined, to satisfactorily complete by no later than August 31, 2029, an approved professional development and training program that is listed on the department's internet website, except as specified. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the state board to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for governing boards, subject to specified provisions, including, among others, that the state board adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials for all applicable grade levels in each of the specified subject areas, including, among others, language arts, including, but not limited to, spelling, reading, and English language development. In reviewing and adopting or recommending for adoption submitted basic instructional materials, existing law requires the state board to use specified criteria, and to ensure that, in its judgment, the submitted basic instructional materials meet that criteria, including, among others, that the instructional materials are aligned to the content standards adopted by the state board in the subject area and the grade level or levels for which they are submitted. Notwithstanding any other law, existing law authorizes a local educational agency to use instructional materials that are aligned with the academic content standards previously adopted by the state board. This bill would revise and recast provisions relating to adoption of instructional materials for English language arts, English language development, and reading by, among other things, requiring the state board, on or before January 1, 2027, to adopt basic instructional materials, as defined, for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in English language arts, English language development, and reading. The bill would require the state board to, among other things, ensure that all basic instructional materials adopted pursuant to these provisions are aligned to the most recently adopted academic content standards and curriculum frameworks and adhere to effective means of teaching literacy and evidence-based means of teaching foundational reading skills. The bill would require the department to publish the complete list of the state board's adopted basic instructional materials on the department's internet website and to distribute the complete list to all local educational agencies, as specified. Upon the state board's adoption of those basic instructional materials, the bill would require all basic instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, and reading for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, adopted by each school district, county office of education, and charter school to, among other requirements, adhere to specified evaluation criteria, and would prohibit those local educational agencies from adopting basic instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, or reading that have not been adopted by the state board unless the local educational agency is granted a waiver from the state board, as specified. On or before December 31, 2028, the bill would require each local educational agency to provide to the department, and the department to develop, maintain, and annually update, a current list of basic instructional materials in English language arts, English language development, and reading, adopted by each local educational agency that is publicly accessible on the department's internet website. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would make Legislative findings and declarations relating to these provisions, conforming changes, and other nonsubstantive changes. (4) 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.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Education, under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns to the department numerous duties relating to the financing, governance, and guidance of the public elementary and secondary schools in this state. This bill would require the department to, no later than September 1, 2026, identify and post on its internet website a list of inservice professional development programs for effective means of teaching literacy in specified grade levels that may be used by school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools for training teachers. The bill would require the department to ensure that the list includes programs offered in different modalities, including in-person and virtual formats, and ensure that the programs meet specified criteria. The bill would require the department to make specified funds available and the Superintendent to apportion those funds to school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools to provide opportunities for professional development for teachers who teach pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, using one or more of the above-described professional development programs, as provided. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law sets forth the minimum requirements for a preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services, which include, among other requirements, completion of an entry-level program of specialized and professional preparation in administrative services or a one-year internship in a program of supervised training in administrative services, subject to approval by the commission, as provided. This bill would require the commission to, no later than September 1, 2027, ensure that the program standards for the professional preparation of candidates for a preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services meets specified criteria, including, among other things, that the program standards include preparation on how to support teachers in delivering instruction through effective means for teaching literacy, as provided. The bill would require the commission to, no later than September 1, 2029, certify that all professional preparation programs and internships for candidates for a preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services approved by the commission meet those program standards. Existing law requires the state board to adopt basic instructional materials for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for governing boards of school districts and county boards of education, subject to specified provisions, including, among others, that the State Board of Education adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials for all applicable grade levels in each of the specified subject areas, including, among others, language arts, including, but not limited to, spelling, reading, and English language development. This bill would require the state board, on or before June 30, 2027, and in adherence with specified provisions related to followup adoptions, to adopt instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in English language arts and English language development, as provided. The bill would require the state board to ensure that instructional materials adopted pursuant to these provisions adhere to specified criteria. This bill would make implementation of its provisions, as described above, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law authorizes local educational agencies to employ personnel to provide services in schools pursuant to that system. This bill would require the State Department of Education to, on or before July 1, 2027, develop an online cultural competency training delivery platform and online cultural competency training curriculum for school employees to support pupils of color. The bill would, commencing with the 2027–28 school year and ending with the completion of the 2031–32 school year, require a school district, county office of education, or charter school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to annually provide that training to all school employees, unless an employee is exempt from the training or an employee provides proof of completion for a cultural competency training completed while employed at another local educational agency, as provided. The bill would also require local educational agencies to provide a proof of completion to school employees that complete the training and to ensure that all school employees complete the required training on paid time during the employees' regular work hours or designated professional development hours, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to (1) monitor compliance with the training requirement as part of the department's annual compliance monitoring of state and federal programs, (2) report data, within 9 months of the completion of the 5-year training period, from that compliance monitoring to the Legislature, and (3) post the report on the department's internet website, as provided. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2033, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2034. 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.
Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to provide for the adoption and selection of quality instructional materials for use in elementary and secondary schools and requires each governing board of a school district to provide for substantial teacher involvement in the selection of instructional materials and to promote the involvement of parents and other members of the community in the selection of instructional materials. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, when adopting instructional materials for use in school, to include relevant technology-based materials, defined for these purposes to mean basic or supplemental instructional materials that are designed for use by pupils and teachers as learning resources and that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource, as provided. This bill would require the governing board or body of each school district, county office of education, and charter school to provide for substantial teacher involvement in the evaluation and selection of educational technology, as defined, that is required to be used by all teachers or all paraprofessionals of the local educational agency, and to promote the involvement of parents and other members of the community in the evaluation and selection process. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, on or before January 1, 2027, to develop, and post on the State Department of Education's internet website, best practices and resources to guide school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and joint powers authorities providing educational services in the evaluation and selection of educational technology that is required to be used by all teachers or all paraprofessionals, as specified. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2027, encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to follow those best practices for the evaluation and selection of educational technology. 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Serves Program under the administration of the State Department of Education, in collaboration with CaliforniaVolunteers, for purposes of promoting access to effective service learning for pupils in grade 12 who are enrolled at participating local educational agencies. Existing law requires the department, in partnership with CaliforniaVolunteers, to review available evidence on ways to incorporate effective service learning for pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, develop model uniform metrics for the measurement of pupil progress, provide recommendations to the Legislature on, and post on the department's and CaliforniaVolunteers' internet websites information related to, evidence-based strategies to expand access to high-quality service learning programs, as provided. Existing law, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, appropriates $5,000,000 from the General Fund, each fiscal year, to the department to award grants of up to $500,000 annually to local educational agencies in which at least 55% of enrolled pupils are unduplicated pupils, as defined, to be used for, among other things, the purchase of instructional materials and participation and personnel costs, as provided. This bill would expand the California Serves Program to promote access to effective service learning for pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who are enrolled at participating local educational agencies. By expanding the purposes of ongoing appropriations, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the department, in partnership with CaliforniaVolunteers, on or before January 1, 2027, to (A) review available evidence on ways to incorporate effective service learning for pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, (B) develop model uniform metrics for the measurement of pupil progress for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and (C) provide recommendations to the Legislature on, and post on the department's and CaliforniaVolunteers' internet websites information related to, evidence-based strategies to expand access to high-quality service learning programs for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided. (2) Existing law establishes the State Seal of Civic Engagement to recognize pupils who have demonstrated excellence in civics education and participation and have demonstrated an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government, as provided. This bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to implement a Civic Engagement Pathway Program for pupils in grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to increase pupil awareness and civic engagement in democratic governmental institutions at the local, state, and national levels, and to provide civic learning resources and support for teachers to implement that programming. The bill would require the Civic Engagement Pathway Program to provide opportunities for pupils in grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to engage in civic engagement experiences with governmental institutions that are supportive of pupils earning the State Seal of Civic Engagement, as provided. The bill also would encourage those local educational agencies to establish local recognition programs to recognize pupils participating in a Civic Engagement Pathway Program based on locally developed criteria. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the State Board of Education and the department to request that the Instructional Quality Commission review and revise, as necessary, the course requirements in the history-social science framework, as specified. Existing law requires, whenever the history-social science framework is revised as required by law, the commission to, among other things, consider how civics and history instruction, at all appropriate grade levels, includes, in addition to the acquisition of content knowledge, the application of that content to develop the competence and skills needed for civic engagement. This bill would require the commission to include civic engagement experiences with governmental institutions that are supportive of pupils earning the State Seal of Civic Engagement, as provided, when making the above-described consideration regarding civics and history instruction. (4) 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.
Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. The coursework requirements include, among others, the completion of one course in visual or performing arts, foreign language, or career technical education. Existing law eliminates the authorization for career technical education to count toward that graduation requirement on July 1, 2027, or upon the occurrence of a specified event relating to career technical education requirements of the University of California and the California State University, whichever occurs earlier, as specified. This bill, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would delete the above-described authorization and instead would indefinitely require, commencing with pupils graduating in the 2031–32 school year, the completion of a separate, stand-alone one-semester course in career technical education, that is prohibited from being combined with any other course, as a high school graduation requirement. The bill, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools with pupil in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to, commencing with the 2028–29 school year, offer a separate, stand-alone one-semester course in career technical education, that is prohibited from being combined with any other course. To the extent that the bill imposes new duties on school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, in an amount equal to the unreimbursed amount paid or incurred by a qualified teacher during the taxable year for instructional materials and classroom supplies, as defined, not to exceed $250. The bill would define qualified teacher as a teacher in a public, charter, or private school offering instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for at least 900 hours during a school year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil who meets specified criteria to attend community college. Existing law requires a pupil to receive credit for community college courses that the pupil completes at the level determined appropriate by the governing boards of the school district and community college district. This bill would authorize a pupil concurrently enrolled in specified community college courses to participate in work-based learning activities, as provided. (2) Existing law authorizes a group of students to organize a student body association within the public schools with the approval of and subject to the control and regulation of the governing board of the school district, as specified. This bill would authorize an above-described student body organization to operate a student-led enterprise program, as provided. (3) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining a high school to (A) establish courses of work-based learning or work experience education to provide pupils with instruction in the skills, attitudes, and understanding necessary for success in employment, (B) provide guidance and supervision procedures to ensure maximum educational benefit to pupils from placement in suitable work-based learning or work experience education courses, (C) provide for arranging, approving, coordinating, and awarding credit for work-based learning or work experience education courses, and employing personnel for purposes of providing that credit, and (D) provide or require pupils to acquire liability insurance for off-school-grounds work experience programs. This bill would extend the above-described authorizations provided by the governing boards of school districts to the governing boards or bodies of county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools. The bill would define "work-based learning" and "work experience education" for purposes of those authorizations, would make other changes to those authorizations, and would make various other changes to law relating to work-based learning, as specified. Existing law authorizes work-based learning opportunities for pupils to be delivered by partnership academies, regional occupational programs, and local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes those opportunities to include work experience education, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and job shadowing experience, as specified. This bill would authorize work-based learning activities, instead of work-based learning opportunities, to be delivered by those entities, would authorize work-based learning activities to also be delivered by state special schools, and would authorize work-based learning activities to include on-the-job training in certain youth apprenticeship programs, internships, and mentorships. The bill would instead authorize work-based learning activities to be offered through work experience education courses, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and early college credit courses, among other related changes, as specified. Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts to grant credit to pupils enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade for completing a work experience education program, as specified. This bill would extend the above-described requirement provided by the governing boards of school districts to the governing boards or bodies of county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools. The bill would extend to pupils enrolled in grade 10 the granting of credit for completing a work experience education program to the same extent granted to pupils in grade 11 or a higher grade. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a high school district, the governing board of a joint powers regional occupational center or program, or a county superintendent of schools that conducts a county-operated regional occupational center or program to establish and maintain cooperative career technical education programs or community classrooms as part of a career technical education course, as provided. This bill would authorize the above-described cooperative career technical education programs or community classrooms to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law creates within the State Department of Education an agricultural career technical education unit to assist school districts in establishing and maintaining career technical education programs in agriculture, as provided. Existing law requires the curriculum of school districts that choose to participate in the state program of agricultural career technical education to include organized classes in the study of agricultural science and technology, a student-supervised occupational experience program in agriculture, and a program of leadership, organization, and personal development. This bill would authorize funding provided for the above-described purposes to be used to support agricultural career technical education programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the Golden State Pathways Program to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth. Existing law appropriates $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to competitively award grant funds to local educational agencies, defined as school districts, charter schools, county offices of education, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education, for purposes of the program, and makes these funds available for encumbrance until June 30, 2029. This bill would authorize Golden State Pathways Program grants to be awarded to pathways programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered by the department, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. Existing law requires, for the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, $300,000,000 to be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the program. This bill would authorize California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program grants to be awarded to pathway programs and work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Partnership Academies and finds and declares that partnership academies have proven to be highly effective state-school-private sector partnerships that combine academic and vocational training for high school pupils who present a high risk of dropping out of school, and motivate them to stay in school and graduate. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue grants to school districts, as specified, to plan, establish, and maintain these academies. Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish eligibility criteria for school districts that apply for these grants. This bill would authorize funding provided for these academies to be used to support those academies that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law provides that an essential component of transition services for individuals with exceptional needs is the project workability program that provides instruction and experiences that reinforce core curriculum concepts and skills leading to gainful employment. Existing law requires the Superintendent to develop criteria for awarding grants, funding, and evaluating workability projects, and requires project workability project applications to include specified elements. This bill would authorize transition and employment preparation services under the project workability program to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways partnership with the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. This bill would authorize a College and Career Access Pathways partnership agreement to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, to the extent that funds are available, to establish internship training programs and actively support apprenticeship training programs in collaboration with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. This bill would authorize programs and partnerships established under the above-described provisions to include work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law provides funding for the Strong Workforce Program and a K–12 component of the Strong Workforce Program with the purpose of creating, maintaining, supporting, encouraging, strengthening, and expanding the delivery of career technical education programs in the state, as provided. This bill would authorize Strong Workforce Program funds to be used to support career technical education programs that provide work-based learning activities, as provided. Existing law requires the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to develop a process to approve preapprenticeship programs, as specified. Existing law requires a program seeking approval as a preapprenticeship program to submit to the division a request for approval that includes documentation evidencing that the program's preapprenticeship training activities are conducted in partnership with an apprenticeship program approved by the division. This bill would authorize a preapprenticeship program seeking approval to instead include documentation evidencing that the program's preapprenticeship training activities are conducted with approval by a local building and construction trades council of the use of the multicraft core curriculum for the preapprenticeship program. (4) 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.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, mathematics, history/social science, and science, as specified. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the state board and develop criteria for evaluating instructional materials. This bill would require the state board to, on or before January 1, 2028, develop and adopt academically rigorous content standards for ethnic studies instruction in high school. The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2028, to review and recommend to the state board curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for ethnic studies instruction in high school, as specified. The bill would require the state board to provide the commission with evaluation criteria to use in providing its review and recommendations. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to establish an advisory committee with a majority of the advisory committee's members being experts in African American studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, Native American studies, and Latino and Chicanx studies, to provide input to the state board on proposed content standards and to the commission on proposed curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for ethnic studies instruction in high school. Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, commencing for pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies meeting specified requirements. Under existing law, the requirement to complete an ethnic studies course may be fulfilled by the completion of, among others, a course based on the model curriculum developed by the Instructional Quality Commission, an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school. Existing law requires the curriculum, instruction, and instructional materials for these ethnic studies courses to meet specified requirements, including that they not reflect or promote any bias, bigotry, or discrimination against any person or group of persons on the basis of certain characteristics. Existing law makes these provisions relating to ethnic studies courses operative only upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for purposes of these provisions. This bill would require the curriculum, instruction, and instructional materials for any high school ethnic studies course, including ethnic studies courses meeting high school graduation requirements, to meet the above-described requirements, and would require the curriculum, instruction, and instructional materials for all high school ethnic studies courses to additionally, among other things, foster multicultural respect and understanding and focus on the domestic experience and stories of historically marginalized peoples in American society. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to provide, on or before June 30, 2026, the State Department of Education with a copy of all curricula, instruction, and instructional materials in ethnic studies that schools offer or plan to offer to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and the adoption calendar for curricula, instruction, and instructional materials in ethnic studies proposed for adoption by the governing board or body of the local educational agency for instruction to these pupils. The bill would require a local educational agency that does not have an ethnic studies course in place for its pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on or before June 30, 2026, to provide the department with a copy of all curricula, instruction, and instructional materials in ethnic studies that its schools seek to adopt at least 60 days before being first presented at a public meeting of the governing board or body of the local educational agency for instruction to these pupils. The bill would require the department to post the information received pursuant to these requirements on its internet website. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to monitor compliance with the requirements of this bill as part of its annual compliance monitoring of state and federal programs and to provide a report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature summarizing the data collected through compliance monitoring, as specified. 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.
