In a no-surprise vote, the state Board of Education approved a new K-8 history and social science curriculum that reflects the state’s diversity, not only in terms of race and ethnicity but also sexual identity and disability, a revamping of texts and teaching materials that recognize people and groups that were, in some cases, ignored in the past.
Describing the curriculum as “groundbreaking,” state schools chief Tom Torlakson made the announcement in a press release issued Thursday afternoon.
“I am proud California continues to lead the nation by teaching history-social science that is inclusive and recognizes the diversity of our great state and nation,” he said. “Students will benefit enormously.”
Torlakson, former East Bay teacher and athletics coach, said the materials, formally called the History/Social-Science Curriculum Framework, will give students a greater, more accurate understanding of history and the social sciences and provide them with current research as they learn critical thinking and research skills to make up their own minds about controversial issues.
“They update the teaching and learning of history and social science and convey important, new information about the challenges and contributions made by individuals and ethnic groups, members of the LGBT communities, and people with disabilities,” he said. “They recognize some individuals and groups who may not have been fully included in the past.”
The new material followed guidelines established by the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful) Education Act, which the Legislature approved in 2011 to require inclusion of contributions of various groups in the history of California and the United States.
In the prepared statement, Torlakson noted California became the first state to “specifically mandate” study of American Indians, blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, European whites, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, “with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society.”
The state board’s vote in Sacramento also came in the wake of Tuesday’s off-year election races in which Democrats — several of them ethnic minorities, women and, in headline-making cases, a Sikh, a lesbian and a transgender person — unseated their Republican rivals in races from Washington and Virginia to Maine and New Jersey, what some political analysts say was a solid repudiation of the Trump administration and the president’s policies.
The state board approved 10 instructional programs for K–8 history and social sciences after eight hours of testimony and testimony from nearly 500 speakers, noted Scott Roark, a spokesman for the California Department of Education.
The process leading to the approval of the instructional materials was “thorough,” he added.
After the state board approved the History/Social Science Framework in July 2016, it appointed nearly 100 instructional material reviewers, mostly classroom teachers, and 21 content review experts, including historians, to review materials and make recommendations about whether they reflected the proposed framework, he said.
The new materials, as Roark described (and also found at cde.ca.gov), include:
• A new focus on civic engagement, which encourages and prepares students to be informed and involved in their local communities.
• A “more complete picture” of the accomplishments and challenges faced by LGBT individuals in American history and culture, such as astronaut Sally Ride and comedian Ellen DeGeneres.
• Expanded coverage of the farm labor movement that includes not only Cesar Chavez, who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, but also includes the role of Filipinos and Filipino civil rights leader Larry Itliong.
• Information on the Mexican Repatriation Program, which illegally deported thousands of Mexican-Americans in the 1930s, many of whom were U.S. citizens.
• A new emphasis on the diverse, multicultural heritage of California and the United States and “the importance of our state and nation as a place of promise for all people, especially immigrants.”
• More detail on black American history, specifically the institution of slavery. Through assigned readings, students can “reflect on the meaning of slavery both as a legal and economic institution and an extreme violation of human rights.”
• Additional perspective on the plight of American Indians in California’s missions, focusing on diseases from which the indigenous people did not have immunity, hardships of forced labor, and separation from traditional ways of life.
Districts can choose to buy the newly approved instructional materials, but they can also choose other materials — as long as those materials “teach the content standards and reflect” the framework, noted Roark.
Besides CDE staffers and state board members, Torlakson cited members of the Instructional Quality Commission, reviewers, including many classroom teachers, and content experts for their work on the new curriculum.
He also thanked members of the public, saying, “We welcome your passion, your commitment, your dedication, and your participation. Your involvement is a real-life example of the kind of civic engagement we want to encourage among all our students.”