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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 65A-3