Pupil instruction: social sciences: instructional materials.

(1) Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to ensure that certain historical documents are incorporated, as appropriate, into the history-social science framework. This bill would add the Magna Carta, the Articles of Confederation, and the California Constitution to the historical documents that are required to be incorporated into that framework and would require them to be incorporated based on the subject matter of the course. (2) Existing law requires instruction in social sciences for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America. This bill would require instruction in the social sciences also to include the development of democracy and the history of the development of the United States Constitution. To the extent that this requirement would require additional instruction, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, when adopting instructional materials for use in the schools to require, when appropriate to the comprehension of pupils, that textbooks for social science, history, or civics classes contain the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. This bill would require that a classroom in which history or the social sciences is taught have access to a copy of the California Constitution. By requiring certain classrooms to have access to a copy of the California Constitution, the bill would impose a state-mandated local 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 these statutory provisions.