(a) (1) The Instructional Quality Commission shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in Native American studies to ensure quality courses of study in Native American studies. The model curriculum shall be developed with participation from federally recognized Native American tribes located in California, California Native American tribes, faculty of Native American studies programs at universities and colleges with Native American studies programs, and a group of representatives of local educational agencies, a majority of whom are kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, teachers who have relevant experiences or education backgrounds in the study and teaching of Native American studies. The Governor’s Tribal Advisor, the Native American Heritage Commission, and the department shall assist the Instructional Quality Commission in statewide tribal consultations with federally recognized Native American tribes located in California and California Native American tribes.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “California Native American tribe” means a Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for the purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004 and Chapter 532 of the Statutes of 2014.
(b) The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts and charter schools to adapt their related courses to reflect the pupil demographics in their communities. The model curriculum shall include examples of courses offered by local educational agencies that have been approved as meeting the A-G admissions requirements of the University of California and the California State University, including, to the extent possible, course outlines for those courses.
(c) On or before December 31, 2021, the Instructional Quality Commission shall submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or revise the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2022.
(d) The Instructional Quality Commission shall provide a minimum of 45 days for public comment before submitting the model curriculum to the state board.
(e) Beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (c), each school district or charter school maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based Native American studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in Native American studies based on the model curriculum. A school district or charter school that elects to offer a course of study in Native American studies pursuant to this subdivision shall offer the course as an elective in the social sciences or English language arts and shall make the course available in at least one year during a pupil’s enrollment in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies submit course outlines for Native American studies for approval as A-G courses.
(g) The implementation of this section is subject to the receipt of grants, donations, or other financial support from private or public sources for its purposes, including, but not limited to, an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 614, Sec. 2. (AB 738) Effective January 1, 2018.)