California Assembly Bill 2064: Vietnam War Curriculum

For those of us who have been frustrated by the lack of Vietnamese American voices in Vietnam War textbooks and school curriculum, this is an excellent opportunity to get our stories told in California schools. In the next several months the California Board of Education is working to update the History-Social Science Framework for California public schools. Bill AB2064 was introduced by California Assemblyman Arambula (co-authored by Senator Lou Correa of Los Angeles) requiring ""the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission (the Curriculum Commission) to ensure that the history/social science framework, evaluation criteria, and instruction materials include the 'Secret War' in Laos, the role of Southeast Asians in the war, and the refugee/immigrant/new American experience."

As of yesterday, Assembly Bill 2064: Vietnam War Curriculum passed the Assembly Floor 59-14. Now AB 2064 is off to the Senate.

For more information about the bill go to:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html
Type in bill number AB2064 and click search.
Or contact Assembly member Juan Arambula office:
2550 Mariposa Mall, Room 5031
Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: (559) 445-5532
Fax: (559) 445-6006
Mariana Corona at (916) 319-2131 or Sarah Reyes in the district office at (559) 445-5532.
Website: www.assembly.ca.gov/31

In next week or so, there are several public focus group meetings for the History-Social Science Framework in different cities. I encourage you to attend these meetings. Here are the schedule and places.

* May 30, 2008: Santa Clara County Office of Education

* June 5, 2008: Los Angeles County Office of Education

* June 6, 2008: San Diego County Office of Education

Please go here for more information about the focus groups and curriculum frameworks:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/index.asp

I created an online group for our campaign to get our stories told in schools. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ab2064
Please join this group by sending an email to ab2064-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to stay inform, post comments, network and exchange ideas. There are also information you can download about the bill and California Board of Education's curriculum framework.

EDUCATORS!!! Please apply for a Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee (CFCC) position. The CFCC plays a very significant role in the framework adoption process. They bring a voice from an area of expertise while providing input into the initial writing of the draft framework. Join the online group to download the application or send me an email at info@rhimp.com. If you are not in the education field please pass it on to those who would qualify.


Sincerely thank you.