(a) The department shall, no later than May 1, 2022, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, use the funding appropriated pursuant to Section 156 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021 to enter into a contract with a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education for the purposes of developing a model curriculum related to Hmong history and cultural studies by September 1, 2024. The model curriculum shall be housed on the platform developed and maintained by the California History-Social Science Project. The designated county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall work with the California History-Social Science Project and Teaching California to ensure that the curriculum is accessible and compatible with the platform.

(b) The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall ensure the inclusion of authentic voices and perspectives in the development of the model curriculum and shall provide multiple opportunities for authentic stakeholder engagement across the state, which shall include, but not be limited to, town halls or other input sessions and surveys. The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education shall consult with representatives of Hmong advocacy, community, social, and cultural organizations; faculty of Hmong studies programs at universities and colleges; members of the commission; representatives of local educational agencies; and teachers, including teachers of kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who have relevant experiences or educational backgrounds in the study and teaching of Hmong studies. The model curriculum shall identify the ways in which the model curriculum aligns with, and is supportive of, the common core academic content standards and of the goals of the curriculum framework in history-social science adopted by the state board in 2016.

(c) 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.

(d) The model curriculum shall address, but shall not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The history of the Hmong people who lived in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and China.

(2) The history of the Hmong migration to the United States and California, as well as other parts of the world.

(3) Cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions of the Hmong people, including, among other things, Hmong New Year celebrations, marriages, newborns, and funerals.

(4) Contributions of the Hmong people to California and the United States.

(5) The contributions and sacrifices of the Lao-Hmong and other Southeast Asians who served in the “Secret Army” in Laos, which was funded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

(e) The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to adapt their related courses to best meet the educational needs of their communities. The model curriculum developed for use in high schools 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.

(f) The county office of education or consortium of county offices of education may subcontract with a nonprofit organization or institution of higher education in the development of the model curriculum pursuant to this section.

(g) The county office of consortium or county offices of education shall submit a report annually, until the completion of the model curriculum, on its progress in the development of the model curriculum, to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and to the state board.

(h) Beginning in the school year following the completion of the model curriculum, local educational agencies are encouraged to use the model curriculum to provide instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(i) Beginning in the school year following the completion of the model curriculum, each local educational agency maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based Hmong studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in Hmong studies based on the model curriculum.

(j) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies submit course outlines for Hmong studies for approval as A-G courses.

(k) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(2) “Model curriculum” means lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies, and professional development activities to assist teachers in teaching about Hmong history pursuant to subdivision (d) and shall be open source and accessible to educators across the state and shall include curriculum and online instructional modules appropriate for use in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 252, Sec. 6. (AB 167) Effective September 23, 2021.)