§ 33391

(a) The Legislature encourages local educational agencies to form California Indian Education Task Forces with California Indian tribe’s local to their region or tribes historically located in the region. Participants in these meetings are encouraged to discuss issues of mutual concern and to work to do all of the following:

(1) Develop a thorough, shared understanding of accurate, high-quality curricular materials about the history, culture, and government of local tribes, and develop curricular materials for use within local educational agencies that include tribal experiences and perspectives and teach about the history, culture, and government of local tribes.

(2) Develop a shared understanding of proper or improper instructional material when these materials use depictions of Native Americans.

(3) Encourage local educational agencies to adopt curriculum developed by the California Indian Education Task Forces, in order to ensure that all pupils learn about the history, culture, government, and experiences of their Indian peers and neighbors, and to ensure that Indian pupils are more engaged and learn more successfully.

(4) Identify the extent and nature of the achievement gap between Indian pupils and other pupils, and identify the strategies necessary to close it.

(b) California Indian Education Task Forces shall submit, within one year of formation and annually thereafter, a report of findings to the department, including a finding on the progress of the work described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a).

(c) The department shall submit, within one year of receiving task force reports pursuant to subdivision (b) and annually thereafter, a report to the Senate Education Committee and the Assembly Committee on Education regarding the progress made in the narrowing of the achievement gap, and the identification and adoption of curriculum regarding tribal history, culture, and government. The report shall include information about any obstacles encountered, and any strategies under development to overcome those obstacles.

(d) California Indian Education Task Forces may submit curricular materials developed pursuant to subdivision (a) to the county office of education, or consortium of county offices of education, that has contracted to develop a model curriculum related to Native American studies pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51226.9. The county office of education, or consortium of county offices of education, shall consider these submitted materials for inclusion in the model curriculum.

(e) For purposes of this article, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 477, Sec. 1. (AB 1703) Effective January 1, 2023.)