(a) The Instructional Quality Commission shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies to ensure quality courses of study in ethnic studies. The model curriculum shall be developed with participation from faculty of ethnic studies programs at universities and colleges with ethnic 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 experience or education background in the study and teaching of ethnic studies.

(b) The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts to adapt their 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, 2020, the Instructional Quality Commission shall submit the model curriculum to the state board for adoption, and the state board shall adopt the model curriculum on or before March 31, 2021.

(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 subdivision (a), each school district or charter school maintaining any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies curriculum is encouraged to offer to all otherwise qualified pupils a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum. A school district or charter school that elects to offer a course of study in ethnic 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 ethnic studies for approval as A–G courses.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 413, Sec. 6. (AB 114) Effective October 2, 2019.)