The bill SB 684 introduced by Senator Alquist requires that instruction in social sciences in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall accurately portray the role of the Chinese and other populations in the continent and subcontinent of Asia in World War II. Current law specifies the course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and requires that social sciences instruction draw upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology, and further provide a foundation for understanding human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery and the Holocaust. Current law specifies that instruction in the area of social sciences may include the following: (1) instruction on World War II and the American role in that war; (2) instruction on Korean War; (3) instruction on the Vietnam war including the "Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. The State Department of Education (SDE) is required to incorporate materials that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use. Current law also expresses legislative encouragement of professional development activities to provide background and resources to teachers to assist in
The bill, Educational Equity Bill,SB 684, was passed in the Senate on May 9, 2005.